VISITORS. 139 



tage. At Shrewsbury, he used to say, it was his father's wish 

 that the guests should be attended to constantly, and in one 

 of the letters to Fox he speaks of the impossibility of writing 

 a letter while the house was full of company. I think he 

 always felt uneasy at not doing more for the entertainment 

 of his guests, but the result was successful ; and, to make up 

 for any loss, there was the gain that the guests felt perfectly 

 free to do as they liked. The most usual visitors were those 

 who stayed from Saturday till Monday ; those who remained 

 longer were generally relatives, and were considered to be 

 rather more my mother's affair than his. 



Besides these visitors, there were foreigners and other 

 strangers, who came down for luncheon and went away in the 

 afternoon. He used conscientiously to represent to them the 

 enormous distance of Down from London, and the labour it 

 would be to come there, unconsciously taking for granted 

 that they would find the journey as toilsome as he did himself. 

 If, however, they were not deterred, he used to arrange their 

 journeys for them, telling them when to come, and practically 

 when to go. It was pleasant to see the way in which he 

 shook hands with a guest who was being welcomed for the 

 first time ; his hand used to shoot out in a way that gave one 

 the feeling that it was hastening to meet the guest's hands. 

 With old friends his hand came down with a hearty swing 

 into the other hand in a way I always had satisfaction in 

 seeing. His good-bye was chiefly characterised by the 

 pleasant way in which he thanked his guests, as he stood at 

 the door, for having come to see him. 



These luncheons were very successful entertainments, there 

 was no drag or flagging about them, my father was bright and 

 excited throughout the whole visit. Professor De Candolle 

 has described a visit to Down, in his admirable and sympa- 

 thetic sketch of my father.* He speaks of his manner 



* ' Darwin conside're' au point de vue des causes de son succes.' Geneva, 

 1882. 



