登陆注册
15680000000011

第11章

[My father's autobiographical recollections, given in the present chapter, were written for his children,--and written without any thought that they would ever be published. To many this may seem an impossibility; but those who knew my father will understand how it was not only possible, but natural. The autobiography bears the heading, 'Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character,' and end with the following note:--"Aug.3, 1876. This sketch of my life was begun about May 28th at Hopedene (Mr. Hensleigh Wedgwood's house in Surrey.), and since then I have written for nearly an hour on most afternoons." It will easily be understood that, in a narrative of a personal and intimate kind written for his wife and children, passages should occur which must here be omitted; and I have not thought it necessary to indicate where such omissions are made. It has been found necessary to make a few corrections of obvious verbal slips, but the number of such alterations has been kept down to the minimum.--F.D.]

A German Editor having written to me for an account of the development of my mind and character with some sketch of my autobiography, I have thought that the attempt would amuse me, and might possibly interest my children or their children. I know that it would have interested me greatly to have read even so short and dull a sketch of the mind of my grandfather, written by himself, and what he thought and did, and how he worked. I have attempted to write the following account of myself, as if I were a dead man in another world looking back at my own life. Nor have I found this difficult, for life is nearly over with me. I have taken no pains about my style of writing.

I was born at Shrewsbury on February 12th, 1809, and my earliest recollection goes back only to when I was a few months over four years old, when we went to near Abergele for sea-bathing, and I recollect some events and places there with some little distinctness.

My mother died in July 1817, when I was a little over eight years old, and it is odd that I can remember hardly anything about her except her death-bed, her black velvet gown, and her curiously constructed work-table. In the spring of this same year I was sent to a day-school in Shrewsbury, where I stayed a year. I have been told that I was much slower in learning than my younger sister Catherine, and I believe that I was in many ways a naughty boy.

By the time I went to this day-school (Kept by Rev. G. Case, minister of the Unitarian Chapel in the High Street. Mrs. Darwin was a Unitarian and attended Mr. Case's chapel, and my father as a little boy went there with his elder sisters. But both he and his brother were christened and intended to belong to the Church of England; and after his early boyhood he seems usually to have gone to church and not to Mr. Case's. It appears ("St. James' Gazette", Dec. 15, 1883) that a mural tablet has been erected to his memory in the chapel, which is now known as the 'Free Christian Church.') my taste for natural history, and more especially for collecting, was well developed. I tried to make out the names of plants (Rev. W.A.

Leighton, who was a schoolfellow of my father's at Mr. Case's school, remembers his bringing a flower to school and saying that his mother had taught him how by looking at the inside of the blossom the name of the plant could be discovered. Mr. Leighton goes on, "This greatly roused my attention and curiosity, and I enquired of him repeatedly how this could be done?"--but his lesson was naturally enough not transmissible.--F.D.), and collected all sorts of things, shells, seals, franks, coins, and minerals.

The passion for collecting which leads a man to be a systematic naturalist, a virtuoso, or a miser, was very strong in me, and was clearly innate, as none of my sisters or brother ever had this taste.

One little event during this year has fixed itself very firmly in my mind, and I hope that it has done so from my conscience having been afterwards sorely troubled by it; it is curious as showing that apparently I was interested at this early age in the variability of plants! I told another little boy (I believe it was Leighton, who afterwards became a well-known lichenologist and botanist), that I could produce variously coloured polyanthuses and primroses by watering them with certain coloured fluids, which was of course a monstrous fable, and had never been tried by me. Imay here also confess that as a little boy I was much given to inventing deliberate falsehoods, and this was always done for the sake of causing excitement. For instance, I once gathered much valuable fruit from my father's trees and hid it in the shrubbery, and then ran in breathless haste to spread the news that I had discovered a hoard of stolen fruit.

I must have been a very simple little fellow when I first went to the school. A boy of the name of Garnett took me into a cake shop one day, and bought some cakes for which he did not pay, as the shopman trusted him.

When we came out I asked him why he did not pay for them, and he instantly answered, "Why, do you not know that my uncle left a great sum of money to the town on condition that every tradesman should give whatever was wanted without payment to any one who wore his old hat and moved [it] in a particular manner?" and he then showed me how it was moved. He then went into another shop where he was trusted, and asked for some small article, moving his hat in the proper manner, and of course obtained it without payment. When we came out he said, "Now if you like to go by yourself into that cake-shop (how well I remember its exact position) I will lend you my hat, and you can get whatever you like if you move the hat on your head properly." I gladly accepted the generous offer, and went in and asked for some cakes, moved the old hat and was walking out of the shop, when the shopman made a rush at me, so I dropped the cakes and ran for dear life, and was astonished by being greeted with shouts of laughter by my false friend Garnett.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 草鸡穿越变绝代皇妃

