CHARLES DARWIN——WEISMANN. 437 
or on his uncle Wedgewood’s large estate of Maer. He did not lose 
2 possible day from this amusement, for as he says in his auto- 
biography, “I should have thought myself mad to give up the first 
days of partridge shooting for geology or any other science.” Thus, 
notwithstanding his interest in geology and beetle collecting, in pic- 
tures and music, the old passion for the chase was still the dominant 
one; one pleasure crowded upon another, and the whole made his life 
a joyous symphony, so that he could say of that period, “ The three 
years which I spent at Cambridge were the most joyful in my happy 
hfe.” But in the midst of all the joyousness of life he was under- 
going an inward preparation for the seriousness of it. We can 
gather from his own account of that time that the strongest impulse 
toward the study of natural science came from reading two works 
which aroused his interest, Humboldt’s “ Personal Narrative ” and 
Herschel’s “ Introduction to the Study of Natural Philosophy.” 
Darwin says of these: “ No other book influenced me so much as 
these two.” He used to copy long passages from Humboldt about 
Teneriffe and read them aloud to Henslow. He was very anxious 
to go to Teneriffe, and even made inquiries in London about a ship 
to take him there, when an event happened which overthrew that 
project, but at the same time opened up the way to a naturalist’s 
career—the only one really suited to him—in a much more satis- 
factory manner. He received a proposal to make a voyage round the 
world. 
It must appear to us singular that a young man who had just 
finished his university course, and had done no scientific work of any 
kind, should be invited to accompany, as a naturalist, a naval vessel 
which was being sent round the world by the Government for the 
purpose of making nautical observations. It proves that Darwin’s 
older friends must have had very high expectations in regard to his 
future. 
Captain Fitzroy, of the English navy, was looking for a young 
man who would go with him as naturalist, on a voluntary footing, 
on his voyage in the Beagle. 
Darwin himself was at once eager to accept, but his father objected 
very decidedly, seeing no reasonable object in spending five years 
ranging over the globe. But he concluded his letter with the sen- 
tence, “If you can find any man of common sense who advises you 
to go, I will give my consent.” 
The necessary adviser was found in his uncle, Wedgewood, who, 
as soon as he heard of the matter, immediately drove the 40 miles 
from Maer to Shrewsbury and persuaded the elder Darwin that he 
must allow his son to go. 
Thus it happened that Darwin made the journey which he speaks 
of later as “the most important event of my life,” as it undoubtedly 
