54 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



surprising discovery to him. Now I do not suppose 

 any other professor of botany could have helped 

 laughing at my coming in such a hurry to make such 

 a communication. But he agreed how interesting the 

 phenomenon was, and explained its meaning, but 

 made me clearly understand how well it was known ; 

 so I left him not in the least mortified, but well 

 pleased at having discovered for myself so remarkable 

 a fact, but determined not to be in such a hurry again 

 to communicate my discoveries. 



Dr. Whewell was one of the older and distinguished 

 men who sometimes visited Henslow, and on several 

 occasions I walked home with him at night. Next to 

 Sir J. Mackintosh he was the best converser on grave 

 subjects to whom I ever listened. Leonard Jenyns,* 

 who afterwards published some good essays in Natural 

 History,t often stayed with Henslow, who was his 

 brother-in-law. I visited him at his parsonage on 

 the borders of the Fens [Swaffham Bulbeck], and 

 had many a good walk and talk with him about 

 Natural History. I became also acquainted with 

 several other men older than me, who did not care 

 much about science, but were friends of Henslow. 

 One was a Scotchman, brother of Sir Alexander 

 Ramsay, and tutor of Jesus College ; he was a de- 

 lightful man, but did not live for many years. Another 

 was Mr. Dawes, afterwards Dean of Hereford, and 

 famous for his success in the education of the poor. 



* The well-known Soame Jenyns of the Beagle ; and is author of a 



was cousin to Mr. Jenyns' father. long series of papers, chiefly Zoo- 



f Mr. Jenyns (now Blomefield) logical, 

 described the fish for the Zoology 





