344 Darwin and Geology 



during the geological tour 1 . We find Darwin looking forward to this 

 privilege with the keenest interest 2 . 



When at the beginning of August (1831), Sedgwick arrived at his 

 father's house in Shrewsbury, where he spent a night, Darwin began 

 to receive his first and only instruction as a field-geologist. The 

 journey they took together led them through Llangollen, Conway, 

 Bangor, and Capel Curig, at which latter place they parted after 

 spending many hours in examining the rocks at Cwm Idwal with 

 extreme care, seeking for fossils but without success. Sedgwick's 

 mode of instruction was admirable — he from time to time sent the 

 pupil off on a line parallel to his own, "telling me to bring back 

 specimens of the rocks and to mark the stratification on a map 3 ." 

 On his return to Shrewsbury, Darwin wrote to Henslow, " My trip 

 with Sedgwick answered most perfectly 4 ," and in the following 

 year he wrote again from South America to the same friend, "Tell 

 Professor Sedgwick he does not know how much I am indebted to 

 him for the Welsh expedition ; it has given me an interest in Geology 

 which I would not give up for any consideration. I do not think I 

 ever spent a more delightful three weeks than pounding the north- 

 west mountains 5 ." 



It would be a mistake, however, to suppose that at this time 

 Darwin had acquired anything like the affection for geological study, 

 which he afterwards developed. After parting with Sedgwick, he 

 walked in a straight line by compass and map across the mountains 

 to Barmouth to visit a reading party there, but taking care to return 

 to Shropshire before September 1st, in order to be ready for the 

 shooting. For as he candidly tells us, " I should have thought myself 

 mad to give up the first days of partridge-shooting for geology or any 

 other science 6 ! " 



Any regret we may be disposed to feel that Darwin did not use 

 his opportunities at Edinburgh and Cambridge to obtain systematic 

 and practical instruction in mineralogy and geology, will be mitigated, 

 however, when we reflect on the danger which he would run of 

 being indoctrinated with the crude "catastrophic" views of geology, 

 which were at that time prevalent in all the centres of learning. 



Writing to Henslow in the summer of 1831, Darwin says "As yet 

 I have only indulged in hypotheses, but they are such powerful ones 

 that I suppose, if they were put into action but for one day, the world 

 would come to an end 7 ." 



May we not read in this passage an indication that the self-taught 

 geologist had, even at this early stage, begun to feel a distrust for the 



1 L. L. i. p. 56. 2 L. L. i. p. 189. s L. L. i. p. 57. 



4 L. L. i. p. 195. 5 L. L. i. pp. 237—8. fl L. L. i. p. 58. 



7 L. L. i. p. 189. 



