354 CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN. 



the hospital, but one day witnessing two opera- 

 tions, one upon a child, he rushed away. He says, 

 " Nor did I attend again, for hardly any induce- 

 ment would have been strong enough to make me 

 do so ; this being long before the blessed days of 

 chloroform. The two cases fairly haunted me for 

 many a long year." 



While in Edinburgh, Charles became deeply in- 

 terested in marine zoology, and read a paper before 

 the Plinian Society, an association organized for 

 the study of natural history. He also attended the 

 meetings of the Wernerian Society, where he heard 

 Audubon deliver some interesting lectures upon 

 the habits of North American birds, and the Koyal 

 Society, where he saw Sir Walter Scott in the chair 

 as president. 



" I looked at him and at the whole scene," says 

 Darwin, "with some awe and reverence, and I 

 think it was owing to this visit during my youth, 

 and to my having attended the Eoyal Medical So- 

 ciety, that I felt the honor of being elected, a few 

 years ago, an honorary member of both these socie- 

 ties more than any other similar honor. If I had 

 been told at that time that I should one day have 

 been thus honored, I declare that I should have 

 thought it as ridiculous and improbable as if I had 

 been told that I should be elected King of Eng- 

 land." 



During this time, Charles met Sir James Mack- 

 intosh, " the best converser," he says, " I ever lis- 

 tened to. I heard afterwards, with a glow of pride. 



