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AGASSIZ AT OF UINI
LOUIS AGASSIZ
HIS LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE
EDITED BY
ELIZABETH GARY AGASSIZ
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOL. I.
BOSTON
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY
New York: 11 East Seventeenth Street
1885
Copyright, 1885,
Br ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ.
All rights reserved.
-jo
The Riverside Press, Cambridge:
Electrotyped and Printed by H. 0. Houghton & Co.
PREFACE.
I AM aware that this book has neither the
fullness of personal narrative, nor the closeness
of scientific analysis, which its too comprehen-
sive title might lead the reader to expect. A
word of explanation is therefore needed. I
thought little at first of the general public,
when I began to weave together in narrative
form the facts, letters, and journals contained
in these volumes. My chief object was to pre-
vent the dispersion and final loss of scattered
papers which had an unquestionable family
value. But, as my work grew upon my
hands, I began to feel that the story of an in-
tellectual life, which was marked by such rare
coherence and unity of aim, might have a
wider interest and usefulness ; might, perhaps,
iv PREFA CE.
serve as a stimulus and an encouragement
to others. For this reason, and also because
I am inclined to believe that the European
portion of the life of Louis Agassiz is little
known in his adopted country, while its Amer-
ican period must be unfamiliar to many in his
native land, I have determined to publish the
material here collected.
The book labors under the disadvantage of
being in great part a translation. The cor-
respondence for the first volume was almost
wholly in French and German, so that the
choice lay between a patch-work of several
languages or the unity of one, burdened as it
must be with the change of version. I have
accepted what seemed to me the least of these
difficulties.
Besides the assistance of my immediate fami-
ly, including the revision of the text by my son
Alexander Agassiz, I have been indebted to my
friends Dr. and Mrs. Hagen and to the late
Professor Guyot for advice on special points.
PREFACE. V
As will be seen from the list of illustrations,
I have also to thank Mrs. John W. Elliot for
her valuable aid in that part of the work.
On the other side of the water I have had
most faithful and efficient collaborators. Mr.
Auguste Agassiz, who survived his brother
Louis several years, and took the greatest in-
terest in preserving whatever concerned his
scientific career, confided to my hands many
papers and documents belonging to his broth-
er's earlier life. After the death of my
brother-in-law, his cousin Mr. Auguste Mayor,
of Neuchatel, continued the same affectionate
service. Without their aid I could not have
completed the narrative as it now stands.
The friend last named also selected from
the glacier of the Aar, at the request of Alex-
ander Agassiz, the boulder which now marks
his father's grave. With unwearied patience
Mr. Mayor passed hours of toilsome search
among the blocks of the moraine near the
site of the old " Hotel des Neuchatelois," and
vi PREFACE.
chose at last a stone so monumental in form
that not a touch of the hammer was needed
to fit it for its purpose. In conclusion I allow
myself the pleasure of recording here my grat-
itude to him and to all who have aided me
in my work.
ELIZABETH C. AGASSIZ.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., June 11, 1885.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
CHAPTER I.
1807-1827: TO ,ET. 20.
Birthplace. — Influence of his Mother. — Early Love
of Natural History. — Boyish Occupations. — Do-
mestic Education. — First School. — Vacations. —
Commercial Life renounced. — College of Lausanne.
— Choice of Profession. — Medical School of Zurich.
— Life and Studies there. — University of Heidel-
berg. — Studies interrupted by Illness. — Return to
Switzerland. — Occupations during Convalescence . 1
CHAPTER II.
1827-1828: ,ET. 20-21.
Arrival in Munich. — Lectures. — Relations with the
Professors. — Schelling, Martius, Oken, Dbllinger.
— Relations with Fellow - Students. — The Little
Academy. — Plans for Traveling. — Advice from
his Parents. — Vacation Journey. — Tri-Centennial
Diirer Festival at Nuremberg ..... 46
CHAPTER III.
1828-1829: ,ET. 21-22.
First Important Work in Natural History. — Spix's
Brazilian Fishes. — Second Vacation Trip. — Sketch
Vlii CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
of Work during University Year. — Extracts from
the Journal of Mr. Dmkel. — Home Letters. - - Hope
of joining Humboldt's Asiatic Expedition. — Diploma
of Philosophy. - - Completion of First Part of the
Spix Fishes. — Letter concerning it from Cuvier . 74
CHAPTER IV.
1829-1830: JET. 22-23.
Scientific Meeting at Heidelberg. — Visit at Home. —
Illness and Death of his Grandfather. — Return to
Munich. — Plans for Future Scientific Publications.
— Takes his Degree of Medicine. — Visit to Vienna.
— Return to Munich. — Home Letters. — Last Days
at Munich. — Autobiographical Review of School
and University Life ....... 117
CHAPTER V.
1830-1832 : ^T. 23-25.
Year at Home. — Leaves Home for Paris. — Delays on
the Road. — Cholera. — Arrival in Paris. — First
Visit to Cuvier. — Cuvier's Kindness. — His Death.
— Poverty in Paris. — Home Letters concerning
Embarrassments and about his Work. — Singular
Dream ......... 158
CHAPTER VI.
1832 : ;ET. 25.
Unexpected Relief from Difficulties. — Correspondence
with Humboldt. — Excursion to the Coast of Nor-
mandy. — First Sight of the Sea. — Correspondence
concerning Professorship at Neuchatel. — Birthday
Fete. — Invitation to Chair of Natural History at
Neuchatel. — Acceptance. — Letter to Humboldt . 184
CONTENTS OF VOL. 1.
CHAPTER VII.
1832-1834: ,ET. 25-27.
Enters upon his Professorship at Neuchatel. — First
Lecture. — Success as a Teacher. — Love of Teach-
ing. — Influence upon the Scientific Life of Neucha-
tel. — Proposal from University of Heidelberg. —
Proposal declined. — Threatened Blindness. — Cor-
respondence with Humboldt. — Marriage. — Invita-
tion from Charpentier. — Invitation to visit England.
— Wollaston Prize. — First Number of " Poissons
Fossiles." — Review of the Work .... 206
CHAPTER VIII.
1834-1837: JET. 27-30.
First Visit to England. — Reception by Scientific Men.
— Work on Fossil Fishes there. — Liberality of Eng-
lish Naturalists. — First Relations with American
Science. — Farther Correspondence with Humboldt.
— Second Visit to England. — Continuation of " Fos-
sil Fishes." — Other Scientific Publications. — Atten-
tion drawn to Glacial Phenomena. — Summer at Bex
with Charpentier. — Sale of Original Drawings for
"Fossil Fishes." — Meeting of Helvetic Society. —
Address on Ice-Period. — Letters from Humboldt
and Von Buch 248
CHAPTER IX.
1837-1839: JET. 30-32.
Invitation to Professorships at Geneva and Lausanne.
— Death of his Father. — Establishment of Litho-
graphic Press at Neuchatel. — Researches upon
Structure of Mollusks. — Internal Casts of Shells. —
Glacial Explorations. — Views of Buckland. —
X CONTENTS OF VOL. I.
tions with Arnold Guyot. — Their Work together in
the Alps. — Letter to Sir Philip Egerton concerning
Glacial Work. — Summer of 1839. — Publication of
" Etudes sur les Glaciers " ..... 275
CHAPTER X.
1840-1842: JET. 33-35.
Summer Station on the Glacier of the Aar. — Hotel
des Neuchatelois. — Members of the Party. — Work
on the Glacier. — Ascent of the Strahleck and the
Siedelhorn. — Visit to England. — Search for Glacial
Remains in Great Britain. — Roads of Glen Roy. —
Views of English Naturalists concerning Agassiz's
Glacial Theory. — Letter from Humboldt. — Winter
Visit to Glacier. — Summer of 1841 on the Glacier.
