I saw a good deal of Robert Brown, "facile Princeps Botanicorum," as he was called by Humboldt.He seemed to me to be chiefly remarkable for the minuteness of his observations, and their perfect accuracy.His knowledge was extraordinarily great, and much died with him, owing to his excessive fear of ever making a mistake.He poured out his knowledge to me in the most unreserved manner, yet was strangely jealous on some points.I called on him two or three times before the voyage of the "Beagle", and on one occasion he asked me to look through a microscope and describe what I saw.This I did, and believe now that it was the marvellous currents of protoplasm in some vegetable cell.I then asked him what I had seen; but he answered me, "That is my little secret."He was capable of the most generous actions.When old, much out of health, and quite unfit for any exertion, he daily visited (as Hooker told me) an old man-servant, who lived at a distance (and whom he supported), andread aloud to him.This is enough to make up for any degree of scientific penuriousness or jealousy.
I may here mention a few other eminent men, whom I have occasionally seen, but I have little to say about them worth saying.I felt a high reverence for Sir J.Herschel, and was delighted to dine with him at his charming house at the Cape of Good Hope, and afterwards at his London house.I saw him, also, on a few other occasions.He never talked much, but every word which he uttered was worth listening to.
I once met at breakfast at Sir R.Murchison's house the illustrious Humboldt, who honoured me by expressing a wish to see me.I was a little disappointed with the great man, but my anticipations probably were too high.I can remember nothing distinctly about our interview, except that Humboldt was very cheerful and talked much.
-- reminds me of Buckle whom I once met at Hensleigh Wedgwood's.I was very glad to learn from him his system of collecting facts.He told me that he bought all the books which he read, and made a full index, to each, of the facts which he thought might prove serviceable to him, and that he could always remember in what book he had read anything, for his memory was wonderful.I asked him how at first he could judge what facts would be serviceable, and he answered that he did not know, but that a sort of instinct guided him.From this habit of making indices, he was enabled to give the astonishing number of references on all sorts of subjects, which may be found in his 'History of Civilisation.' This book I thought most interesting, and read it twice, but I doubt whether his generalisations are worth anything.Buckle was a great talker, and I listened to him saying hardly a word, nor indeed could I have done so for he left no gaps.When Mrs.Farrer began to sing, I jumped up and said that I must listen to her; after I had moved away he turned around to a friend and said (as was overheard by my brother), "Well, Mr.Darwin's books are much better than his conversation."Of other great literary men, I once met Sydney Smith at Dean Milman's house.There was something inexplicably amusing in every word which he uttered.Perhaps this was partly due to the expectation of being amused.He was talking about Lady Cork, who was thenextremely old.This was the lady who, as he said, was once so much affected by one of his charity sermons, that she BORROWED a guinea from a friend to put in the plate.He now said "It is generally believed that my dear old friend Lady Cork has been overlooked," and he said this in such a manner that no one could for a moment doubt that he meant that his dear old friend had been overlooked by the devil.How he managed to express this I know not.