l68 APPOINTMENT TO THE 'BEAGLE.' ^;rAT. 22. [1831. 



never was a finer chance for a man of zeal and spirit ; Cap- 

 tain Fitz-Roy is a young man. What I wish you to do is in- 

 stantly to come and consult with Peacock (at No. 7 Suffolk 

 Street, Pall Mall East, or else at the University Club), and 

 learn further particulars. Don't put on any modest doubts 

 or fears about your disqualifications, for I assure you I think 

 you are the very man they are in search of ; so conceive your- 

 self to be tapped on the shoulder by your bum-bailiff and 

 affectionate friend, 



J. S. Henslow. 



The expedition is to sail on 25th September (at earliest), 

 so there is no time to be lost. 



G. Peacock to C. Darwin. 



[1831.] 

 My dear Sir, 



I received Henslow's letter last night too late to forward 

 it to you by the post ; a circumstance which I do not regret, 

 as it has given me an opportunity of seeing Captain Beaufort 

 at the Admiralty (the Hydrographer), and of stating to him 

 the offer which I have to make to you. He entirely approves 

 of it, and you may consider the situation as at your absolute 

 disposal. I trust that you will accept it, as it is an opportu- 

 nity which should not be lost, and I look forward with great 

 interest to the benefit which our collections of Natural His- 

 tory may receive from your labors. 



The circumstances are these ; — 



Captain Fitz-Roy (a nephew of the Duke of Grafton) sails 

 at the end of September, in a ship to survey, in the first in- 

 stance, the South Coast of Tierra del Fuego, afterwards to 

 visit the South Sea Islands, and to return by the Indian 

 Archipelago to England.. The expedition is entirely for sci- 

 entific purposes, and the ship will generally wait your leisure 

 for researches in Natural History, &c. Captain Fitz-Roy is a 

 public-spirited and zealous officer, of delightful manners, and 

 greatly beloved by all his brother officers. He went with 



