CHAPTER VIII. 



LIFE AT DOWJf. 



1842-1854. 



" Mv life goes on like clockwork, and I am fixed on the spot where I shall 

 end it.' 5 



Letter to Captain Fitz-Roy, October, 1846. 



Certain letters which, chronologically considered, be- 

 long to the period 1845-54 have been utilised in a later 

 chapter where the growth of the Origin of Species is de- 

 scribed. In the present chapter we only get occasional 

 hints of the growth of my father's views, and we may sup- 

 pose ourselves to be seeing his life, as it might have appeared 

 to those who had no knowledge of the quiet development of 

 his theory of evolution during this period. 



On September 14, 1842, mv father left London with his 

 family and settled at Down. 1 * In the Autobiographical 

 chapter, his motives for moving into the country are briefly 

 given. He speaks of the attendance at scientific societies 

 and ordinary social duties as suiting his health so " badly 

 that we resolved to live in the country, which we both pre- 

 ferred and have never repented of." His intention of keep- 

 ing up with scientific life in London is expressed in a letter 

 to Fox (Dec, 1842) : 



" I hope by going up to town for a night every fortnight 

 or three weeks, to keep up my communication with scien- 

 tific men and my own zeal, and so not to turn into a com- 

 plete Kentish hog." 



Visits to London of this kind were kept up for some 

 years at the cost of much exertion on his part. I have 



* I must not omit to mention a member of the household who accompanied 

 him. This was his butler, Joseph Parslow, who remained in the family, a 

 valued friend and servant, for forty years, and became, as Sir Joseph Hooker 

 once remarked to me, " an integral part of the family, and felt to be such by 

 all visitors at the house." 



(159) 



