94 DARWINIANISM. 



of the voyage, he writes a simply friendly letter to his 

 captain ; but even in it, while sympathising with him on 

 the shabby treatment which he (Fitz-Roy) received from 

 Government, he cannot help adding, " but I am no rene- 

 gade " he means to those (the Government) whom he 

 still calls the " honest Whigs " " and by the time we meet 

 my politics will be as firmly fixed and as wisely founded as 

 ever they were." It is eminently characteristic of Charles 

 Darwin that he has no sooner said this than he feels it to 

 be too much of a cut, and must immediately turn the 

 edge of it by interjecting, " I thought when I began this 

 letter I would convince you what a steady and sober 

 frame of mind I was in ; but I find I am writing most 

 precious nonsense " with further propitiatory words 

 to the same effect. The evidence is clear, then, of the 

 alleged somewhat strained relations of the two men 

 politically. Nor, perhaps, on the whole, is the character 

 of the one, very much less than that of the other, to 

 be considered pour quelque chose in the resultant heat 

 between them. 



" Fitz-Roy's character was a singular one," says Mr. Darwin, 

 " with very many noble features in several respects one of the 

 most noble which I have ever known : he was devoted to his duty, 

 generous to a fault, bold, determined, and indomitably energetic, 

 and an ardent friend to all under his sway. He would undertake 

 any sort of trouble to assist those whom he thought deserved 

 assistance. He was a handsome man, strikingly like a gentleman, 

 with highly courteous manners ; he must have inherited much in 

 his appearance from Charles II. His temper was a most unfor- 

 tunate one. It was usually worst in the early morning, and with 

 his eagle eye he could generally detect something amiss about the 

 ship, and was then unsparing in his blame. He was very kind to 

 me, but was a man very difficult to live with on the intimate terms 

 which necessarily followed from our messing by ourselves in the 

 same cabin. We had several quarrels ; for instance " and then 

 follows the story of their warm little altercation in regard to the 

 slaves. 