    草鸡穿越变绝代皇妃

    白牧用力的捏着安琉夏的下巴警告:“女人,你最好能老老实实的给我装原来的那个宿琉夏!!否则。。哼!你是知道我的手段的。”安琉夏抬起头对上他凶恶的眼光轻笑:“皇上说的话又怎敢违抗呢?贱婢不过是皇上的工具也不必放在心,每天都来贱婢这怕是脏了您的一身龙体的金贵啊!”“哼!最好是让孤放心你。”甩袖离去,他有怎能知道安琉夏是真的动心呢。一切不过是造化弄人罢了。
  • 福妻驾到

    福妻驾到

    现代饭店彪悍老板娘魂穿古代。不分是非的极品婆婆?三年未归生死不明的丈夫?心狠手辣的阴毒亲戚?贪婪而好色的地主老财?吃上顿没下顿的贫困宭境?不怕不怕,神仙相助,一技在手,天下我有!且看现代张悦娘,如何身带福气玩转古代,开面馆、收小弟、左纳财富,右傍美男,共绘幸福生活大好蓝图!!!!快本新书《天媒地聘》已经上架开始销售,只要3.99元即可将整本书抱回家,你还等什么哪,赶紧点击下面的直通车,享受乐乐精心为您准备的美食盛宴吧!)
  • 漫漫仙道路

    漫漫仙道路

    “鸿钧老祖第一仙,弟子盘古初开天。先有鸿钧后有天,陆压道君还在前。”平天大圣牛魔王,覆海大圣蛟魔王,混天大圣鹏魔王,移山大圣狮驼王,通风大圣猕猴王,驱神大圣禺狨王,齐天大圣美猴王。看天庭如何唆使七大圣与东皇太一,看截阐二教再次纷争。本书结合古代神话人物及个人思想,希望多多支持!!!
  • 修仙必须不要脸

    修仙必须不要脸

    脑残写书的人,写给脑残看书的人。适合人群,六岁以上。
  • 永恒桃源

    永恒桃源

    故事不能庸俗到只有坏人与好人,要不就是爱与恨。我给您说一个从没听见过的传奇:长生不老的秘境就在身边,能进去的人千百年如一日活着,但觉生活也枯燥乏味;外面世界的人梦寐以求能长生不老,但以为这只是传说和神话故事,人生一世沉迷于财富、美色的掠夺和占有;鱼良生有幸进入长生秘境,后来又与早先一千多年进去的四个美人一起回到地球世界……找到灵魂、与珍爱携手、看见世界的真实……第一部为红尘寓所前传是再现鱼良生进入永恒秘境的生活,第二部书是真实再现回到地球世界的艰难、博弈,还有雪域高原的秘密,灵魂愿力的分裂与修复。第三部书……。力求文字简练,文学意味浓厚。
  • 永嘉禅宗集注

    永嘉禅宗集注

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 韩娱之亡命之徒

    韩娱之亡命之徒

    2014年1月1日,韩国明星李胜基、林允儿恋情曝光,无数男粉丝心碎......就在这一天,特种兵叶秋被提前一个月释放出狱,前往韩国首尔执行一个特别的任务......一切,就此发生,改变......
  • 鬼王反攻为受之夺命男妃

    鬼王反攻为受之夺命男妃

    苏樊,大龄剩女博士后,貌美如花,无所不能。然而,天妒红颜,苦逼的她在一场颁奖典礼上死去。一觉醒来,自己竟然变成嗜血王爷,突然,一个萌萌哒的声音响起“你好,我叫小哥,你的任务是。。。。。。让他爱上你。”
  • TFBOYS王俊凯之桔梗花之约

    TFBOYS王俊凯之桔梗花之约

    “小凯,你知道我为什么最喜欢桔梗花吗?”“不知道。”“因为桔梗花的花语是永恒的爱,而我对你,也是永恒的爱。”
  • 相公,请休了我吧!

    相公,请休了我吧!

    王妃,我并不稀罕,不当也罢。如果坐上这个位置,要牺牲自我,尊严,个性,对不起,办不到。不就是一个男人嘛!要我低三下四去求他,讨好他,迎合他,抱歉,我也很高傲。一曲艳舞,我只想吸引我的相公而已,却不想惹来后宫砖头无数,下一秒,什么《女德》,〈女诫>,反正是一大堆古代女子丛书都搬到我房里来了。拜托,那个皇帝比我父亲还老,我会和他有什么什么?就算有,我也会和那些即帅气又年轻的皇子来一段好不好。勾引的计划是完成了,可请问相公,你也用不着这么性急嘛!我现在心里想的,嘴里念的,眼睛看的,甚至是手中摸的,只有相公你呢!