164 THE ANTARCTIC VOYAGE : PERSONAL 



Such regrets as he felt appear in a letter to George Bentham, 

 the botanist (Falkland Islands, November 27, 1842) : 



It does sometimes make me sigh, to hear of and to see 

 the rapid strides which Botany is taking both at home and 

 abroad, and to contrast it with my present narrow sphere 

 of exertion ; nor can I forget how young De Candolle asked 

 me at your house * why I was going to such a barren country 

 as the Antarctic regions.' I am far from regretting that I 

 joined this expedition, and I shall always look back on its 

 progress with infinite pleasure ; still, the few plants I have 

 obtained are dearly won, and unless my friends will kindly 

 help me by allowing all the Antarctic plants already in 

 England to be added, the results will be meagre enough in 

 Phaenogamic Botany. Of the Cri^'ptogamia I do not despair, 

 but this tribe is sadly neglected and finds small favor in the 

 eyes of most Botanists. 



By the end of the voyage the practical issues before him 

 take shape in a letter to his father, written from St. Helena 

 on his way home (May 18, 1843), when his eager desire to travel 

 again — but for a shorter time and in a less barren botanical 

 area — is balanced against the necessity of staying at home 

 to publish results. 



St. Helena Roads. 



I have a long yarn to spin you about my future prospects, 

 Capt. Ross having been sounding me. He wants me to 

 remain in the service, to serve only for Scientific Expeditions ; 

 and has, or is going to write home, about my promotion. 

 He told me that he must write for Lyall's ^ and mine at once ; 

 and had delayed it, expecting me to have spoken of the 

 subject to him, which I of course never dreamed of doing, 

 it being out of my place. As he said, it was a piece of injustice 

 to delay writing for Lyall ; and that he could not do that 

 without doing so for me also and stating my superior claims, 

 provided I remained in the service : he desired an answer. 

 I told him that I did not intend remaining, provided I 

 could get any good or decent shore employment ; but that 

 I had no idea of giving up the Navy till I felt my way on 

 land, which I could not do before arriving in England. 

 1 Assistant Surgeon on the Terror. 



