Ch. VII] 1836—1842. 145 



coiTecting press for some weeks. Of late anything which 

 flurries me completely knocks me up afterwards, and brings on 

 a violent palpitation of the heart." 



In the summer of 1838 he started on his expedition to Glen 

 Boy, where he spent "eight good days" over the Parallel 

 Roads. His Essay on this subject was written out during the 

 same summor, and published by the Royal Society.* He wrote 

 in his Pocket Book : " September 6 (1838). Finished the 

 paper on ■ Glen Roy,' one of the most difficult and instructive 

 tasks I was ever engaged on." It will bo remembered that 

 in his Autobiography ho speaks of this paper as a failure, of 

 which ho was ashamed.f 



C. D. to Lyell. [August 9th, 1838.] 



36 Great Marlborough Street. 

 My dear Lyell — I did not write to you at Norwich, for I 

 thought I should have more to say, if I waited a few more 

 days. Very many thanks for the present of your Elements, 

 which I received (and I believe the very first copy distributed) 

 together with your note. I have read it through every word, 

 and am full of admiration of it, and, as I now see no geologist, 

 I must talk to you about it. There is no pleasure in reading 

 a book if one cannot have a good talk over it ; I repeat, I am 

 full of admiration of it, it is as clear as daylight, in fact I felt 

 in many parts some mortification at thinking how geologists 

 have laboured and struggled at proving what seems, as you 

 have put it, so evidently probable. I read with much interest 

 your sketch of the secondary deposits ; you have contrived to 

 make it quite "juicy," as we used to say as children of a good 

 story. There was also much new to me, and I have to copy out 

 some fifty notes and references. It must do good, the heretics 

 against common-sense must yield. ... By the way, do you 

 recollect my telling you how much I disliked the manner X. 



* Phil Trans., 1839, pp. 39-82. 



t Sir Archibald Geikie has been bo good as to allow me to quote a 

 passage from a letter addressed to me (Nov. 19, 1884) : — " Had the idea 

 of transient barriers of glacier-ice occurred to him, he would have found 

 the difficulties vanish from the lake-theory which he opposed, and he 

 would not have been unconsciously led to minimise the altogether over- 

 whelming objections to the supposition that the terraces are of marine 

 origin." 



It may be added that the idea of the barriers being formed by glaciers 

 could hardly have occurred to him, considering the state of knowledge 

 at the time, and bearing in mind his want of opportunities of observing 

 glacial action on a large scale. 



i 



