58 EVOLUTION [CHAP. II 



several "arctic gentlemen" was carried on in the Athenceuin. Mr. 

 Darwin speaks of " Natural History Instructions for the present expedi- 

 tion." This may possibly refer to the Admiralty Manual of Scientific 

 Enquiry (1849), f r ^ ^ s clear, from the prefatory memorandum of the 

 Lords of the Admiralty, that they believed the manual would be of use 

 in the forthcoming expeditions in search of Sir John Franklin. 



Letter 24 To E. Cresy. 1 



Dotfn [after 1847]. 



Although I have never particularly attended to the points 

 in dispute between Dr. King 2 and the other Arctic gentlemen, 

 yet I have carefully read all the articles in the Athen&um, 

 and took from them much the same impression as you convey 

 in your letter, for which I thank you. I believe that old 

 sinner, Sir J. Barrow 3 has been at the bottom of all the 

 money wasted over the naval expeditions. So strongly have 

 I felt on this subject, that, when I was appointed on a com- 

 mittee for Nat. Hist, instructions for the present expedition, 

 had I been able to attend I had resolved to express my opinion 

 on the little advantage, comparatively to the expense, gained 

 by them. There have been, I believe, from the beginning 

 eighteen expeditions ; this strikes me as monstrous, con- 

 sidering how little is known, for instance, on the interior of 

 Australia. The country has paid dear for Sir John's hobby- 

 horse. I have very little doubt that Dr. King is quite right 

 in the advantage of land expeditions as far as geography is 

 concerned ; and that is now the chief object. 4 



1 Mr. Cresy was, we believe, an architect : his friendship with 

 Mr. Darwin dates from the settlement at Down. 



2 Richard King (1811 ? 1876). He was surgeon and naturalist to Sir 

 George Back's expedition (1833-5) to tne mouth of the Great Fish 

 River in search of Captain Ross, of which he published an account. 

 In 1850 he accompanied Captain Horatio Austin's search expedition in 

 the Resolute. 



3 Sir John Barrow (1764 1848), Secretary to the Admiralty. 



4 This sentence would imply that Darwin thought it hopeless to 

 rescue Sir J. Franklin's expedition. If so, the letter must be, at least, as 

 late as 1850. If the eighteen expeditions mentioned above are "search 

 expeditions," it would also bring the date of the letter to 1850. 



