CHARLES DAEWrif. 107 



Euclid, which he was taught by a private tutor, give him intense 

 satisfaction, and with great delight he receives from, his uncle, 

 the father of Francis Galton, an explanation of the vernier of a 

 barometer. He reads various books with avidity, and is especially 

 fond of poetry, all pleasure in which he lost, with great regret, 

 later in life. He works with his brother at chemistry, and reads 

 several books on the subject, but, although he considers this to 

 have been the best part of his education at school, in showing him 

 " pi'actically the meaning of experimental science," he was nick- 

 named "Gas" by his fellow schoolboys, and publicly rebuked by 

 Dr. Butler for " wasting his time on such useless subjects." 



In 1825, as he was thought to be doing no good at school, his 

 fal.her sent him to Edinburgh University to commence the study of 

 medicine ; but he cannot bring himself to practice dissection, and, 

 attending some bad operations at the Edinburgh hospital, he rushes 

 away before they are completed, and cannot be induced ever to 

 attend again. Although too tender-hearted for surgical cases, 

 when at home he visits poor people in Shrewsbury, and makes up 

 medicines for them under the advice of his father, who declares 

 that he will make a successful physician, maintaining that "the 

 chief element of success was exciting confidence," and that his 

 patients would have confidence in him. 



At Edinburgh appears the earliest indication of Darwin's future 

 abilities, and especially of his keen observing faculties. When 

 scarcely 17 years of age, he discovers that the so-called ova of 

 Flustra have the power of independent movement by means of 

 cilia, and are in fact larvae, and also that the little globular bodies 

 which had been supposed to be the young of Fucus loreus are the 

 egg-cases of the worm-like Pontohdella muricata ; and, early in the 

 year 1826, he reads before the Plinian Society two short papers on 

 these discoveries. At Edinburgh, also, he first becomes aware that 

 his father will leave him "property enough to subsist on with some 

 comfort," which he says "was suflS.cient to check any strenuous 

 effort to learn medicine." 



After he has spent two sessions at Edinburgh University, his 

 father finds that he does not like the idea of being a physician, and 

 proposes that he shall become a clergyman. The idea is congenial 

 to him, but he has at first some religious scruples. However, after 

 reading Pearson's 'Exposition of the Creed,' and other books on 

 divinity, he came to the conclusion that he could fully accept the 

 creed of our Church. He never formally gave up his intention to 

 be a clergyman of the Church of England, but, as he says, it died 

 a natural death during his voyage on the " Beagle." 



