6 



INTRODUCTION 



place among scientific men— whether more ambitious or less so 

 than most of my fellow-workers, I can form no opinion." — (Life 

 and Letters, I. pp. 61-65.) 



Even if the Journal of the voyage were not one of the most 

 interesting and informing of books, this statement by its author 

 of the importance of the expedition in making possible his later 

 epoch-making generalizations would give it a distinctive place in 

 the literature of science. But its amazing wealth of informa- 

 tion and its unconsciously painted picture of disinterested zeal 

 in the search for scientific truth have made it for intrinsic rea- 

 sons a classic in its kind. 