— Descent into the Glacier. — Ascent of the Jung-
frau .......... 298
CHAPTER XI.
1842-1843: ^T. 35-36.
Zoological Work uninterrupted by Glacial Researches.
— Various Publications. — " Nomenclator Zoologi-
cus." — « Bibliographia Zoologise et Geologise." —
Correspondence with English Naturalists. - - Corre-
spondence with Humboldt. — Glacial Campaign of
1842. — Correspondence with Prince de Canino con-
cerning Journey to United States. - - Fossil Fishes
from the Old Red Sandstone. — Glacial Campaign of
1843. — Death of Leuthold, the Guide . . 333
CHAPTER XII.
1843-1846: ^T. 36-39.
Completion of Fossil Fishes. — Followed by Fossil
Fishes of the Old Red Sandstone. — Review of the
Later Work. — Identification of Fishes by the Skull.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I. xi
— Renewed Correspondence with Prince Canino
about Journey to the United States. — Change of
Plan owing to the Interest of the King of Prussia in
the Expedition. — Correspondence between Profes-
sor Sedgwick and Agassiz on Development Theory.
— Final Scientific Work in Neuchatel and Paris. —
Publication of " Systeme Glaciaire." — Short Stay in
England. — Farewell Letter from Humboldt. — Sails
for United States . 366
LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.
VOLUME I.
•4-—
PAGE
I. PORTRAIT OF Louis AGASSIZ AT THE AGE OF
NINETEEN ; copied by Mrs. John W. Elliot
from a pastel drawing by Cecile Brauu Frontispiece
II. THE STONE BASIN AT MOTIER ; drawn by Mrs.
Elliot from a photograph . . . Vignette
III. THE BIRTHPLACE OF Louis AGASSIZ ; from a
photograph 9
IV. HOTEL DBS NEUCHATELOIS ; copied by Mrs. El-
liot from an oil sketch made on the spot by J.
Burkhardt 305
V. PORTRAIT OF JACOB LEUTHOLD ; from a por-
trait by J. Burkhardt 329
VI. SECOND STATION ON THE AAR GLACIER ; cop-
ied by Mrs. Elliot from a sketch in oil by J.
Burkhardt . . 353
LOUIS AGASSIZ:
HIS LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE.
CHAPTER I.
1807-1827: TO .ET. 20.
Birthplace. — Influence of his Mother. — Early Love of Nat-
ural History. — Boyish Occupations. — Domestic Educa-
tion. — First School. — Vacations. — Commercial Life re-
nounced. — College of Lausanne. — Choice of Profession.
— Medical School of Zurich. — Life and Studies there. —
University of Heidelberg. — Studies interrupted by Illness.
— Return to Switzerland. — Occupations during Convales-
cence.
JEAN Louis RODOLPHE AGASSIZ was born
May 28, 1807, at the village of Motier, on the
Lake of Morat. His father, Louis Rodolphe
Agassiz, was a clergyman ; his mother. Rose
Mayor, was the daughter of a physician whose
home was at Cudrefin, on the shore of the
Lake of Neuchatel.
The parsonages in Switzerland are fre-
quently pretty and picturesque. That of Mo-
tier, looking upon the lake and sheltered by
a hill which commands a view over the whole
VOL. I. 1
2 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
chain of the Bernese Alps, was especially so.
It possessed a vineyard large enough to add
something in good years to the small salary
of the pastor ; an orchard containing, among
other trees, an apricot famed the country
around for the unblemished beauty of its
abundant fruit; a good vegetable garden, and
a delicious spring of water flowing always
fresh and pure into a great stone basin behind
the house. That stone basin was Agassiz's
first aquarium ; there he had his first collec-
tion of fishes.1
It does not appear that he had any preco-
cious predilection for study, and his parents,
who for the first ten years of his life were
his only teachers, were too wise to stimulate
his mind beyond the ordinary attainments of
his age. Having lost her first four children
in infancy, his mother watched with trem-
bling solicitude over his early years. It was
perhaps for this reason that she was drawn so
closely to her boy, and understood that his
love of nature, and especially of all living
1 After his death a touching tribute was paid to his mem-
ory by the inhabitants of his birthplace. With appropriate
ceremonies, a marble slab was placed above the door of the
parsonage of Motier, with this inscription, " J. Louis Agas-
siz, celebre naturaliste, est ne dans cette maison, le 28 Mai,
1807."
EARLY LOVE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 3
things, was an intellectual tendency, and not
simply a child's disposition to find friends
and playmates in the animals about him. In
later years her sympathy gave her the key to
the work of his manhood, as it had done to
the sports of his childhood. She remained
his most intimate friend to the last hour of
her life, and he survived her but six years.
Louis's love of natural history showed itself
almost from infancy. When a very little fel-
low he had, beside his collection of fishes, all
sorts of pets : birds, field-mice, hares, rabbits,
guinea-pigs, etc., whose families he reared with
the greatest care. Guided by his knowledge
of the haunts and habits of fishes, he and his
brother Auguste became the most adroit of
young fishermen, — using processes all their
own and quite independent of hook, line, or
net. Their hunting grounds were the holes
and crevices beneath the stones or in the
water-washed walls of the lake shore. No
such shelter was safe from their curious fin-
gers, and they acquired such dexterity that
when bathing they could seize the fish even in
the open water, attracting them by little arts
to which the fish submitted as to a kind of
fascination. Such amusements are no doubt
the delight of many a lad living in the coun-
4 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
try, nor would they be worth recording ex-
cept as illustrating the unity of Agassiz's in-
tellectual development from beginning to end.
His pet animals suggested questions, to answer
which was the task of his life; and his inti-
mate study of the fresh-water fishes of Eu-
«/
rope, later the subject of one of his important
works, began with his first collection from the
Lake of Morat.
As a boy he amused himself also with all
kinds of handicrafts on a small scale. The
carpenter, the cobbler, the tailor, were then as
much developed in him as the naturalist. In
Swiss villages it was the habit in those days
for the trades-people to go from house to
house in their different vocations. The shoe-
maker came two or three times a year with all
his materials, and made shoes for the whole
family by the day ; the tailor came to fit them
for garments which he made in the house ; the
cooper arrived before the vintage, to repair old
barrels and hogsheads or to make new ones, and
to replace their worn-out hoops ; in short, to
fit up the cellar for the coming season. Agas-
siz seems to have profited by these lessons as
much as by those he learned from his father ;
and when a very little fellow, he could cut
and put together a well-fitting pair of shoes
BOYISH OCCUPATIONS. 5
for his sisters' dolls, was no bad tailor, and
"could make a miniature barrel tbat was per-
fectly water-tight. He remembered these
trivial facts as a valuable part of his inci-
dental education. He said he owed much of
his dexterity in manipulation to the training
of eye and hand gained in these childish
plays.
Though fond of quiet, in-door occupation,
he was an active, daring boy. One winter
day when about seven years of age, he was
skating with his little brother Auguste, two
years younger than himself, and a number of
other boys, near the shore of the lake. They
were talking of a great fair held that day at
the town of Morat, on the opposite side of the
lake, to which M. Agassiz had gone in the
morning, not crossing upon the ice, however,
but driving around the shore. The temp-
tation was too strong for Louis, and he pro-
posed to Auguste that they should skate
across, join their father at the fair, and come
home with him in the afternoon. They start-
ed accordingly. The other boys remained on
their skating ground till twelve o'clock, the
usual dinner hour, when they returned to the
village. Mme. Agassiz was watching for her
boys, thinking them rather late, and on in-
6 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
quiring for them among the troop of urchins
coming down the village street she learned
C? O
on what errand they had gone. Her anxiety
may be imagined. The lake was not less
than two miles across, and she was by no
means sure that the ice was safe. She hur-
ried to an upper window with a spy-glass to
see if she could descry them anywhere. At
the moment she caught sight of them, already
far on their journey, Louis had laid himself
down across a fissure in the ice, thus making
a bridge for his little brother, who was creep-
ing over his back. Their mother directed a
workman, an excellent skater, to follow them
as swiftly as possible. He overtook them
just as they had gained the shore, but it did
not occur to him that they could return other-
wise than they had come, and he skated back
with them across the lake. Weary, hungry,
and disappointed, the boys reached the house
without having seen the fair or enjoyed the
drive home with their father in the afternoon.
