EARLY YOUTH 39 



arranged on official lines, offered to the sympatlietic 

 observer all the species, in ' typical ' specimens, 

 as radically distinct forms, each decked with its 

 pretty label ; the other was a private collection, 

 only shown to one trusted friend, and contained 

 only the rejected kinds that Goethe so happily 

 called ^ the characterless or disorderly races, which 

 we hardly dare ascribe to a species, as they lose 

 themselves in infinite varieties,' such as rubus, 

 salix, verbascum, hieracium, rosa, cirsium, &c. In 

 this a large number of specimens, arranged in a 

 long series, illustrated the direct transition from 

 one good species to another. They were the 

 officially forbidden fruit of knowledge in which I 

 took a secret boyish delight in my leisure hours." 



These little scruples, however, did not interfere 

 with what he felt to be the chief interest of botany. 

 The collecting of plants harmonises well with a 

 general love of nature and a passion for wandering 

 over hill and valley. Long walks had already 

 become a feature of his life. The scientific interest 

 made it superfluous to have a companion. Botany 

 went with him everywhere as his lady-love, and 

 remained ever faithful to him. *^I have preferred 

 to travel alone most of my life," he used to say to 

 me; ''I never feel ennui when I am alone. My 

 love of and interest in nature are much better enter- 

 tainment than conversation." One of the features 

 in this interest at all times, even in later years, 

 was botanical research. The material for it is 

 found everywhere. Darwin, a great traveller with 

 an unusually strong appreciation of good scenery, 



