CHAPTER XXIII. 



DARWINISM AND ITS RELATION TO OTHER BRANCHES OF 

 SCIENCE. 



IN the year 1831 a naval expedition sailed from Devon- 

 port. That expedition consisted of a single vessel, Hia 

 Majesty's ship Beagle, a ten-gun brig under the command 

 of Captain Fitzroy, R.N. The Beagle was a stout old 

 wooden ship, destined on this occasion for a most pacific 

 enterprise. Her duty was to survey parts of the coast 

 of South America and some islands in the Pacific, and 

 to carry a chain of chronometrical measurements round 

 the world. Five years later the Beagle returned from 

 this cruise, and thus brought to a close one of the most 

 remarkable voyages that can be found in the annals 

 of the British navy. Now, why was the cruise of the 

 Beagle of such unparalleled importance ? There have 

 been many other surveying expeditions quite as success- 

 ful. No doubt the memorable voyage of the Challenger 

 accomplished much more surveying than the voyage of 

 the Beagle. But we are gradually learning that even 

 such achievements as those of the Challenger must sink 

 into insignificance when compared with the voyage of the 

 Beagle. I would rather liken the voyage of the Beagle to 



