W^ HEN the publishers proposed to 

 |\ me the subject of the present 

 '^ volume, a life of Charles Darwin 

 ^j for American and English read- 

 ers, I was particularly gratified 

 with the suggestion that the work 

 should be adapted to young readers 

 ^-ell as old. It has always seemed to 

 that the life of Charles Darwin was 

 one eminently fitted to be held up as an 

 example to the youth of all lands. He stood as 

 the central figure in the field of natural science in 

 this century, and while it is yet too early to present 

 his life with any approximation of its results upon 

 the thought of the future, it is apparent to every 

 one that his influence upon the intellectual growth 

 of the country, and upon biological science in par- 

 ticular, has been marked and epoch making. 



In the preparation of the work I have not at- 

 tempted an analytical dissertation upon Darwin's 

 life-work, neither have I discussed his theories or 

 their possible effect upon the scientific world, but 



