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f lasting friction between them。
darwin鈥檚 time aboard hms beagle； from 1831 to 1836； was obviously the formativeexperience of his life； but also one of the most trying。 he and his captain shared a small cabin；which can鈥檛 have been easy as fitzroy was subject to fits of fury followed by spells ofsimmering resentment。 he and darwin constantly engaged in quarrels； some 鈥渂ordering oninsanity；鈥潯s darwin later recalled。 ocean voyages tended to bee melancholyundertakings at the best of times鈥攖he previous captain of the beagle had put a bullet throughhis brain during a moment of lonely gloom鈥攁nd fitzroy came from a family well known fora depressive instinct。 his uncle； viscount castlereagh； had slit his throat the previous decadewhile serving as chancellor of the exchequer。 （fitzroy would himself mit suicide by thesame method in 1865。） even in his calmer moods； fitzroy proved strangely unknowable。
darwin was astounded to learn upon the conclusion of their voyage that almost at oncefitzroy married a young woman to whom he had long been betrothed。 in five years indarwin鈥檚 pany； he had not once hinted at an attachment or even mentioned her name。
in every other respect； however； the beagle voyage was a triumph。 darwin experiencedadventure enough to last a lifetime and accumulated a hoard of specimens sufficient to makehis reputation and keep him occupied for years。 he found a magnificent trove of giant ancientfossils； including the finest megatherium known to date； survived a lethal earthquake inchile； discovered a new species of dolphin （which he dutifully named delphinus fitzroyi）；conducted diligent and useful geological investigations throughout the andes； and developeda new and much…admired theory for the formation of coral atolls； which suggested； notcoincidentally； that atolls could not form in less than a million years鈥攖he first hint of hislong…standing attachment to the extreme antiquity of earthly processes。 in 1836； aged twenty…seven； he returned home after being away for five years and two days。 he never left englandagain。
one thing darwin didn鈥檛 do on the voyage was propound the theory （or even a theory） ofevolution。 for a start； evolution as a concept was already decades old by the 1830s。 darwin鈥檚own grandfather； erasmus； had paid tribute to evolutionary principles in a poem of inspiredmediocrity called 鈥渢he temple of nature鈥潯ears before charles was even born。 it wasn鈥檛 untilthe younger darwin was back in england and read thomas malthus鈥檚 essay on the principleof population （which proposed that increases in food supply could never keep up withpopulation growth for mathematical reasons） that the idea began to percolate through his mindthat life is a perpetual struggle and that natural selection was the means by which somespecies prospered while others failed。 specifically what darwin saw was that all organismspeted for resources； and those that had some innate advantage would prosper and pass onthat advantage to their offspring。 by such means would species continuously improve。
it seems an awfully simple idea鈥攊t is an awfully simple idea鈥攂ut it explained a great deal；and darwin was prepared to devote his life to it。 鈥渉ow stupid of me not to have thought ofit！鈥潯。 h。 huxley cried upon reading on the origin of species。 it is a view that has beenechoed ever since。
interestingly； darwin didn鈥檛 use the phrase 鈥渟urvival of the fittest鈥潯n any of his work（though he did express his admiration for it）。 the expression was coined five years after thepublication of on the origin of species by herbert spencer in principles of biology in 1864。
nor did he employ the word evolution in print until the sixth edition of origin （by which timeits use had bee too widespread to resist）； preferring instead 鈥渄escent with modification。鈥�
nor； above all； were his conclusions in any way inspired by his noticing； during his time inthe gal谩pagos islands； an interesting diversity in the beaks of finches。 the story asconventionally told （or at least as frequently remembered by many of us） is that darwin；while traveling from island to island； noticed that the finches鈥櫋eaks on each island weremarvelously adapted for exploiting local resources鈥攖hat on one island beaks were sturdy andshort and good for cracking nuts； while on the next island beaks were perhaps long and thinand well suited for winkling food out of crevices鈥攁nd it was this that set him to thinking thatperhaps the birds had not been created this way； but had in a sense created themselves。
