Page:Carroll Lane Fenton - Darwin and the Theory of Evolution.djvu/55

 52 fit. Of late years he gave up the tall hat even in London, and wore a soft black one in winter, and a straw hat in summer. His usual out-of-doors dress was a short cloak in which Elliot and Fry's photograph represents him leaning against the pillar of the verandah. Two peculiarities of his indoor dress were that he almost always wore a shawl over his shoulders, and that he had great loose cloth boots lined with fur which he could slip on over his indoor shoes. Like most delicate people he suffered from heat as well as from chilliness; it was as if he could not hit the balance between too hot and too cold; often a mental cause would make him too hot, so that he would take off his coat if anything went wrong in the course of his work."

Such, then was the appearance of the man who dominated the science of biology for three decades—tall, awkward, eager, and a little eccentric, but without pose or desire to be singled out from a crowd. His mental attitude was in keeping with his physical. Few men could do more, and call less attention to their achievements; few men so consistently belittled their own virtues and enlarged those of others. Darwin was one of those people who go to extremes in modesty; he refused to admit any special excellence in himself or his work, or to consider that he was above the run of scientific workers. Printed or spoken praise of the material set out in his books pleased him, but extravagant commendation of those books, or praise of himself rather than his work often caused him actual pain. Even recognition when in public distressed him; he