When he was ten years old, Agassiz was
sent to the college for boys at Bienne, thus
exchanging the easy rule of domestic instruc-
tion for the more serious studies of a public
school. He found himself on a level with his
class, however, for his father was an admirable
SCHOOL LIFE.
teacher. Indeed it would seem that Agassiz's
own passion for teaching, as well as his love
of young people and his sympathy with intel-
lectual aspiration everywhere, was an inherit-
ance. Wherever his father was settled as
pastor, at Motier, at Orbe, and later at Con-
cise, his influence was felt in the schools as
much as in the pulpit. A piece of silver re-
mains, a much prized heir-loom in the family,
given to him by the municipality of Orbe in
acknowledgment of his services in the schools.
J5
The rules of the school at Bienne were
rather strict, but the life led by the boys was
hardy and invigorating, and they played as
heartily as they worked. Remembering his
own school life, Agassiz often asked himself
whether it was difference of climate or of
method, which makes the public school life in
the United States so much more trying to the
health of children than the one under which
he was brought up. The boys and girls in
our public schools are said to be overworked
with a session of five hours, and an additional
hour or two of study at home. At the Col-
lege of Bienne there were nine hours of study,
and the boys were healthy and happy. Per-
haps the secret might be found in the fre-
quent interruption, two or three hours of
8 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
study alternating with an interval for play or
rest. Agassiz always retained a pleasant im-
pression of the school and its teachers. Mr.
Bickly, the director, he regarded with an af-
fectionate respect, which ripened into friend-
ship in naaturer years.
The vacations were, of course, hailed with
delight, and as Motier was but twenty miles
distant from Bienne, Agassiz and his younger
brother Auguste, who joined him at school a
year later, were in the habit of making the
journey on foot. The lives of these brothers
were so closely interwoven in their youth that
for many years the story of one includes the
story of the other. They had everything in
common, and with their little savings they
used to buy books, chosen by Louis, the foun-
dation, as it proved, of his future library.
Long before dawn on the first day of vaca-
tion the two bright, active boys would be on
their homeward way, as happy as holiday
could make them, especially if they were re-
turning for the summer harvest or the au-
tumn vintage. The latter was then, as now,
a season of festivity. In these more modern
days something of its primitive picturesque-
ness may have been lost ; but when Agassiz
was a boy? all the ordinary occupations were
N
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LU
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VINTAGE SEASON. 9
given up for this important annual business,
in which work and play were so happily com-
bined. On the appointed day the working
people might be seen trooping in from neigh-
boring cantons, where there were no vine-
yards, to offer themselves for the vintage.
They either camped out at night, sleeping in
the open air, or found shelter in the stables
and outhouses. During the grape gathering
the floor of the barn and shed at the parson-
age of Motier was often covered in the even-
o
ing with tired laborers, both men and women.
Of course, when the weather was fine, these
were festival days for the children. A bushel
basket, heaped high with white and amber
bunches, stood in the hall, or in the living
room of the family, and young and old were
free to help themselves as they came and went.
Then there were the frolics in the vineyard,
the sweet cup of must (unfermented juice of
the grape), and the ball on the last evening
at the close of the merry-making.
Sometimes the boys passed their vacations
at Cudrefin, with their grandfather Mayor.
He was a kind old man, much respected in
his profession, and greatly beloved for his be-
nevolence. His little white horse was well
known in all the paths and by-roads of the
10 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
country around, as he went from village to
village among the sick. The grandmother
was frail in health, but a great favorite among
the children, for whom she had an endless
fund of stories, songs, and hymns. Aunt
Lisette, an unmarried daughter, who long
lived to maintain the hospitality of the old
Cudrefin house and to be beloved as the kind-
est of maiden aunts by two or three genera-
tions of nephews and nieces, was the domestic
providence of these family gatherings, where
the praises of her excellent dishes were annu-
ally sung. The roof was elastic ; there was
no question about numbers, for all came who
could ; the more, the merrier, with no diminu-
tion of good cheer.
The Sunday after Easter was the great pop-
ular fete. Then every house was busy color-
ing Easter eggs and making fritters. The
young girls and the lads of the village, the
former in their prettiest dresses and the latter
with enormous bouquets of artificial flowers
in their hats, went together to church in the
morning. In the afternoon the traditional
match between two runners, chosen from the
village youths, took place. They were dressed
in white, and adorned with bright ribbons.
With music before them, and followed by all
EASTER FESTIVAL.
the young people, they went in procession to
the place where a quantity of Easter eggs had
been distributed upon the ground. At a sig-
nal the runners separated, the one to pick up
the eggs according to a prescribed course, the
other to run to the next village and back
again. The victory was to the one who ac-
complished his task first, and he was pro-
claimed king of the feast. Hand in hand the
runners, followed as before by all their com-
panions, returned to join in the dance now
to take place before the house of Dr. Mayor.
After a time the festivities were interrupted
by a little address in patois from the first
musician, who concluded by announcing from
his platform a special dance in honor of the
family of Dr. Mayor. In this dance the fam-
ily with some of their friends and neighbors
took part, — the young ladies dancing with
the peasant lads and the young gentlemen
with the girls of the village, — while the rest
formed a circle to look on.
Thus, between study and recreation, the four
years which Agassiz's father and mother in-
tended he should pass at Bienne drew to a
close. A yellow, time-worn sheet of foolscap,
on which during the last year of his school-
life he wrote his desiderata in the way of
12 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
books, tells something of his progress and
his aspirations at fourteen years of age. " I
wish/' so it runs, " to advance in the sciences,
and for that I need d'Anville, Bitter, an Ital-
ian dictionary, a Strabo in Greek, Mannert
and Thiersch ; and also the works of Malte-
Brun and Seyfert. I have resolved, as far as
I am allowed to do so, to become a man of
letters, and at present I can go no further :
1st, in ancient geography, for I already know
all my note -books, and I have only such
books as Mr. Bickly can lend me ; I must
have d'Anville or Mannert ; 2d, in modern
geography, also, I have only such books as
Mr. Bickly can lend me, and the Osterwald
geography, which does not accord with the
new divisions ; I must have Bitter or Malte-
Brun ; 3d, for Greek I need a new gram-
mar, and I shall choose Thiersch ; 4th, I have
no Italian dictionary, except one lent me by
Mr. Moltz ; I must have one ; 5th, for Latin
I need a larger grammar than the one I
have, and I should like Seyfert ; 6th, Mr.
Bickly tells me that as I have a taste for
geography he will give me a lesson in Greek
(gratis), in which we would translate Strabo,
provided I can find one. For all this I ought
to have about twelve louis. I should like
SCHOLARLY HABITS. 13
to stay at Bienne till the month of July, and
afterward serve my apprenticeship in com-
merce at Neuchatel for a year and a half.
Then I should like to pass four years at a
university in Germany, and finally finish my
studies at Paris, where I would stay about
five years. Then, at the age of twenty-five,
I could begin to write."
Agassiz's note-books, preserved by his par-
ents, who followed the education of their chil-
dren with the deepest interest, give evidence
of his faithful work both at school and college.
