oilan:

(Daguerrotype sources here and here.)

I need to find James Fitzjames’ letter cited in this edition of All the Year Round by Charles Dickens (article starting on page 318) because the snippets of him describing his fellow crew mates are so endearing. Naturally, here is his bit about Harry Goodsir:

“6th, towards midnight.–I can’t make out why Scotchmen just caught always speak in a low, hesitating, monotonous tone of voice, which is not at all times to be understood; this is, I believe, called ‘cannyness.’ Mr. Goodsir is ‘canny.’ He is long and straight, and walks upright on his toes, with his hands tucked up in each jacket pocket. He is perfectly good-humoured, very well informed on general points, in natural history learned, was Curator of the Edinburgh Museum, appears to be about twenty-eight years of age, laughs delightfully, cannot be in a passion, is enthusiastic about all ‘ologies, draws the insides of microscopic animals with an imaginary pointed pencil, catches phenomena in a bucket, looks at the thermometer and every other meter, is a pleasant companion, and an acquisition to the mess…. 10th.–A clear fine sunset at a quarter to ten, and Goodsir examining ‘mollusca’ in a meecroscope. He is in extasies about a bag full of blubber-like stuff, which he has just hauled up in a net, and which turns out to be whales’ food and other animals.”