In Childhood and School Life 339 



in Darwin's mind, and are able to record the story almost entirely in 

 his own words 1 . 



From the point of view of the geologist, Darwin's life naturally 

 divides itself into four periods. In the first, covering twenty-two 

 years, various influences were at work militating, now for and now 

 against, his adoption of a geological career ; in the second period 

 the five memorable years of the voyage of the Beagle the ardent 

 sportsman with some natural -history tastes, gradually became the 

 most enthusiastic and enlightened of geologists ; in the third period, 

 lasting ten years, the valuable geological recruit devoted nearly all 

 his energies and time to geological study and discussion and to 

 preparing for publication the numerous observations made by him 

 during the voyage ; the fourth period, which covers the latter half of 

 his life, found Darwin gradually drawn more and more from geological 

 to biological studies, though always retaining the deepest interest in 

 the progress and fortunes of his " old love." But geologists gladly 

 recognise the fact that Darwin immeasurably better served their 

 science by this biological work, than he could possibly have done by 

 confining himself to purely geological questions. 



From his earliest childhood, Darwin was a collector, though up 

 to the time when, at eight years of age, he went to a preparatory 

 school, seals, franks and similar trifles appear to have been the only 

 objects of his quest. But a stone, which one of his schoolfellows 

 at that time gave to him, seems to have attracted his attention and 

 set him seeking for pebbles and minerals ; as the result of this newly 

 acquired taste, he says (writing in 1838) "I distinctly recollect the 

 desire I had of being able to know something about every pebble 

 in front of the hall door it was my earliest and only geological 

 aspiration at that time 2 ." He further states that while at Mr Case's 

 school "I do not remember any mental pursuits except those of 

 collecting stones," etc.... "I was born a naturalist 3 ." 



The court-yard in front of the hall door at the Mount House, 

 Darwin's birthplace and the home of his childhood, is surrounded 

 by beds or rockeries on which lie a number of pebbles. Some of 

 these pebbles (in quite recent times as I am informed) have been 

 collected to form a " cobbled " space in front of the gate in the outer 

 wall, which fronts the hall door ; and a similar " cobbled area," there 

 is reason to believe, may have existed in Darwin's childhood before 

 the door itself. The pebbles, which were obtained from a neighbour- 

 ing gravel-pit, being derived from the glacial drift, exhibit very 



1 The first of these works is indicated in the following pages by the letters L. L. ; the 

 second by M. L. 



2 M. L. i. p. 3. 8 M. L. i. p. 4. 



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