They form a great pile of manuscript, from
the paper copy-books of the school-boy to the
carefully collated reports of the college stu-
dent, besrun when the writer was ten or eleven
' O
years of age and continued with little inter-
ruption till he was eighteen or nineteen. The
later volumes are of nearly quarto size and
very thick, some of them containing from four
to six hundred closely covered pages; the
handwriting is small, no doubt for economy
of space, but very clear. The subjects are
physiological, pathological, and anatomical,
with more or less of general natural history.
This series of books is kept with remarkable
neatness. Even in the boy's copy-books, con-
taining exercises in Greek, Latin, French and
14 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
German, with compositions on a variety of
topics, the writing is even and distinct, with
scarcely a blot or an erasure. From the very
beginning there is a careful division of sub-
jects under clearly marked headings, showing
even then a tendency toward an orderly classi-
fication of facts and thoughts.
o
It is evident from the boyish sketch which
he drew of his future plans that the hope of
escaping the commercial life projected for
him, and of dedicating himself to letters and
learning, was already dawning. He had be-
gun to feel the charm of study, and his sci-
entific tastes, though still pursued rather as
the pastimes of a boy than as the investiga-
tions of a student, were nevertheless becom-
ing more and more absorbing. He was fif-
teen years old and the time had come wlien,
according to a purpose long decided upon, he
was to leave school and enter the business
house of his uncle, Francois Mayor, at Neu-
chatel. He begged for a farther delay, to be
spent in two additional years of study at the
College of Lausanne. He was supported in
his request by several of his teachers, and
especially by Mr. Rickly, who urged his par-
ents to encourage the remarkable intelligence
and zeal already shown by their son in his
A COMMERCIAL LIFE ABANDONED. 15
studies. They were not difficult to persuade ;
indeed, only want of means, never want of
will, limited the educational advantages they
gave to their children.
It was decided, therefore, that he should go
to Lausanne. Here his love for everything
bearing on the study of nature was confirmed.
Professor Chavannes, Director of the Can-
tonal Museum, in whom he found not only
an interesting teacher, but a friend who sym-
pathized with his favorite tastes, possessed
the only collection of Natural History in the
Canton de Vaud. To this Agassiz now had
access. His uncle, Dr. Mathias Mayor, his
mother's brother and a physician of note in
Lausanne, whose opinion had great weight
with M. and Mme. Agassiz, was also attracted
by the boy's intelligent interest in anatomy
and kindred subjects. He advised that his
nephew should be allowed to study medicine,
and at the close of Agassiz's college course
at Lausanne the commercial plan was finally
abandoned, and he was permitted to choose
the medical profession as the one most akin to
his inclination.
Being now seventeen years of age, he went
to the medical school of Zurich. Here, for
the first time, he came into contact with men
16 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
whose instruction derived freshness and vigor
from their original researches. He was espe-
cially indebted to Professor Schinz, a man of
learning and ability, who held the chair of
Natural History and Physiology, and who
showed the wrarmest interest in his pupil's
progress. He gave Agassiz a key to his pri-
vate library, as well as to his collection of
birds. This liberality was invaluable to one
whose poverty made books an unattainable
luxury. Many an hour did the young student
pass at that time in copying books which
were beyond his means, though some of them
did not cost more than a dollar a volume.
His brother August e, still his constant com-
panion, shared this task, a pure labor of love
with him, for the books were more necessary
to Louis's studies than to his own.
During the two years passed by Agassiz in
Zurich he saw little of society beyond the
walls of the university. His brother and he
had a pleasant home in a private house, where
they shared the family life of their host and
hostess. In company with them, Agassiz
made his first excursion of any importance
into the Alps. They ascended the Kighi and
passed the night there. At about sunset a
fearful thunder-storm gathered below them,
A CHANCE FRIEND. 17
while on the summit of the mountain the
weather remained perfectly clear and calm.
Under a blue sky they watched the light-
ning, and listened to the thunder in the dark
clouds, which were pouring torrents of rain
upon the plain and the Lake of Lucerne.
The storm lasted long after night had closed
in, and Agassiz lingered when all his com-
panions had retired to rest, till at last the
clouds drifted softly away, letting down the
ligrht of moon and stars on the lake and land-
o
scape. He used to say that in his subsequent
Alpine excursions he had rarely witnessed a
scene of greater beauty.
Such of his letters from Zurich as have
been preserved have only a home interest. In
one of them, however, he alludes to a curious
circumstance, which might have changed the
tenor of his life. He and his brother were
returning on foot, for the vacation, from Zu-
O f '
rich to their home which was now in Orbe,
where their father and mother had been set-
tled since 1821. Between Neuchatel and
Orbe they were overtaken by a traveling car-
riage. A gentleman who was its sole occu-
pant invited them to get in, made them wel-
come to his lunch, talked to them of their
student life, and their future plans, and drove
VOL. I.
18 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
them to the parsonage, where he introduced
himself to their parents. Some days after-
ward M. Aofassiz received a letter from this
o
chance acquaintance, who proved to be a man
in affluent circumstances, of good social posi-
tion, living at the time in Geneva. He wrote
to M. Agassiz that he had been singularly at-
tracted by his elder son, Louis, and that he
wished to adopt him, assuming henceforth all
the responsibility of his education and his es-
tablishment in life. This proposition fell like
a bomb-shell into the quiet parsonage. M.
Agassiz was poor, and every advantage for his
children was gamed with painful self-sacrifice
on the part of both parents. How then re-
fuse such an opportunity for one among them,
and that one so gifted ? After anxious reflec-
tion, however, the father, with the full con-
currence of his son, decided to decline an offer
which, brilliant as it seemed, involved a sepa-
ration and might lead to a false position. A
correspondence was kept up for years between
Louis and the friend he had so suddenly won,
and who continued to interest himself in his
career. Although it had no sequel, this inci-
dent is mentioned as showing a kind of per-
sonal magnetism which, even as child and boy,
Agassiz unconsciously exercised over others.
UNIVERSITY OF HEIDELBERG. 19
From Zurich, Agassiz went to the Univer-
sity of Heidelberg, where we find him in the
spring of 1826.
TO HIS FATHER.
HEIDELBERG, April 24, 1826.
. . . Having arrived early enough to see
something of the environs before the open-
ing of the term, I decided to devote each day
to a ramble in one direction or another, in
order to become familiar with my surround-
ings. I am the more glad to have done this
as I have learned that after the lectures begin
there will be no further chance for such in-
terruptions, and we shall be obliged to stick
closely to our work at home.
Our first excursion was to Neckarsteinach,
two and a half leagues from here. The road
follows the Neckar, and at certain places rises
boldly above the river, which flows between
two hills, broken by rocks of the color of red
chalk, which often jut out from either side.
Farther on the valley widens, and a pretty
rising ground, crowned by ruins, suddenly
presents itself in the midst of a wide plain,
where sheep are feeding. Neckarsteinach it-
self is only a little village, containing, how-
ever, three castles, two of which are in ruins.
20 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
The third is still inhabited, arid commands
a magnificent view. In the evening; we re-
o o
turned to Heidelberg by moonlight.
Another day we started for what is here
called " The Mountain,'' though it is at most
' O
no higher than Le Suchet. As the needful
supplies are not to be obtained there, we took
our provisions with us. We had so much fun
out of this, that I must tell you all about it.
