48 



attractive, as seen by Darwin, than most other countries 

 he had visited. December 3oth saw the Beagle on 

 the way to Sydney, and Port Jackson was reached on 

 January 12, 1836. An interesting excursion to the Blue 

 Mountains and to Bathurst showed many aspects of 

 colonial life, as well as the strange duckbill or platypus 

 in its native haunts. Tasmania, with which island 

 Darwin was greatly pleased, was visited in February. In 

 April the Keeling Islands furnished much of the material 

 for the future bock on coral reefs, the essence of which 

 is, however, included in the Journal. Mauritius, Cape 

 Town, St. Helena, Ascension, Bahia, Pernambuco, Cape 

 Verde, and the Azores were the successive stages of the 

 homeward journey, and on October 2, 1836, anchor was 

 cast at Falmouth, where the naturalist, equipped for his 

 life work, was landed. 



The high opinion Captain Fitzroy formed of Darwin 

 during this long voyage is shown by many passages in 

 his own narrative, and by many other references. He 

 paid him the marked compliment of naming no fewer 

 than three important geographical localities after him, 

 namely, Mount Darwin and Darwin Sound (Tierra del 

 Fuego), and Port Darwin in North Australia, thus con- 

 necting- his name for future generations with two lands 

 whose inhabitants were subjects of Darwin's unceasing 

 interest and investigation throughout life, and served in 

 no small degree to elucidate the history and rise of man- 

 kind in Darwin's mind and for a world's instruction. 

 Fitzroy complimented his friend markedly when himself 

 receiving the medal of the Royal Geographical Society ; 

 and in one of his papers, speaking of him as a zealous 



