6o AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



many years before said to him, when discussing the opposition 

 of the old school of geologists to his new views, "What a 

 good thing it would be if every scientific man was to die when 

 sixty years old, as afterwards he would be sure to oppose all 

 new doctrines." But he hoped that now he might be allowed 

 to live. 



The science of Geology is enormously indebted to Lyell — 

 more so, as I believe, than to any other man who ever lived. 

 When [I was] starting on the voyage of the Beagle^ the saga- 

 cious Henslow, who, like all other geologists, believed at that 

 time in successive cataclysms, advised me to get and study 

 the first volume of the ' Principles,' which had then just been 

 published, but on no account to accept the views therein ad- 

 vocated. How differently would any one now speak of the 

 'Principles' 1 I am proud to remember that the first place, 

 namely, St. Jago, in the Cape de Verde archipelago, in which 

 I geologised, convinced me of the infinite superiority of 

 Lyell's views over those advocated in any other work known 

 to me. 



The powerful effects of Lyell's works could formerly be 

 plainly seen in the different progress of the science in France 

 and England. The present total oblivion of Elie de Beau- 

 mont's wild hypotheses, such as his * Craters of Elevation ' 

 and 'Lines of Elevation' (which latter hypothesis I heard 

 Sedgwick at the Geological Society lauding to the skies), may 

 be largely attributed to Lyell. 



I saw a good deal of Robert Brown, " facile Princeps Bo- 

 tanicorum," as he was called by Humboldt. He seemed to 

 me to be chiefly remarkable for the minuteness of his obser- 

 vations, and their perfect accuracy. His knowledge was 

 extraordinarily great, and much died with him, owing to his 

 excessive fear of ever making a mistake. He poured out his 

 knowledge to me in the most unreserved manner, yet was 

 strangely jealous on some points. I called on him two or 

 three times before the voyage of the Beagle^ and on one oc- 

 casion he asked me to look through a microscope and de- 

 scribe what I saw. This I did, and believe now that it was 



