154                                                                                     [CKAP. XII
 

CHAPTER XII

1853—1859

Eastbourne and Ghobham Camp—Miss Langdon at Hartfield—Syd¬
ney Smith's Life—^A month in London—Florence Nightingale—
A High-church wedding^—Sarah Wedgwood's death—rOur early
life at Down—Letters to William Darwin—His speech at
Cambridge—^Moor Park—The Origin of Species—Two letters
from my mother to my father on religion.

This year we had an unusuaUy dissipated summer, going
first for three weeks to Eastbourne and thence to the Harry
Wedgwoods. Their house. The Hermitage, was not far
from Chobham Camp. At that time summer manoeuvres
on any large scale were almost unknown, and our visit was
planned in order to see what we could of the camp with its
mimic warfare. I well remember my father's intense enjoy¬
ment of the whole experience. Admiral Suhvan, his old
shipmate on board the Beagle, showed us about and
greatly added to our pleasure. I remember sharing in the
glow of my father's happy excitement, and can almost
hear the jingle of the gaUoping horses. We nearly had
the same experience as that of ]Mr Pickwick at Chatham,
and had to run for our lives between two advancing
armies.

We were now six chfldren at home. I have no clear recol¬
lection of my mother's often playing with us, although the
picture comes back to me of the furniture pushed on one
side, and a troop of httle children galloping round the room,
whilst she played what was caUed the " gaUoping tune,"
composed by herself, and very well suited for its purpose.
Another memory is of several nursery songs she used to sing
to us—" When good King Arthur ruled this land," and
" There was an old woman as I've heard teU," and a par¬
ticular lUt for the babies when they were being joggled on
her knee. She was courageous, even rash, in what she let
her children do.    My brother WiUiam was taught to ride