30 CHARLES DARWIN. 



important influence on the development of Darwin's 

 mind. This influence he delighted to acknow- 

 ledge, dedicating to Lyell the second edition of his 

 " Voyage," " as an acknowledgment that the chief 

 part of whatever scientific merit this ' Journal ' 

 and the other works of the author may possess has 

 been derived from studying the well-known and 

 admirable ' Principles of Geology.' " 



At this period he finished his " Journal," which 

 was published in 1839 as Vol. III. of the " Narrative 

 of the Surveying Voyages of Her Majesty's Ships 

 Adventure and Beagle!' A second edition was pub- 

 lished in a separate form in 1845 as the " Journal of 

 Researches into the Natural History and Geology of 

 the Countries visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. 

 Beagle round the World, under the command of 

 Captain Fitz-Roy, R.N." ; and a third edition but 

 very slightly altered in 1860, under the title " A 

 Naturalist's Voyage : Journal' of Researches, etc." 

 This book is generally admitted to deserve above all 

 others the generous description which Darwin gave 

 to Sir Joseph Hooker of Belt's admirable " Naturalist 

 in Nicaragua " as " the best of all Natural History 

 journals which have ever been published." 



A comparison between the first and second 

 editions indicates, but by no means expresses, his 

 growing convictions on evolution and natural selec- 

 tion. Natural selection he had not discovered when 

 the MS. of the first edition was complete ; and if we 

 had no further evidence we could not, from any 



