106 THE COMING [CH. 



And on his return to England, these patiently written 

 journals were revised and prepared for publication 

 forming that charming work A Naturalist's Voyage. 

 Journal of Researches into the Natural History and 

 Geology of the Countries visited during the Voyage 

 of H. M.S. 'Beagle' round the world. 



As Darwin, with the specimens before him, revised 

 his notes, and reconsidered the impressions made on 

 his mind, the ' vague doubts' he had entertained, 

 from time to time, concerning the immutability of 

 species, would come back to him with new force and 

 cumulative effect. f I then saw/ he says, ' how many facts 

 indicated the common descent of species, 5 and further, 

 'It occurred to me in 1837, that something might 

 perhaps be made out on this question by patiently 

 accumulating and reflecting on all sorts of facts 

 which could possibly have any bearing on it/ In 

 July of that year, he opened his first note-book on 

 the subject 106 the note-books being soon replaced by 

 a series of portfolios, in which extracts from the 

 various works he read, facts obtained by correspond- 

 ence, the records of experiments and observation, 

 and ideas suggested by constant meditation were 

 slowly accumulated for twenty years. Mr Francis 

 Darwin has published a series of extracts from the 

 note-book of 1837, which amply prove that by this 

 time Charles Darwin had become 'a convinced 

 evolutionist 107 .' 



