8 THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY 



For a young man who, besides collecting a rich treasure of 

 positive knowledge, has practised dissection and the exercise of 

 a critical judgment, a long sea-voyage and a peaceful sojourn 

 among entirely new surroundings afford an invaluable opportunity 

 for original work and deep reflection. Freed from the formalism 

 of the schools, thrown upon the use of his own intellect, 

 compelled to test each single object as regards properties and 

 history, he soon forgets the dogmas of the prevailing system and 

 becomes, first a sceptic, and then an investigator" (Times, Oct. 

 4, 1898). 



Apart from the necessary appliances for marine sur- 

 veying, her chief work, the scientific equipment of the 

 Rattlesnake was nil, nor was she provided with any books 

 of reference. This was only a part of the cheese- 

 paring policy of the then Admiralty, which, as we shall 

 see in the sequel, nearly led to Huxley's abandoning 

 science as a profession altogether. But this sad lack of 

 equipment only adds to the brilliance of the work effected 

 under such trying and difficult conditions. 



Regarding the routine details of Huxley's life on 

 board ship we learn that congenial company largely 

 atoned for inconvenient quarters, and his personal char- 

 acteristics stood him in good stead. Kindly good-nature 

 and equable spirits, combined with a saving sense of 

 humour and entire absence of " side," will go far to avert 

 friction, even among a band of cooped-up explorers. 



After touching at Madeira, the Rattlesnake sailed to 

 Rio de Janeiro, where dredging for marine animals began. 

 Thence via the Cape and Mauritius to Hobart Town and 

 Sydney, the last being reached on July 16, 1847. 



Besides a paper on a rare bivalve mollusc of ancient 

 type,' the scientific first fruits of the voyage were in 

 the form of two memoirs, one on the " Anatomy of 



' " Di'scription of the Animal of Trigonia, from Actual Dissection" 

 (Proc. Zool. Soc.,xvii, 1849 i ^^^ Annals and Mag. Nat. Hist., v, 1850. 

 Sci. Mem., i, iii, p. 6). 



