18 



OUTFIT MR. DARWIN. 



raised considerably,* which afterwards proved to be of the 

 greatest advantage to her as a sea boat, besides adding so ma- 

 terially to the comfort of all on board. While in dock, a sheath- 

 ing of two-inch fir plank was nailed on the vessel's bottom, over 

 which was a coating of felt, and then new copper. This sheath- 

 ing added about fifteen tons to her displacement, and nearly 

 seven to her actual measurement. Therefore,*instead of 235 

 tons, she might be considered about 242 tons burthen. The rud- 

 der was fitted according to the plan of Captain Lihou : a patent 

 windlass supplied the place of a capstan : one of Frazer''s 

 stoves, with an oven attached, was taken instead of a common 

 ' galley' fire-place ; and the lightning-conductors, invented by 

 Mr. Harris, were fixed in all the masts, the bowsprit, and even 

 in the flying jib-boom. The arrangements made in the fittings, 

 both inside and outside, by the officers of the Dock-yard, left 

 nothing to be desired. Our ropes, sails, and spars, were the 

 best that could be procured ; and to complete our excellent 

 outfit, six superior boats-f* (two of them private property) 

 were built expressly for us, and so contrived and stowed that 

 they could all be carried in any weather. 



Considering the limited disposable space in so very small a 

 ship, we contrived to carry more instruments and booke than 

 one would readily suppose could be stowed away in dry and 

 secure places; and in a part of my own cabin twenty-two 

 chronometers were carefully placed. 



Anxious that no opportunity of collecting useful informa- 

 tion, during the voyage, should be lost ; I proposed to the 

 Hydrographer that some well-educated and scientific person 

 should be sought for who would willingly share such accom- 

 modations as I had to offer, in order to profit by the oppor- 

 tunity of visiting distant countries yet little known. Captain 

 Beaufort approved of the suggestion, and wrote to Professor 

 Peacock, of Cambridge, who consulted with a friend, Pro- 

 fessor Henslow, and he named Mr. Charles Darwin, grandson 

 of Dr. Darwin the poet, as a young man of promising ability, 



* Eig-ht inches abaft and twelve forward, 

 t Besides a dinghy carried astern. 



