14 Charles Darwin. 



might seem unusual indifference, he took the degree of 

 B.A. without apparent exertion. At this time he read 

 such works as Paley's " Evidences of Christianity" 

 and " Moral Philosophy," and the thoroughness of 

 his reading may be judged from the fact that he 

 could have written out from memory almost the 

 entire former work. This course of reading, without 

 the demand for memorising, which was a part of the 

 educational methods in former years, he conceived 

 to be the only part of the academical course of any 

 actual advantage to him. There were several lectures 

 in the course, but those by Professor Henslow, on 

 botany, were the only ones he attended. The walks 

 and strolls with this naturalist in search of rare plants 

 and flowers were highly enjoyed, and what proved a 

 life-long friendship was begun. During the college 

 days his love for natural history was steadily in- 

 creasing. He was now especially interested in the 

 study of beetles ; not to dissect them, but for the 

 simple delight of possessing great numbers and com- 

 paring them one with another, and his collection was 

 a large and really valuable one. How enthusiastic 

 he was may be seen from the following incident : In 

 ripping down the bark from an old tree he saw two 

 rare beetles, which he captured, one in each hand. 

 Just then out ran a third, equally rare and beautiful; 

 but what was to be done ? There was no time for 

 deliberation, so he put one beetle in his mouth, thus 

 freeing a hand to seize the fleeing prize ; but the 

 second beetle, objecting to this unceremonious treat- 

 ment, emitted a secretion so bitter that he was forced 

 to eject it, losing in the confusion of the attack two 

 of the insects. 



