230 THE LIFE OF PHILIP HENRY GOSSE. 



best notices was written, as the author had reason to 

 believe, by the distinguished ornithologist, Dr. Stanley, 

 Bishop of Norwich, who sang the praises of the book 

 wherever he went. 



In all quarters the freshness of the new mode of obser- 

 vation met with instant appreciation, nor were zoologists 

 less forward than the general reader in commending the 

 novelty of attitude. Charles Darwin and Richard Owen 

 were among those who expressed their approval of this 

 bright, fresh, and electrical mode of throwing the window 

 of the dissecting-closet wide open to the light and air of 

 heaven. The latter wrote (November 29, 185 1) : "Mr. 

 Gosse is a very true observer and a very beautiful de- 

 scriber of what he sees. His book, all about things I am 

 so very fond of — birds and fishes, crocodiles and lizards, 

 butterflies and crabs, both in and out of shells, to say 

 nothing of sea and sunshine — has made me quite long for 

 a holiday in Jamaica." About the same time Philip Gosse 

 formed the acquaintance of the amiable and charming 

 James Scott Bowerbank, who was then already at work 

 upon his great monograph on the sponges. He occasion- 

 ally attended those delightful gatherings which the hos- 

 pitality of Bowerbank collected around him, and the two 

 naturalists corresponded closely for several years. Philip 

 Gosse was not perturbed by the fame thus suddenly thrust 

 upon him, and he resisted the kind attempts which were 

 made to " lionize " him. He was pleased at his success, 

 and grateful to those who assured it to him ; but he re- 

 mained at home. Save that he was elected to the council 

 of the Microscopical Society, and served in this capacity, 

 he scarcely made the smallest change in the even tenor 

 of his existence. 



In the summer his views regarding the Rotifera received 

 momentary modification, and his interest in these animal- 



