4 THE DARWIN FAMILY. 



" It is suspected that the third line may be accounted for by 

 his wife, the mother of Erasmus, having been a very learned 

 lady. The eldest son of Robert, christened Robert Waring, 

 succeeded to the estate of Elston, and died there at the ajre of 



o 



ninety-two, a bachelor. He had a strong taste for poetry, like 

 his youngest brother Erasmus. Robert also cultivated botany, 

 and, when an oldish man, he published his ' Principia Botanica.' 

 This book in MS. was beautifully written, and my father 

 [Dr. R. W. Darwin] declared that he believed it was published 

 because his old uncle could not endure that such fine cali- 

 graphy should be wasted. But this was hardly just, as the 

 work contains many curious notes on biology a subject 

 wholly neglected in England in the last century. The public, 

 moreover, appreciated the book, as the copy in my possession 

 is the third edition." 



The second son, William Alvey, transmitted Elston to 

 his granddaughter, the late Mrs. Danvin, of Elston and 

 Creskeld. A third son, John, became rector of Elston, 

 the living being in the gift of the family. The fourth son, 

 and youngest child, was Erasmus Darwin, the poet and 

 philosopher. 



The table on page 5 shows Charles Darwin's descent from 

 Robert, and his relationship to some other members of the 

 family, whose names occur in his correspondence. Among 

 these are included William Danvin Fox, one of his earliest 

 correspondents, and Francis Galton, with whom he main- 

 tained a warm friendship for many years. Here also occurs 

 the name of Francis Sachevercl Danvin, who inherited a love 

 of natural history from Erasmus, and transmitted it to his son 

 Edward Darwin, author (under the name of " High Elms ") 

 of a 'Gamekeeper's Manual' (4th Edit. 1863), which shows 

 keen observation of the habits of various animals. 



It is always interesting to see how far a man's personal 

 characteristics can be traced in his forefathers. Charles Dar- 

 win inherited the tall stature, but not the bulky figure of 



