352 CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN. 



ground, but the height was only seven or eight 

 feet. Nevertheless, the number of thoughts which 

 passed through my mind during this very short 

 but sudden and wholly unexpected fall was aston- 

 ishing, and seem hardly compatible with what 

 physiologists have, I believe, proved about each 

 thought requiring quite an appreciable amount of 

 time." 



As Dr. Butler's school was strictly classical, 

 Darwin always felt that, for him, these years were 

 nearly wasted. He read many authors, Shakspeare, 

 Thomson's Seasons, Byron, and Scott, but later in 

 life, he says, lost all taste for poetry. This he 

 greatly regretted, and said, if he were to live his life 

 over, he would read some poetry every day. The 

 book that most influenced him was the " Wonders 

 of the World," which gave him a desire to travel, 

 which was finally realized in the voyage of the 

 Beagle. He did not forget his zest in collecting, 

 at first, however, taking only such insects as he 

 found dead, for, after consulting his sister, he 

 " concluded that it was not right to kill insects for 

 the sake of making a collection. From reading 

 White's ' Selborne,' I took much pleasure in watch- 

 ing the habits of birds, and even made notes on the 

 subject. In my simplicity, I remember wonder- 

 ing why every gentleman did not become an orni- 

 thologist. 



" Towards the close of my school-life, my brother 

 worked hard at chemistry, and made a fair labora- 

 tory, with proper apparatus, in the tool-house in the 



