64 AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 



in phrenology ; for on first seeing me after the voyage, 

 he turned round to my sisters, and exclaimed, " Why, 

 the shape of his head is quite altered." 



To return to the voyage. On September 1 1 th 

 (1831), I paid a flying visit with Fitz-Roy to the 

 Beagle at Plymouth. Thence to Shrewsbury to wish 

 my father and sisters a long farewell. On October 

 24th I took up my residence at Plymouth, and re- 

 mained there until December 27th, when the Beagle 

 finally left the shores of England for her circumnavi- 

 gation of the world. We made two earlier attempts 

 to sail, but were driven back each time by heavy 

 gales. These two months at Plymouth were the 

 most miserable which I ever spent, though I exerted 

 myself in various ways. I was out of spirits at the 

 thought of leaving all my family and friends for so 

 long a time, and the weather seemed to me inexpres- 

 sibly gloomy. I was also troubled with palpitation 

 and pain about the heart, and like many a young 

 ignorant man, especially one with a smattering of 

 medical knowledge, was convinced that I had heart 

 disease. I did not consult any doctor, as I fully ex- 

 pected to hear the verdict that I was not fit for the 

 voyage, and I was resolved to go at all hazards. 



I need not here refer to the events of the voyage- 

 where we went and what we did as I have given a 

 sufficiently full account in my published Journal. The 

 glories of the vegetation of the Tropics rise before my 

 mind at the present time more vividly than anything 

 else ; though the sense of sublimity, which the great 

 deserts of Patagonia and the forest-clad mountains of 



