38 AUTOBIOGKAPHY. [Cn. n. 



has been scientific work, and the excitement from such work 

 makes me for the time forget, or drives quite away, my daily 

 discomfort. I have therefore nothing to record during the 

 rest of my life, except the publication of my several books. 

 Perhaps a few details how they arose may be worth giving. 



My several Publications. — In the early part of 1844, my 

 observations on the volcanic islands visited during the voyage 

 of the Beagle were published. In 1845, 1 took much pains 

 in correcting a new edition of my Journal of Besearches f 

 which was originally published in 1839 as part of Fitz-Roy's 

 work. The success of this my first literary child always 

 tickles my vanity more than that of any of my other books. 

 Even to this day it sells steadily in England and the United 

 States, and has been translated for the second time into 

 German, and into French and other languages. This success 

 of a book of travels, especially of a scientific one, so many years 

 after its first publication, is surprising. Ten thousand copies 

 have been sold in England of the second edition. In 1846 

 my Geological Observations on South America were published. 

 I record in a little diary, which I have always kept, that my 

 three geological books (Coral Beefs included) consumed four 

 and a half years' steady work ; " and now it is ten years since 

 my return to England. How much time have I lost by 

 illness ? " I have nothing to say about these three books 

 except that to my surprise new editions have lately been 

 called for.* 



In October, 1846, 1 began to work on ■ Cirripedia' (Barnaclesl 

 When on the coast of Chile, I found a most curious form, whicn 

 burrowed into shells of Concholepas, and which differed so 

 much from all other Cirripedes that I had to form a new sub- 

 order for its sole reception. Lately an allied burrowing genus 

 has been found on the shores of Portugal. To understand the 

 structure of my new Cirripede I had to examine and dissect 

 many of the common forms : and this gradually led me on to 

 take up the whole group. I worked steadily on the subject 

 for the next eight years, and ultimately published two thick 

 volumes, - )" describing all the known living species, and two thin 

 quartos on the extinct species. I do not doubt that Sir E. 

 Lytton Bulwer had me in his mind when he introduced in one 

 of his novels a Professor Long, who had written two huge 

 Volumes on limpets. 



Although I was employed during eight years on this work, 

 yet I record in my diary that about two years out of this time 



* Geological Observations, 2nd Edit. 1876. Coral Beefs, 2nd Edit. 1874 

 f Published by the Ray Society. 



