DARWIN'S BIOGRAPHY. 439 



we may still hear the old problem even after 

 the Cambridge examination: What is to be 

 done with this wayward young man who evi- 

 dently has little taste for the clerical profes- 

 sion! Meanwhile Professor Henslow, though 

 a cleric himself, has fathomed the bent of his 

 botanical friend, and has quickly gone to work 

 to get him appointed as naturalist to the 

 Beagle, which was going to make a long scien- 

 tific voyage, in fact round the world. Papa 

 Darwin put his foot down against such a wild, 

 career-upsetting scheme; but Uncle Josiah 

 Wedgwood intercedes, and the paternal con- 

 sent is granted. Speaking briefly of this piv- 

 otal act, Charles Darwin says: "My uncle 

 sent for me and offered to drive me over to 

 Shrewsbury (the father's residence) and talk 

 with my father, as my uncle thought it would 

 be wise in me to accept the offer. " So the 

 mediator appears at the right moment for de- 

 termining the career of the great scientist. 

 Old Homer would picture it a divine interfer- 

 ence, perchance of Pallas Athena, at a nodal 

 turn of destiny, appearing to young Tele- 

 machus. This mediatorial uncle is already fa- 

 mous in the family for his mind and word. 1 

 Darwin goes on in his account: "My father 

 always maintained that he (the uncle) was one 

 of the most sensible men in the world, and he 

 (the father) at once consented in the kindest 



