24 THE MEANING OF EVOLUTION 



better adapted to the ministry than he was to the 

 practice of medicine, and his university career went 

 on in very desultory fashion. Most of his work was 

 distinctly neglected, but two of the men he met there 

 were to influence largely his future life. Henslow,. 

 the botanist, was unusually fond, for a professor in 

 those days, of work in the field. Charles Darwin's 

 tastes coincided with those of Henslow, with whom 

 he formed an intimate friendship. He was always 

 welcomed as a companion on the field trips. Though 

 he studied little of botany in the classroom or labora- 

 tory, he was constantly with Henslow or with Sedg- 

 wick in the field. Sedgwick was the professor of 

 geology, and of him Darwin was particularly fond, 

 and under him did much the largest amount of his 

 study. When he came up for graduation he ranked 

 tenth of those who "did not go in for honors," a not 

 very remarkable class standing. He was still required 

 to put in two years of residence, and during this inter- 

 val he spent most of his time with Sedgwick in the 

 study of geology in the field. Returning to his home 

 after a geological trip into Wales, Darwin found 

 awaiting him a letter from Henslow, offering him an 

 appointment that opened to his ardent mind the door 

 to a career after his own heart. 



The British nation, being the greatest commercial 

 nation of the globe, has the greatest need for accurate 



