CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN. 477 
Darwin had been for twenty years well and widely known for his 
“Naturalist’s Journal,” his works on “ Coral Islands,” on “ Vol- 
canic Islands,” and especially for his researches on the Barnacles, 
it was not till about fifteen years ago that his name became pop- 
ularly famous. Since then no scientific name has been so widely 
spoken. Many others have had hypotheses or systems named after 
them, but no one else that we know of a department of biblio- 
graphy. The nature of his latest researches accounts for most of 
the difference, but not for all. The Origin of Species is a fasci- 
nating topic, having interests and connections with every branch 
of science, natural and moral. The investigation of recondite 
affinities is very dry and special ; its questions, processes, and re- 
sults alike— although in part generally presentable in the shape of 
morphology — are mainly, like the higher mathematics, unintel- 
ligible except to those who make them a subject of serious study. 
They are especially so when presented in Mr. Brown’s manner. 
Perhaps no naturalist ever recorded the results of his investigations 
in fewer words and with greater precision than Robert Brown : cer- 
tainly no one ever took more pains to state nothing beyond the 
precise point in question. Indeed we have sometimes fancied that 
he preferred to enwrap rather than to explain his meaning ; to put 
it into such a form that, unless you follow Solomon’s injunction 
and dig for the wisdom as for hid treasure, you may hardly appre- 
hend it until you have found it all out for yourself, when you will 
have the satisfaction of perceiving that Mr. Brown not only knew 
all about it, but had put it upon record long before. Very different 
from this is the way in which Mr. Darwin takes his readers into his 
confidence, freely displays to them the sources of his information, 
and the working of his mind, and even shares with them all his 
doubts and misgivings, while in a clear and full exposition he sets 
forth the reasons which have guided him to his conclusions. These 
you may hesitate or decline to adopt, but you feel sure that they 
have been presented with perfect fairness ; and if you think of ar- 
guments against them you may be confident that they have all 
een duly considered before. 
: The Sagacity which characterizes these two naturalists is seen 
‘n their success in finding decisive instances, and their sure insight 
into the meaning of things. As an instance of the latter on Mr. 
arwin’s part, and a justification of our venture to compare him 
with the facile princeps botanicorum, we will, in conclusion, allude 
