VOYAGE OF THE 'BEAGLE' 243 



through Henslow's good offices, to accompany Sedg- 

 wick in a geological excursion in North Wales. There 

 can be little doubt that this short trip sufficed to efface 

 the dislike of geology which he had conceived at Edin- 

 burgh, and to show him how much it was in his own 

 power to increase the sum of geological knowledge. 

 To use his own phrase, he began to 'work like a 

 tiger' at geology. 



But he now had reached the main turning-point 

 of his career. On returning home from his ramble 

 with Sedgwick he found a letter from Henslow, telling 

 him that Captain Fitz-Roy, who was about to start 

 on the memorable voyage of the Beagle, was willing 

 to give up part of his own cabin to any competent 

 young man who would volunteer to go with him 

 without pay as a naturalist. The post was offered 

 to Darwin, and after some natural objections on the 

 part of his father, who thought that such a wild scheme 

 would be disreputable to his character as a future 

 clergyman, was accepted. His intention of becoming 

 a clergyman, and his father's wish that he should do 

 so, were never formally given up ; but from this time 

 onward they dropped out of sight. The Beagle 

 weighed anchor from Plymouth on the 27th of De- 

 cember, 1 83 1, and returned on the 2nd of October, 

 1836. 



Of the voyage in the Beagle and its scientific 

 fruits Darwin himself has left ample record in his 

 Journal of Researches, and in the various memoirs on 

 special branches of research which he afterwards pub- 

 lished. The editor of the Biography has wisely re- 

 frained from repeating the story of this important part 



