Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, vol 1 | Page 4

give, in
Chapter III.
, some account of his manner of working. During the last eight years of his life I acted as his assistant, and thus had an opportunity of knowing something of his habits and methods.
I have received much help from my friends in the course of my work. To some I am indebted for reminiscences of my father, to others for information, criticisms, and advice. To all these kind coadjutors I gladly acknowledge my indebtedness. The names of some occur in connection with their contributions, but I do not name those to whom I am indebted for criticisms or corrections, because I should wish to bear alone the load of my short-comings, rather than to let any of it fall on those who have done their best to lighten it.
It will be seen how largely I am indebted to Sir Joseph Hooker for the means of illustrating my father's life. The readers of these pages will, I think, be grateful to Sir Joseph for the care with which he has preserved his valuable collection of letters, and I should wish to add my acknowledgment of the generosity with which he has placed it at my disposal, and for the kindly encouragement given throughout my work.
To Mr. Huxley I owe a debt of thanks, not only for much kind help, but for his willing compliance with my request that he should contribute a chapter on the reception of the 'Origin of Species.'
Finally, it is a pleasure to acknowledge the courtesy of the publishers of the 'Century Magazine' who have freely given me the use of their illustrations. To Messrs. Maull and Fox and Messrs. Elliott and Fry I am also indebted for their kindness in allowing me the use of reproductions of their photographs.
FRANCIS DARWIN.
Cambridge, October, 1887.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
VOLUME I.

CHAPTER 1.
I.--The Darwin Family.

CHAPTER 1.
II.--Autobiography.

CHAPTER 1.
III.--Reminiscences.
LETTERS.

CHAPTER 1.
IV.--Cambridge Life--1828-1831.

CHAPTER 1.
V.--The Appointment to the 'Beagle'--1831.

CHAPTER 1.
VI.--The Voyage--1831-1836.

CHAPTER 1.
VII.--London and Cambridge--1836-1842.

CHAPTER 1.
VIII.--Religion.

CHAPTER 1.
IX.--Life at Down--1842-1854.

CHAPTER 1.
X.--The Growth of the 'Origin of Species.'

CHAPTER 1.
XI.--The Growth of the 'Origin of Species'--Letters--1843-1856.

CHAPTER 1.
XII.--The Unfinished Book--May 1856-June 1858.

CHAPTER 1.
XIII.--The Writing of the 'Origin of Species'--June 18, 1858- November 1859.

CHAPTER 1.
XIV.--Professor Huxley on the Reception of the 'Origin of Species.'

LIFE AND LETTERS OF CHARLES DARWIN.

VOLUME I.

CHAPTER 1.
I.
THE DARWIN FAMILY.
The earliest records of the family show the Darwins to have been substantial yeomen residing on the northern borders of Lincolnshire, close to Yorkshire. The name is now very unusual in England, but I believe that it is not unknown in the neighbourhood of Sheffield and in Lancashire. Down to the year 1600 we find the name spelt in a variety of ways--Derwent, Darwen, Darwynne, etc. It is possible, therefore, that the family migrated at some unknown date from Yorkshire, Cumberland, or Derbyshire, where Derwent occurs as the name of a river.
The first ancestor of whom we know was one William Darwin, who lived, about the year 1500, at Marton, near Gainsborough. His great grandson, Richard Darwyn, inherited land at Marton and elsewhere, and in his will, dated 1584, "bequeathed the sum of 3s. 4d. towards the settynge up of the Queene's Majestie's armes over the quearie (choir) doore in the parishe churche of Marton." (We owe a knowledge of these earlier members of the family to researches amongst the wills at Lincoln, made by the well-known genealogist, Colonel Chester.)
The son of this Richard, named William Darwin, and described as "gentleman," appears to have been a successful man. Whilst retaining his ancestral land at Marton, he acquired through his wife and by purchase an estate at Cleatham, in the parish of Manton, near Kirton Lindsey, and fixed his residence there. This estate remained in the family down to the year 1760. A cottage with thick walls, some fish-ponds and old trees, now alone show where the "Old Hall" once stood, and a field is still locally known as the "Darwin Charity," from being subject to a charge in favour of the poor of Marton. William Darwin must, at least in part, have owed his rise in station to his appointment in 1613 by James I. to the post of Yeoman of the Royal Armoury of Greenwich. The office appears to have been worth only 33 pounds a year, and the duties were probably almost nominal; he held the post down to his death during the Civil Wars.
The fact that this William was a royal servant may explain why his son, also named William, served when almost a boy for the King, as "Captain- Lieutenant" in Sir William Pelham's troop of horse. On the partial dispersion of the royal armies, and the retreat of the remainder to Scotland, the boy's estates were sequestrated by the Parliament, but they were redeemed on his signing the Solemn League and Covenant, and on his paying a fine which must have struck his finances severely; for