in fact； the birds had created themselves； but it wasn鈥檛 darwin who noticed it。 at the timeof the beagle voyage； darwin was fresh out of college and not yet an acplished naturalistand so failed to see that the gal谩pagos birds were all of a type。 it was his friend theornithologist john gould who realized that what darwin had found was lots of finches withdifferent talents。 unfortunately； in his inexperience darwin had not noted which birds camefrom which islands。 （he had made a similar error with tortoises。） it took years to sort themuddles out。
because of these oversights； and the need to sort through crates and crates of other beaglespecimens； it wasn鈥檛 until 1842； six years after his return to england； that darwin finallybegan to sketch out the rudiments of his new theory。 these he expanded into a 230…page鈥渟ketch鈥潯wo years later。 and then he did an extraordinary thing： he put his notes away andfor the next decade and a half busied himself with other matters。 he fathered ten children；devoted nearly eight years to writing an exhaustive opus on barnacles （鈥渋 hate a barnacle as noman ever did before；鈥潯e sighed； understandably； upon the work鈥檚 conclusion）； and fell preyto strange disorders that left him chronically listless； faint； and 鈥渇lurried；鈥潯s he put it。 thesymptoms nearly always included a terrible nausea and generally also incorporatedpalpitations； migraines； exhaustion； trembling； spots before the eyes； shortness of breath；鈥渟wimming of the head；鈥潯nd； not surprisingly； depression。
the cause of the illness has never been established； but the most romantic and perhapslikely of the many suggested possibilities is that he suffered from chagas鈥檚 disease； alingering tropical malady that he could have acquired from the bite of a benchuga bug insouth america。 a more prosaic explanation is that his condition was psychosomatic。 in eithercase； the misery was not。 often he could work for no more than twenty minutes at a stretch；sometimes not that。
much of the rest of his time was devoted to a series of increasingly desperate treatments鈥攊cy plunge baths； dousings in vinegar； draping himself with 鈥渆lectric chains鈥潯hat subjectedhim to small jolts of current。 he became something of a hermit； seldom leaving his home inkent； down house。 one of his first acts upon moving to the house was to erect a mirroroutside his study window so that he could identify； and if necessary avoid； callers。
darwin kept his theory to himself because he well knew the storm it would cause。 in 1844；the year he locked his notes away； a book called vestiges of the natural history of creationroused much of the thinking world to fury by suggesting that humans might have evolvedfrom lesser primates without the assistance of a divine creator。 anticipating the outcry； the author had taken careful steps to conceal his identity； which he kept a secret from even hisclosest friends for the next forty years。 some wondered if darwin himself might be the author。
others suspected prince albert。 in fact； the author was a successful and generally unassumingscottish publisher named robert chambers whose reluctance to reveal himself had a practicaldimension as well as a personal one： his firm was a leading publisher of bibles。 vestiges waswarmly blasted from pulpits throughout britain and far beyond； but also attracted a good dealof more scholarly ire。 the edinburgh review devoted nearly an entire issue鈥攅ighty…fivepages鈥攖o pulling it to pieces。 even t。 h。 huxley； a believer in evolution； attacked the bookwith some venom； unaware that the author was a friend。
2darwin鈥檚 manuscript might have remained locked away till his death but for an alarmingblow that arrived from the far east in the early summer of 1858 in the form of a packetcontaining a friendly letter from a young naturalist named alfred russel wallace and the draftof a paper； on the tendency of varieties to depart indefinitely from the original type；outlining a theory of natural selection that was uncannily similar to darwin鈥檚 secret jottings。
even some of the phrasing echoed darwin鈥檚 own。 鈥渋 never saw a more striking coincidence；鈥�
darwin reflected in dismay。 鈥渋f wallace had my manuscript sketch written out in 1842； hecould not have made a better short abstract。鈥�
wallace didn鈥檛 drop into darwin鈥檚 life quite as unexpectedly as is sometimes suggested。
the two were already corresponding； and wallace had more than once generously sentdarwin specimens that he thought might be of interest。 in the process of these exchangesdarwin had discreetly warned wallace that he regarded the subject of species creation as hisown territory。 鈥渢his summer will make the 20th yea