30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. [Oh. H. 



declared it would be worth publishing ; so here was a second 

 book in prospect 1 



Towards the close of our voyage I received a letter whilst 

 at Ascension, in which my sisters told me that Sedgwick had 

 called on my father, and said that I should take a place among 

 the leading scientific men. I could not at the time under- 

 stand how he could have learnt anything of my proceedings, 

 but 1 heard (I believe afterwards) that Henslow had read 

 some of the letters which I wrote to him before the Philo- 

 sophical Society of Cambridge,* and had printed them for 

 private distribution. My collection of fossil bones, which 

 had been sent to Henslow, also excited considerable atten- 

 tion amongst paleontologists. After reading this letter, I 

 clambered over the mountains of Ascension with a bounding 

 step and made the volcanic rocks resound under my geological 

 hammer. All this shows how ambitious I was ; but I think 

 that I can say with truth that in after years, though I cared 

 in the highest degree for the approbation of such men as 

 Lyell and Hooker, who were my friends, I did not care much 

 about the general public. I do not mean to say that a 

 favourable review or a large sale of my books did not please 

 me greatly, but the pleasure was a fleeting one, and I am sure 

 that I have never turned one inch out of my course to gain 

 lame. 



From my return to England (October 2, 183G) to my marriage 

 (January 29, 1839). 



These two years and three months were the most active 

 ones which I ever spent, though I was occasionally unwell, and 

 so lost some time. After going backwards and forwards several 

 times between Shrewsbury, Maer, Cambridge, and London, 

 I settled in lodgings at Cambridge! on December 13th, 

 where all my collections were under the care of Henslow. 

 I stayed here three months, and got my minerals and rocks 

 examined by the aid of Professor Miller. 



I began preparing my Journal of Travels, which was not 

 hard work, as my MS. Journal had been written with care, and 

 my chief labour was making an abstract of my more interesting 

 scientific results. I sent also, at the request of Lyell, a short 

 account of my observations on the elevation of the coast of 

 Chili to the Geological Society.^ 



* Read at the meeting held November 16, 1835, and printed in a 

 pamphlet of 81 pp. for distribution among the members of the Society, 

 t In Fitzwilliam Street, 

 t Geolog. Sac. Proc. ii. 1838, pp. 446-449. 