In the morning Z bought at the market
veal, liver, and bacon enough to serve for
three persons during two days. To these sup-
plies we added salt, pepper, butter, onions,
bread, and some jugs of beer. One of us
took two saucepans for cooking, and some
alcohol. Arrived at the summit of our moun-
tain, we looked out for a convenient spot,
and there we cooked our dinner. It did not
take long, nor can I say whether all was done
according to the rules of art. But this I
know, — that never did a meal seem to me
better. We wandered over the mountain for
the rest of the day, and at evening came to a
house where we prepared our supper after the
same fashion, to the great astonishment of
the assembled household, and especially of an
old woman who regretted the death of her
husband, because she said it would certainly
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 21
have amused him. We slept on the ground
on some straw, and returned to Heidelberg
the next day in time for dinner. The fol-
lowing day we went to Mannheim to visit the
theatre. It is very handsome and well ap-
pointed, and we were fortunate in happening
upon an excellent opera. Beyond this, I saw
nothing of Mannheim except the house of
Kotzebue and the place where Sand was be-
headed.
To-day I have made my visits to the pro-
fessors. For three among them I had letters
from Professors Schinz and Hirzel. I was re-
ceived by all in the kindest way. Professor
Tiedemann, the Chancellor, is a man about
the age of papa and young for his years. He
is so well-known that I need not undertake
his panegyric here. As soon as I told him
that I brought a letter from Zurich, he showed
me the greatest politeness, offered me books
from his library ; in one word, said he would
be for me here what Professor Schinz, with
whom he had formerly studied, had been
for me in Zurich. After the opening of the
term, when I know these gentlemen better,
I will tell you more about them. I have
still to describe rny home, chamber, garden,
people of the house, etc.
22 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
The next letter fills in this frame-work.
TO HIS FATHER.
HEIDELBERG, May 24, 1826.
. . . According to your request, I am going
to write you all possible details about my
host, the employment of my time, etc., etc.
Mr. , my " philister," is a tobacco mer-
chant in easy circumstances, having a pretty
house in the faubourg of the city. My win-
dows overlook the town, and my prospect is
bounded by a hill situated to the north of
Heidelberg. At the back of the house is a
large and fine garden, at the foot of which is
a very pretty summer-house. There are also
several clumps of trees in the garden, and an
aviary filled with native birds. . . .
Since each day in term time is only the
repetition of every other, the account of one
will give an idea of all, especially as I fol-
low with regularity the plan of study I have
formed. Every morning I rise at six o'clock,
dress, and breakfast. At seven I go to my
lectures, given during the morning in the
Museum building, next to which is the ana-
tomical laboratory. If, in the interval, I
have a free hour, as sometimes happens from
ten to eleven, I occupy it in making anatom-
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 23
ical preparations. I shall tell you more of
that and of the Museum another time. From
twelve to one I practice fencing. We dine
at about one o'clock, after which I walk till
tv/o, when I return to the house and to my
studies till five o'clock. From five to six we
have a lecture from the renowned Tiedernann.
After that, I either take a bath in the Neckar
or another walk. From eight to nine I re-
sume my special work, and then, according
to my inclination, go to the Swiss club, or,
if I am tired, to bed. I have my evening
service and talk silently with you, believing
that at that hour you also do not forget your
Louis, who thinks always of you. . . . As soon
as I know, for I cannot yet make an exact es-
timate, I will write you as nearly as possible
what my expenses are likely to be. Some-
times there may be unlooked-for expenditures,
as, for instance, six crowns for a matriculation
paper. But be assured that at all events I
shall restrict myself to what is absolutely nec-
essary, and do my best to economize. The
same of the probable duration of my stay in
Heidelberg ; I shall certainly not prolong it
needlessly. . . .
Now for the first time the paths of the
24 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
two brothers separated, Auguste returning
from Zurich to Neuchatel, where he entered
into business. It chanced, however, that in
one of the first acquaintances made by Louis
in Heidelberg he found not only a congenial
comrade, but a friend for life, and in after
years a brother. Professor Tiedemann, by
whom Agassiz had been so kindly received,
recommended him to seek the acquaintance of
young Alexander Braun, an ardent student,
and an especial lover of botany. At Tiede-
mann's lecture the next day Agassiz's attention
was attracted by a young man who sat next
him, and who was taking very careful notes
and illustrating them. There was something
very winning in his calm, gentle face, full of
benevolence and intelligence. Convinced by
his manner of listening to the lecture and
transcribing it that this was the student of
whom Tiedemann had spoken, Agassiz turned
to his neighbor as they both rose at the close
of the hour, and said, "Are you Alex.
Braun ? ' " Yes, and you, Louis Agassiz ? '
It seems that Professor Tiedemann, wiio must
have had a quick eye for affinities in the
moral as well as in the physical world, had
said to Braun also, that he advised him to
make the acquaintance of a young Swiss natu-
FRIENDSHIP WITH BRA UN.
25
ralist who had just come, and who seemed full
of enthusiasm for his work. The two young
men left the lecture-room together, and from
that time their studies, their excursions, their
amusements, were undertaken and pursued in
each other's company. In their long rambles,
while they collected specimens in their differ-
ent departments of Natural History, Braun
learned zoology from Agassiz, and he, in his
turn, learned botany from Braun. This was,
perhaps, the reason why Alexander Braun,
afterward Director of the Botanical Gardens
in Berlin, knew more of zoology than other
botanists, while Agassiz himself combined an
extensive knowledge of botany wdth his study
of the animal kingdom. That the attraction
was mutual may be seen by the following ex-
tract from a letter of Alexander Braun to his
father.
BRAUN TO HIS FATHER.
HEIDELBERG, May 12, 1826.
... In my leisure hours, between the fore-
noon and afternoon lectures, I go to the dis-
secting-room, where, in company with another
young naturalist who has appeared like a
rare comet on the Heidelberg horizon, I dis-
sect all manner of beasts, such as dogs, cats,
birds, fishes, and even smaller fry, snails, but-
26 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
terflies, caterpillars, worms, and the like. Be-
side this, we always have from Tiedemann the
very best books for reference and comparison,
for he has a fine library, especially rich in
anatomical works, and is particularly friendly
and obliging to us.
In the afternoon from two to three I attend
Geiger's lectures on pharmaceutical chemistry,
and from five to six those of Tiedemann on
comparative anatomy. In the interval, I some-
times go with this naturalist, so recently ar-
rived among us (his name is Agassiz, and he
is from Orbe), on a hunt after animals and
plants. Not only do we collect and learn to
observe ah1 manner of things, but we have
O '
also an opportunity of exchanging our views
on scientific matters in general. I learn a
great deal from him, for he is much more at
home in zoology than I am. He is familiar
with almost all the known mammalia, recog-
nizes the birds from far off by their song, and
can give a name to every fish in the water.
In the morning we often stroll together
through the fish market, where he explains
to me all the different species. He is going
to teach me how to stuff fishes, and then we
intend to make a collection of all the native
kinds. Many other useful things he knows;
BRA UN TO HIS MOTHER. 27
speaks German and French equally well, Eng-
lish and Italian fairly, so that I have already
appointed him to be my interpreter on some
future vacation trip to Italy. He is well ac-
quainted with ancient languages also, and
studies medicine besides. . . .
A few lines from Braun to his mother,
several weeks later, show that this first en-
thusiasm, poured out with half-laughing ex-
travagance to his father, was ripening into
friendship of a more serious character.
BRAUN TO HIS MOTHER.
HEIDELBERG, June 1, 1826,
... I am very happy now that I have
found some one whose occupations are the
same as mine. Before Agassiz came I was
obliged to make my excursions almost always
alone, and to study in hermit-like isolation.
After all, two people working together can
accomplish far more than either one can do
alone. In order, for instance, to utilize the
interval spent in the time-consuming and me-
chanical work of preparing specimens, pin-
ning insects and the like, we have agreed
that while one is so employed the other shall
read aloud. In this way we shall go through
28 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
various works on physiology, anatomy, and
zoology. . . .
