246 READS MANY PAPERS. CHAP. xvi. 



" It is impossible," he writes in 1847, " to describe 

 the feelings under which I then rose. That is over long 

 since. The only beating of my heart now about the 

 British Association is, that of gratitude towards its 

 members, and of affection for their great kindness. I 

 feel my love of scientific pursuits strengthen every day. 

 I have taken hold of that which every day affords ' a 

 feast of reason and a flow of soul.'" 



In the following year (1842) he attended the meeting 

 of the British Association at Manchester, where he read 

 a paper before the Zoological section on his discoveries 

 and observations of the marine fauna on the Cornish 

 coast. In 1843 he attended the meeting at Cork, and 

 in 1844 he was at York. He never went without a 

 paper. Sometimes he read several. Men of distinction 

 began to notice this remarkable coastguardsman. He was 

 acknowledged to be one of the most original discoverers 

 in geology and zoology. Such men as Murchison, De 

 la Beche, Buckland, Forbes, Daubeny, and Agassiz, 

 took him by the hand and greeted him as a fellow 

 labourer in the work of human improvement and scien- 

 tific development. 



Dr. Eobert Chambers was present at the York meet- 

 ing. He wrote a very interesting article on the subject, 

 which appeared in Chambers's Journal of November 

 23, 1844. Here is his description of Mr. Peach: 

 "But who is that little intelligent-looking man in a 

 faded naval uniform, who is so invariably seen in a 

 particular central seat in this section ? That is perhaps 

 one of the most interesting men who attend the associa- 



