I finally gave in to the pressure of hearing so many stories about Darwin that I got up the gumption to wedge my Darwin collection out of its slipcase. It’s four books collected in one volume, very intimidating. I mean, this thing is fatter than a dictionary!
Then I read the first chapter of Voyage of the Beagle. It’s basically journal entries, with detailed descriptions of the islands and the plants and animals (or lack thereof). Sort of the 19th century equivalent of a Discovery channel special. I was most struck by the strange dust that was falling on the ship that turned out to be infusoria from South America. And he refers to a Scoresby.
Wait a second. If I find a Lyra in here, I’m going to be really confused.
Writing Every Day 