AOA. BIOLOGY AND ITS MAKERS 
about his manner, a constant deference to others, and a 
faculty for seeing the best side of everything and every- 
body.” 
He was most affectionate and considerate at home. The 
picture of Darwin’s life with his children gives a glimpse 
of the tenderness and deep affection of his nature, and the 
reverent regard with which he was held in the family circle 
is very touching. One of his daughters writes: “My first 
remembrances of my father are of the delights of his playing 
with us. He was passionately attached to his own children, 
although he was not an indiscriminate child-lover. To all 
of us he was the most delightful playfellow, and the most 
perfect sympathizer. Indeed, it is impossible adequately to 
describe how delightful a relation his was to his family, 
whether as children or in their later life. 
“Tt is a proof of the terms on which we were, and also of 
how much he was valued as a playfellow, that one of his sons, 
when about four years old, tried to bribe him with a sixpence 
to come and play in working hours. We all knew the sacred- 
ness of working time, but that any one should resist sixpence 
seemed an impossibility.” 
Method of Work.—Darwin’s life, as might be inferred 
from the enduring quality of his researches, shows an 
unswerving purpose. His theory was not the result of a 
sudden flash of insight, nor was it struck out in the heat 
of inspiration, but was the product of almost unexampled 
industry and conscientious endeavor in the face of unfavor- 
able circumstances. Although strikingly original and inde- 
pendent as a thinker, he was slow to arrive at conclusions, 
examining with the most minute and scrupulous care the 
ground for every conclusion. “One quality of mind that 
seemed to be of especial advantage in leading him to make 
discoveries was the habit of never letting exceptions pass 
unnoticed.” He enjoyed experimenting much more than 