Next to Alexander Braun, Agassiz's most
congenial companion at Heidelberg was Karl
Schimper, a friend of Braun, and like him
a young botanist of brilliant promise. The
three soon became inseparable. Agassiz had
many friends and companions at the univer-
sity beside those who, on account of their
influence upon his after life, are mentioned
here. He was too affectionate not to be a
genial companion among his young country-
men of whom there were many at Heidel-
berg, where they had a club and a gymna-
sium of their own. In the latter, Agassiz
bore his part in all the athletic sports, being
distinguished both as a powerful gymnast and
an expert fencer.
Of the professors then at Heidelberg,
Leuckart, the zoologist, was, perhaps, the most
inspiriting. His lectures were full of original
suggestions and clever hypotheses, which ex-
cited and sometimes amused his listeners. He
knew how to take advantage of the enthu-
siasm of his brighter pupils, and, at their
request, gave them a separate course of in-
struction on special groups of animals ; not
PROFESSORS AT HEIDELBERG. 29
without some personal sacrifice, for these
extra lectures were given at seven o'clock in
the morning, and the students were often
obliged to pull their professor out of bed for
the purpose. The fact that they did so shows
at least the friendly relation existing between
teacher and scholars. With Bischoff the bot-
anist also, the young friends were admitted to
the most kindly intercourse. Many a pleas-
ant botanical excursion they had with him,
and they owed to him a thorough and skill-
ful instruction in the use of the microscope,
handled by him like a master. Tiedernann's
lectures were very learned, and Agassiz always
spoke of his old teacher in comparative anat-
omy and physiology with affectionate respect
and admiration. He was not, however, an
inspiring teacher, and though an excellent
friend to the students, they had no such in-
timate personal relations with him as with
Leuckart and Bischoff. From Bronn, the pa-
leontologist, they received an immense amount
of special information, but his instruction was
minute in details rather than suggestive in
ideas ; and they were glad when their profes-
sor, finding that the course must be shortened
for want of time, displayed to them his mag-
nificent collection of fossils, and with the help
30 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
of the specimens, developed his subject in a
more general and practical way.1 Of the
medical professors, Nageli was the more in-
teresting, though the reputation of Chelius
brought him a larger audience. If there was
however any lack of stimulus in the lecture-
rooms, the young friends made good the de-
ficiency by their own indefatigable and intelli-
gent study of nature, seeking to satisfy their
craving for knowledge by every means within
their reach.2
As the distance and expense made it impos-
sible for Agassiz to spend his vacations with
his family in Switzerland, it soon became the
habit for him to pass the holidays with his
new friend at Carlsruhe. For a young man
of his tastes and acquirements a more charm-
ing home-life than the one to which he was
here introduced can hardly be imagined. The
1 This collection was purchased in 1859 by the Museum
of Comparative Zoology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and
Agassiz had thus the pleasure of teaching his American pu-
pils from the very collection in which he had himself made
his first important paleontological studies.
2 The material for this account of the student life of the
two friends at Heidelberg and of their teachers was chiefly
furnished by Alexander Braun himself at the close of his
own life, after the death of Agassiz. The later sketches of
the Professors at Munich in 1832 were drawn in great part
from the same source.
VACATIONS. 31
whole atmosphere was in harmony with the
pursuits of the students. The house was sim-
ple in its appointments, but rich in books,
music, and in all things stimulating to the
thought and imagination. It stood near one
of the city gates which opened into an exten-
sive oak forest, in itself an admirable collect-
ing ground for the naturalist. At the back
certain rooms, sheltered by the spacious gar-
den from the noise of the street, were devoted
to science. In the first of these rooms the
father's rich collection of minerals was ar-
ranged, and beyond this were the laboratories
of his sons and their friends, where specimens
of all sorts, dried and living plants, micro-
scopes and books of reference, covered the
working tables. Here they brought their
treasures ; here they drew, studied, dissected,
arranged their specimens ; here they discussed
the theories, with which their young brains
were teeming, about the growth, structure,
and relations of animals and plants.1
From this house, which became a second
home to Agassiz, he wrote to his father in
the Christmas holidays of 1826: . . . "My
happiness would be perfect were it not for
1 See Biographical Memoir of Louis Agassiz, by Arnold
Guyot, in the Proceedings of U. S. National Academy.
32 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
the painful thought which pursues me every-
where, that I live on your privations ; yet it is
impossible for me to diminish my expenses
farther. You would lift a great weight from
my heart if you could relieve yourself of this
burden by an arrangement with my uncle
at Neuchatel. I am confident that when I
have finished my studies I could easily make
enough to repay him. At all events, I know
that you cannot pay the whole at once, and
therefore in telling me frankly what are our
resources for this object you would do me
the greatest favor. Until I know that, I
cannot be at peace. Otherwise, I am well,
going on as usual, always working as hard as
I can, and I believe all the professors whose
lectures I attend are satisfied with me." . . .
His father was also pleased with his conduct
and with his progress, for about this time he
writes to a friend, " We have the best possi-
ble news of Louis. Courageous, industrious,
and discreet, he pursues honorably and vigor-
ously his aim, namely, the degree of Doctor
of Medicine and Surgery."
In the spring of 1827 Agassiz fell ill of a
typhus fever prevalent at the university as an
epidemic. His life was in danger for many
days. As soon as he could be moved, Braun
RETURN TO SWITZERLAND. 33
took him to Carlsruhe, where his conva-
lescence was carefully watched over by his
friend's mother. Being still delicate he was
advised to recruit in his native air, and he re-
turned to Orbe, accompanied by Braun, who
did not leave him till he had placed him in
safety with his parents. The following" ex-
tracts from the correspondence between him-
self and Braun give some account of this in-
terval spent at home.
AGASSIZ TO BRAUN.
ORBE, May 26, 1827.
. . . Since I have been here, I have
walked faithfully and have collected a good
number of plants which are not yet dry. I
have more than one hundred kinds, about
twenty specimens of each. As soon as they
can be taken out of the press, I '11 send you a
few specimens of each kind with a number at-
tached so that you may identify them. Take
care that you do not displace the numbers in
opening the package. Should you want more
of any particular kind let me know ; also
whether Schimper wishes for any. ... At
Neuchatel I had the good fortune to find at
least thirty specimens of Bombinator obstet-
ricans with the eggs. Tell Dr. Leuckart that
VOL. I. Q
34 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
I will bring him some, - — and some for you
also. I kept several alive laid in damp moss 5
after fourteen days the eggs were almost as
large as peas, and the little tadpoles moved
about inside in all directions. The mother
stripped the eggs from her legs, and one of
the little tadpoles came out, but died for want
of water. Then I placed the whole mass of
eggs in a vessel filled with water, and be-
hold ! in about an hour some twenty young
ones were swimming freely about. I shall
spare no pains to raise them, and I hope, if
I begin aright, to make fine toads of them in
the end. My oldest sister is busy every day
in making drawings for me to illustrate their
gradual development. ... I dissect now as
much and on as great a variety of subjects
as possible. This makes my principal occu-
pation. I am often busy too with Oken. His
66 Natur- philosophic ' gives me the greatest
pleasure. I long for my box, being in need
of my books, which, no doubt, you have sent.
Meantime, I am reading something of Univer-
sal History, and am not idle, as you see. But
I miss the evenings with you and Schimper
at Heidelberg, and wish I were with you once
more. I am afraid when that happy time
does come, it will be only too short. . . .
CORRESPONDENCE WITH BRAUN. 35
BRAUN TO AGASSIZ.
HEIDELBERG, May, 1827.
