6 6 DARW1NIANISM. 



the pleasures of all around him. " This led him to be 

 always scheming to give pleasure to others, and, though 

 hating extravagance, to perform many generous actions." 

 " He was generally in high spirits, and laughed and joked 

 with every one." " He was easily made very angry, but 

 his kindness was unbounded." Doubtless, it was that 

 extreme kindness and cheerfulness of nature that made 

 him sympathetic, if with distress pain, then "in a 

 greater degree " with pleasure joy. He was a great 

 collector of anecdotes, and knew an extraordinary number 

 of curious stories, " which he liked to tell, as he was a 

 great talker,"- generally, indeed, " in conversation with a 

 succession of people during the whole day." 



Fancy him, this great, drab-gaitered, snuff-coloured 

 giant, surely Glumdalclitch's father, laughing and shaking 

 in his enormous wheel-chair, the while he pipes out, in 

 his small falsetto, but entrancingly provincial English, 

 those curious anecdotes and stories of his. How he won 

 the confidence of the ladies, and learned all the troubles 

 of husband and wife, even as a father-confessor might ! 

 How he knew the particular character of everybody just 

 in a moment at sight ! How he could tell people of their 

 undiscovered secrets, till they exclaimed, " Good God, 

 doctor, who told you ? we thought no human being knew 

 but ourselves ! " It is truly astonishing the nood of 

 pleasing superlatives about his father which Charles 

 Darwin so believingly, so innocently simple, pours out 

 nominally for his children. What good guesses he could 

 make how his power of reading even the thoughts <>t' 

 others was something supernatural ! 



Father and son were evidently on the best of terms, 

 the one listening spell-bound, while the other prattled. 

 Even to general correspondents in after life, Charles is 

 found again and again to quote his father. As, for 

 example, " my father used to believe largely in an old 



