DARWIN'S BIOGRAPHY. 435 



to study Mathematics which he abominated; 

 still by dint of a good memory he succeeded 

 in passing the examination. Listen again to, 

 his damnatory judgment : ' ' During the three 

 years which I spent at Cambridge my time was 

 wasted, as far as the academical studies were 

 concerned, as completely as at Edinburgh and 

 as at school.' 1 But there was the same strong 

 undercurrent of his true bent which he suc- 

 ceeded in gratifying. He heard the lectures 

 on botany from the professor (Henslow), 

 kk though I did not study it," and he went with 

 the class on botanical excursions, "which were 

 delightful. ' : Moreover he gave rein to his 

 passion for collecting beetles. Says Darwin 

 of himself: "I am surprised what an indeli- 

 ble impression many of the beetles which I 

 caught at Cambridge have left on my mind. 

 I can remember the exact appearance of cer- 

 tain posts, old trees and banks where I made 

 a good capture.' 1 But while he remembered 

 beetles, he totally forgot Homer and Virgil. 

 What was the whole beautiful classic world 

 compared with an insect! Here is a sample 

 of the love of Nature which is hard to parallel : 

 "One day, on tearing off some old bark, I saw 

 two rare beetles and seized one in each hand; 

 then T saw a third and new kind which I could 

 not bear to lose, so that I popped the one which 

 I held in my right hand into my mouth." An 



