i.] ANTECEDENTS. 47 



Francis Darwin, originally a physician, but for 

 many years living in a then secluded part of 

 Derbyshire, surrounded by animal oddities ; half- 

 wild pigs ran about the woods, tamed snakes 

 frequented the house, and the like. 



Third generation. 8 males, 14 females, of 

 whom 3 males may be mentioned ; but illustriously 

 among them (l) Charles Darwin, F.K.S., "the 

 Aristotle of our days," whom all scientific men 

 reverence and love ; the simple grandeur of whose 

 conclusions is as remarkable as the magnitude 

 and multifariousness of their foundation. There 

 is much ability in many individuals in this gene- 

 ration who bear the name of Darwin, and it has 

 been strongly directed to natural history in the 

 case of (2) a son of Sir Francis Darwin, a fre- 

 quent writer, under a well-known nom de plume,' 

 on sporting matters. Among those who do not 

 bear that name (being children of the daughters 

 of Dr. Erasmus Darwin), I mention (3) myself, 1 



1 Captain Douglas Galton, F.R.S., distinguished for official 

 activity in many high posts, and now Director of Public 

 Works, is descended maternally, not from the Darwin, 

 but from the Strutt family, which has produced noted 

 mechanicians. 