. . . On Thursday evening, the 10th, I
reached Heidelberg. The medical lectures
did not begin till the second week of May, so
that I have missed little, and almost regret
having returned so soon. ... I passed the
last afternoon in Basel very pleasantly with
Herr Roepper, to whom I must soon write.
He gave me a variety of specimens, showed
me many beautiful things, and told me much
that was instructive. He is a genuine and ex-
cellent botanist, and no mere collector like the
majority. Neither is he purely an observer
like Dr. Bischoff, but a man who thinks. . . .
Dr. Leuckart is in raptures about the eggs of
the " Hebammen Krote/' and will raise them.
. . . Schweiz takes your place in our erudite
evening meetings. I have been lecturing lately
on the metamorphosis of plants, and Schimper
has propounded an entirely new and very inter-
esting theory, which will, no doubt, find favor
with you hereafter, about the significance of
the circular and longitudinal fibres in organ-
isms. Schimper is fruitful as ever in poetical
and philosophical ideas, and has just now ven-
tured upon a natural history of the mind. We
36 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
have introduced mathematics also, and he has
advanced a new hypothesis about comets and
their long tails. . . . Our chief botanical
occupation this summer is the careful obser-
vation of all our plants, even the commonest,
and the explanation of whatever is unusual
or enigmatical in their structure. We have
already cracked several such nuts, but many
remain to be opened. All such puzzling speci-
mens are spread on single sheets and set aside.
. . . But more of this when we are together
again. . . . Dr. Leuckart begs you to study
carefully the " Hebammen Unke ; " l to no-
tice whether the eggs are already fecundated
when they are in the earth, or whether they
copulate later in the water, or whether the
young are hatched on land, and what is their
tadpole condition, etc. All this is still un-
known. . . .
AGASSIZ TO BRAUN.
ORBE, June 10, 1827.
. . . Last week I made a very pleasant
excursion. You will remember that I have
often spoken to you of Pastor Mellet at Vall-
orbe, who is much interested in the study of
the six-legged insects. He invited me to go
1 Bombinator obstetricans referred to in a former letter.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH BRA UN. 37
to Vallorbe with him for some days, and I
passed a week there, spending my time most
agreeably. We went daily on a search after
insects ; the booty was especially rich in bee-
tles and butterflies. ... I examined also M.
Mellet's own most excellent collection of bee-
tles and butterflies very carefully. He has
many beautiful things, but almost exclusively
Swiss or French, with a few from Brazil, — in
all about 3,000 species. He gave me several,
and promises more in the autumn. . . . He
knows his beetles thoroughly, and observes
their habits, haunts, and changes (as far as he
can) admirably well. It is a pity though that
while his knowledge of species is so accurate,
he knows nothing; of distribution, classifica-
O '
tion, or general relations. I tried to convince
him that he ought to collect snails, slugs, and
other objects of natural history, in the hope
that he might gain thereby a wider insight.
But he would not listen to it ; he said he
had enough to do with his Vermire.
My brother writes me that my box has ar-
rived in Neuchatel. As I am going there
soon I will take it then. I rejoice in the
thought of being in Neuchatel, partly on ac-
count of my brother, Arnold (Guyot), and
other friends, and partly that I may study the
38 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
fishes of our Swiss lakes. The species Cypri-
nus and Corregonus with their allies, including
Salmo, are, as you know, especially difficult.
I will preserve some small specimens in alco-
hol, and, if possible, dissect one of each, in
order to satisfy myself as to their identity or
specific variety. As the same kinds have re-
ceived different names in different lakes, and
since even differences of age have led to dis-
tinct designations, I will note all this down
carefully. When I have made it clear to my-
self, I will send you a catalogue of the kinds
we possess, specifying at the same time the
lakes in which they occur. As I am on the
chapter of fishes, I will ask you : 1. What are
the gill arches ? 2. What the gill blades ? 3.
What is the bladder in fishes ? 4. What is
the cloaca in the egg - laying animals ? 5.
What signify the many fins of fishes? 6.
What is the sac which surrounds the eggs
in Bombinator obstetricans ? . . . Tell Dr.
Leuckart I have already put aside for him the
Corregonus umbla (if such it be), but can get
no Silurus glanis.
I suppose you continue to come together
now and then in the evening. . . . Make me
a sharer in your new discoveries. Have you
finished your essay on the physiology of plants,
and what do you make of it ? ...
CORRESPONDENCE WITH BRA UN. 39
BRAUN TO AGASSIZ.
CARLSRUHE, Whitsuntide, Monday, 1827.
... I am in Carlsruhe, and as the pack-
age has not gone yet, I add a note. I have
been analyzing and comparing all sorts of
plants in our garden to-day, and I wish you
had been with me. On my last sheet I send
some nuts for you to pick, some wholly, some
half, others not at ah1, cracked. Schimper is
lost in the great impenetrable world of suns,
with their planets, moons, and comets ; he
soars even into the region of the double stars,
the milky way, and the nebulae.
On a loose sheet come the " nuts to pick."
It contains a long list of mooted questions, a
few of which are given here to show the ex-
change of thought between Agassiz and his
friend, the one propounding zoological, the
other botanical, puzzles. Although most of
the problems were solved long ago, it is not
uninteresting to follow these young minds in
their search after the laws of structure and
growth, dimly perceived at first, but becoming
gradually clearer as they go on. The very
first questions hint at the law of Phyllotaxis,
then wholly unknown, though now it makes
40 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
a part of the most elementary instruction in
botany.1
" 1. Where is the first diverging point of
the sterns and roots in plants, that is to say,
the first geniculurn?
66 2. How do you explain the origin of those
leaves on the stem which, not arising from
distinct geniculi, are placed spirally or scat-
tered around the stem ?
"3. Why do some plants, especially trees
(contrary to the ordinary course of develop-
ment in plants), blossom before they have put
forth leaves? (Elm-trees, willow-trees, and
fruit-trees.)
U4. In what succession does the develop-
ment of the organs of the flower take place?
— and their formation in the bud? (Com-
pare Campanula, Papaver.)
"5. What are the leaves of the Spergula?
" 6. What are the tufted leaves of various
pine-trees ? (Pinus sylvestris, Strobus, Larix,
etc. ) . • •
" 18. What is individuality in plants ? '
The next letter contains Agassiz's answer to
1 Botany owes to Alexander Braun and Karl Scliimper the
discovery of this law, by which leaves, however crowded, are
so arranged around the stem as to divide the space with
mathematical precision, thus giving to each leaf its fair share
of room for growth.
CORRESPONDENCE WITH BRA UN. 41
Dr. Leuckart's questions concerning the eggs
he had sent him, and some farther account of
his own observations upon them.
AGASSIZ TO BRAUN.
NEUCHATEL, June 20, 1827.
