43. Great Marlborough St
Sunday.
My dear Henslow
I have delayed writing, as I daily expected the Beagle would arrive, and I should be
better able to tell you how my prospects go on.— I spent yesterday on board at
Greenwich, & brought back with me the Galapagos plants; they do not appear
numerous, but are I hope in tolerable preservation.— Tomorrow I will procure a
box & will send them to Cambridge.— I will keep this letter till I do
so.— I called on your brother, but he was not at home, I left a card asking
him to send anything he might happen to have, to my brothers, where I am now
staying.— I have not made much progress with the great men, I find, as you
told me, that they are all overwhelmed, with their own business. Mr
Lyell, has entered in the most goodnatured manner, & almost without
being asked, into all my plans. He tells me, however, the same story, namely that I must
do all myself.— Mr Owen seems anxious to dissect some of the
animals in spirits; & besides these two I have scarcely
met anyone who seems to wish to possess any of my specimens.— I must except
Dr Grant, who is willing to examine some of the corallines.—
I see it is quite unreasonable to hope for a minute, that any man will undertake the
examination of an whole order.— It is clear the collectors so much outnumber
the real naturalists, that the latter have no time to spare.— I do not even
find that the collections care for receiving the unnamed specimens.— The
Zoological Museum is nearly full & upward of a thousand
specimens remain unmounted. I daresay the British Museum, would receive them, but I
cannot feel, from all I hear, any great respect even for the present state of that
establishment. Your plan will be not only the best, but the only one, namely to come
down to Cambridge, arrange & group together the different families &
then wait till people, who are already working in different branches may want
specimens.— But it appears to me, to do this, it will be almost necessary to
reside in London.— As far as I can yet see, my best plan will be to spend
several months in Cambridge, & then, when by your assistance, I know on what
grounds I stand, to emigrate to London, where I can complete my geology, & try
to push on the Zoology.— I assure you I grieve to find how many
things make me see the necessity of living for some time in this dirty odious
London.— For even in Geology, I suspect, much assistance &
communication will be necessary in this quarter: for instance in fossil bones of which
none, excepting the fragments of Megatherium, have been looked at. And I clearly see
without my presence never would be.— Fossil shells.—charts, maps,
communication with FitzRoy. Mr Lyell says also, that the power of taking
any odd specimen, to the different societies, where many Naturalists are met together is
a very essential point.— However true this may be, I am very sure the
assistance I shall get in Cambridge will be infinitely more, than I ever should receive
in London.— Prof. Sedgwick very kindly hunted out my quarters, & I
breakfasted with him.— I am sorry to find he will leave Cambridge so
soon.— From the delay in the Beagle's arrival, I do
not know whether I shall be able to come down before the end of the month, for I have
yet to visit Shrewsbury.— If you have opportunities, talk a little with him,
on those points you said his advice would be most valuable; namely the form of
publication. I think from what I hear, that a volume, would be less troublesome
& pleasanter, than detached papers.— Also about fossil shells. Is
Sowerby a good man? I understand his assistance can be
purchased.—
Mr Clift says he will ask Prof. Buckland to look at the bones; I should think he would rather like it, as Mr Clift
says some belong to forms which he himself does not at all know.— I am anxious
to know, whether Prof. Sedgwick recommends any particular nomenclature for the
rocks.— I have often thought of your really most kind offer of talking with
Mrs. Henslow about my taking up my quarters with you. Few things could
give me more happiness, and at the same time do me more real good. But I fear I should
me much in the way, & I have been thinking of another plan which would be better
for the work; that is to take lodgings with two sitting rooms & a bedroom,
(which I daresay could be procured), in one of which my servant could work & it
would at the same time serve for a warehouse for the skins &c &c
&c.— Perhaps my servant might live in the house.— In College
I should only have one room, which, although a large one, would be inconvenient; and as
it may turn out more advisable not to remain a whole year, it is a great expence to buy
furniture crockery &c &c &c for any shorter period. If I
subsequently live in London, I shall follow my brothers plan take the whole of an
unfurnished house, excepting the shop or office, then furnish two rooms, & keep
the others for lumber.— Such a house can be got for less than 100£
per annum. I believe Mr. Ash clearly understood it was quite a chance,
whether I intended coming to reside the whole yea<r.> If you should happen
to meet him (but otherwise not) just mention that I shall probably not reside for such a
time, & he will then understand, that I should not trouble him about
rooms.—
I find this letter, which is a most unmerciful long one all about myself, extending
over so much paper, that I will send it with the plants, & write another just to
forewarn you of the Box. Perhaps also I shall be able by that time to announce the heavy
cases with geolog. & other specimen<s.> Would it not be the best
plan, if it can be so managed, to leave the heavy geolog: boxes at the
warehouse, so that when I come down & the room is ready to take them direct
there? I have forgotten to mention one bad bit of news, namely that Cuming was at the
Galapagos.— Did he collect plants, I doubt it,
because the far greater part of the plants only live near the summit of the mountains,
some miles from the coast? I shall grieve, if you lose your tiny botanical
feast,— I only wish I had known the Botanists cared so much for specimens
& the Zoologists so little; the proportional number of specimens in the two
branches should have had a very different appearance. I am out of patience with the
Zoologists, not because they are overworked, but for their mean quarrelsome spirit. I
went the other evening to the Zoological Soc. where the speakers were snarling
at each other, in a manner anything but like that of gentlemen.
Thank Heavens, as long as I remain in Cambridge there will not be any danger of falling
into any such contemptible quarrels, whilst in London I do not see how it is to be
avoided. Of the Naturalists; F. Hope is out of London, Westwood, I have not seen; so about my insects I know nothing.— I
have seen Mr Yarrel, twice, but he is so evidently so oppressed with
business, that it is too selfish to plague him with my concerns.— He has asked
me to dine with the Linnæan on Tuesday; and on Wednesday I dine with Geolog: so
that I shall < > all the great men.— Mr. Bell I
< > is so much occupied that there is no chance of his wishing for
specimens of reptiles.— I have forgotten to mention
Mr Lonsdale, who gave me a most cordial
reception, & with whom I had much most interesting conversation.— If I
was not much more inclined for geology, than the other branches of Natural History, I am
sure Mr Lyell's & Lonsdale kindness ought to fix me.—
You cannot conceive anything more thoroughily goodnatured, than the heart & soul
manner, in which he put himself in my place & thought what would be best to
do.— At first he was all for London versus Cambridge, but at last I made him
confess that for some time at least the latter would be for me much the best. There is
not another soul, whom I could ask, excepting yourself, to wade through &
criticize some of those papers which I have left with you.— Mr
Lyell owned that second to London, there was no place in <Engl>and, so
good for a naturalist as Cambridge. <U>pon my word I am ashamed of writing
so many foolish details; no young lady ever described her first ball with more,
particularity.— With respect to the Mathematical instruments, I told the
Captain, that I was sure you would allow him to leave the boxes for a week or two longer
till he was established & knew where to have them directed to.
Monday evening I have determined to send the plants by wagon with the bird
skins, for reason which you will know by the letter which announces the boxes.
Yours ever most sincerely | Chas Darwin—
Again I have been compelled to change my plans.— I send the plants, per
coach, & this letter with them.— I will also write one line by the
post in case of any accident. On Thursday the four boxes will arrive at
Camb<rid>ge by Marsh's Wagon.—
