4^4 BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 



about his manner, a constant deference to others, and a 

 faculty for seeing the best side of everything and every- 

 body.'' 



He was most affectionate and considerate at home. The 

 picture of Darwin's life with his children gives a glimpse 

 of the tenderness and deep affection of his nature, and the 

 reverent regard with which he was held in the family circle 

 is very touching. One of his daughters writes: "My first 

 remembrances of my father are of the delights of his playing 

 with us. He was passionately attached to his own children, 

 although he was not an indiscriminate child-lover. To all 

 of us he was the most delightful playfellow, and the most 

 perfect sympathizer. Indeed, it is impossible adequately to 

 describe how delightful a relation his was to his family, 



* * 



whether as children or in their later life. 



"It is a proof of the terms on which we were, and also of 

 how much he was valued as a playfellow, that one of his sons, 

 when about four years old, tried to bribe him with a sixpence 

 to come and play in working hours. We all knew the sacred- 

 ness of working time, but that any one should resist sixpence 

 seemed an impossibility." 



Method of Work. Darwin's life, as might be inferred 

 from the enduring quality of his researches, shows an 

 unswerving purpose. His theory w r as not the result of a 

 sudden flash of insight, nor was it struck out in the heat 

 of inspiration, but was the product of almost unexampled 

 industry and conscientious endeavor in the face of unfavor- 

 able circumstances. Although strikingly original and inde- 

 pendent as a thinker, he was slow to arrive at conclusions, 

 examining with the most minute and scrupulous care the 

 ground for every conclusion. "One quality of mind that 

 seemed to be of especial advantage in leading him to make 

 discoveries w r as the habit of never letting exceptions pass 

 unnoticed." He enjoyed experimenting much more than 