. . . Now you shall hear what I know of
the " Hebammen Krote." How the fecunda-
tion takes place I know not, but it must needs
be the same as in other kinds of the related
Bombinator ; igneus throws out almost as
many eggs hanging together in clusters as
obstetricans ; fuscus throws them out from it-
self in strings (see Roseld's illustration). ... I
have now carefully examined the egg clusters
of obstetricans ; all the eggs are in one string
and hang together. This string is a bag, in
which the eggs lie inclosed at different dis-
tances, though they seem in the empty space
to be fallen, thread-like, together. But if you
stretch the thread and press the eggs, they
change their places, and you can distinctly see
that they lie free in the bag, having their own
membranous envelopes corresponding to those
of other batrachian eggs. Surely this species
seeks the water at the time of fecundation,
for so do all batrachians, the water being in-
deed a more fitting medium for fecundation
42 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
than the air. ... It is certain that the eggs
were already fecundated when we found them
in the ground, for later, I found several not so
far advanced as those you have, and yet after
three weeks I had tadpoles from them. In
those eggs which were in the lowest stage
of development (how they may be earlier, ne-
scio), nothing was clearly visible ; they were
simply little yellow balls. After some days,
two small dark spots were to be seen mark-
ing the position of the eyes, and a longitu-
dinal streak indicated the dorsal ridge. Pres-
ently everything became more distinct ; the
mouth and the nasal opening, the eyes and
the tail, which lay in a half circle around
the body; the skin was so transparent that
the beating of the heart and the blood in the
vessels could be easily distinguished ; the yolk
and the yolk sac were meanwhile sensibly di-
minished. The movements of the little ani-
mal were now quite perceptible, — they were
quick and by starts. After three or four
weeks the eggs were as large as peas; the
bags had burst at the spots where the eggs
were attached, and the little creatures filled
the egg envelopes completely. They moved
incessantly and very quickly. Now the fe-
male stripped off the eggs from her legs ; she
CORRESPONDENCE WITH BRAUN. 43
seemed very uneasy, and sprang about con-
stantly in the tank, but grew more quiet when
I threw in more water. The eggs were soon
free, and I laid them in a shallow vessel filled
with fresh water. The restlessness among
them now became greater, and behold ! like
lightning, a little tadpole slipped out of its
egg, paused astonished, gazed on the great-
ness of the world, made some philanthropic
observations, and swam quickly away. I gave
them fresh water often, and tender green
plants as well as bread to eat. They ate ea-
gerly. Up to this time their different stages
of development had been carefully drawn by
my sister. I now went to Vallorbe; they
promised at home to take care of my young
brood, but when I returned the tadpoles had
been forgotten, and I found them all dead;
not yet decayed, however, and I could there-
fore preserve them in alcohol. The gills I
have never seen, but I will watch to see
whether they are turned inward. . . .
BRAUN TO AGASSIZ.
CARLSRUHE, August 9, 1827.
. . . This is to tell you that I have deter-
mined to leave Heidelberg in the autumn and
set forth on a pilgrimage to Munich, and that
44 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
I invite you to be my traveling companion.
Judging by a circumstantial letter from Dol-
linger, the instruction in the natural sciences
leaves nothing to be desired there. Add to
this that the lectures are free, and the theatre
open to students at twenty-four kreutzers. No
lack of advantages and attractions, lodgings
hardly more expensive than at Heidelberg,
board equally cheap, beer plenty and good.
Let all this persuade you. We shall hear
Gruithuisen in popular astronomy, Schubert
in general natural history, Martius in botany,
Euchs in mineralogy, Seiber in mathematics,
Starke in physics, Oken in everything (he
lectures in winter on the philosophy of nature,
natural history, and physiology). The clinical
instruction will be good. We shall soon be
friends with all the professors. The library
contains whatever is best in botany and zool-
ogy, and the collections open to the public
are very rich. It is not known whether Schel-
linof will lecture, but at all events certain of
O '
the courses will be of great advantage. Then
little vacation trips to the Salzburg and Carin-
thian Alps are easily made from there ! Write
soon whether you will go and drink Bavarian
beer and Schnapski with me, and write also
when we are to see you in Heidelberg and
PLANS FOR MUNICH. 45
Carlsruhe. Remind me then to tell you about
the theory of the root and poles in plants.
As soon as I have your answer we will be-
speak our lodgings from Dollinger, who will
attend to that for us. Shall we again house
together in one room, or shall we have sepa-
rate cells in one comb, namely, under the same
roof ? The latter has its advantages for grass-
gatherers and stone-cutters like ourselves. . . .
Hammer away industriously at all sorts of
rocks. I have collected at Auerbach, Wein-
heim, Wiesloch, etc. But before all else, ob-
serve carefully and often the wonderful struc-
ture of plants, those lovely children of the
earth and sky. Ponder them with child-like
mind, for children marvel at the phenomena
of nature, while grown people often think
themselves too wise to wonder, and yet they
know little more than the children. But the
thoughtful student recognizes the truth of the
child's feeling, and with his knowledge of
nature his wonder does but grow more and
more. . . .
CHAPTER II.
1827-1828: JST. 20-21.
Arrival in Munich. — Lectures. — Relations with the Pro-
fessors. — Schelling, Martius, Oken, Dollinger. — Relations
with Fellow-Students. — The Little Academy. — Plans for
Traveling.— Advice from his Parents. — Vacation Journey.
— Tri-Centennial Diirer Festival at Nuremberg.
AGASSIZ accepted with delight his friend's
proposition, and toward the end of October,
1827, he and Braun left Carlsruhe together
for the University of Munich, His first letter
to his brother is given in full, for though it
contains crudities at which the writer himself
would have smiled in after life, it is interest-
ing as showing what was the knowledge pos-
sessed in those days by a clever, well-informed
student of natural history.
TO HIS BROTHER AUGUSTS.
MUNICH, November 5, 1827.
... At last I am in Munich. I have so
much to tell you that I hardly know where to
begin. To be sure that I forget nothing,
LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 47
however, I will give things in their regular se-
quence. First, then, the story of my journey ;
after that, I will tell you what I am doing
here. As papa has, of course, shown you my
last letter, I will continue where I left off. . . .
From Carlsruhe we traveled post to Stutt-
gart, where we passed the greater part of the
day in the Museum, in which I saw many
things quite new to me ; a llama, for instance,
almost as large as an ass. You know that
this animal, which is of the genus Camelus,
lives in South America, where it is to the
natives what the camel is to the Arab; that
is to say, it provides them with milk, wool,
and meat, and is used by them, moreover,
for driving and riding. There was a North
American buffalo of immense size; also an
elephant from Africa, and one from Asia ; be-
side these, a prodigious number of gazelles,
deer, cats, and dogs ; skeletons of a hippo-
potamus and an elephant ; and lastly the fossil
bones of a mammoth. You know that the
mammoth is no longer found living, and that
the remains hitherto discovered lead to the
belief that it was a species of carnivorous ele-
phant. It is a singular fact that some fisher-
men, digging recently on the borders of the
Obi, in Siberia, found one of these animals
48 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
frozen in a mass of ice, at a depth of sixty
feet, so well preserved that it was still covered
with hair, as in life. They melted the ice to
remove the animal, but the skeleton alone re-
mained complete ; the hide was spoiled by con-
tact with the air, and only a few pieces have
been kept, one of which is in the Museum at
Stuttgart. The hairs upon it are as coarse as
fine twine, and nearly a foot long1. The entire
skeleton is at St. Petersburg in the Museum,
and is larger than the largest elephant. One
may judge by that what havoc such an ani-
mal must have made, if it was, as its teeth
show it to have been, carnivorous. But what
I would like to know is how this animal could
wander so far north, and then in what man-
ner it died, to be frozen thus, and remain in-
tact, without decomposing, perhaps for count-
less ages. For it must have belonged to a
former creation, since it is nowhere to be
found living, and we have no instance of the
disappearance of any kind of animal within
the historic period. There were, besides,
many other kinds of fossil animals. The col-
lection of birds is very beautiful, but it is a
pity that many of them are wrongly named.
I corrected a number myself. . . . From
Stuttgart we went to Esslingen, where we
LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 49
were to visit two famous botanists. One was
Herr Steudel ; a sombre face, with long over-
hanging black hair, almost hiding the eyes,
— a very Jewish face. He knows every book
on botany that appears, has read them all,
but cares little to see the plants themselves ;
in short, he is a true closet student. He has
a large herbarium, composed in great part of
plants purchased or received as gifts. The
other, Professor Hochstetter, is an odd little
man, stepping briskly about in his high boots,
and having always a half suppressed smile on
his lips whenever he takes the pipe from be-
tween his teeth. A very good man, however,
and extremely obliging ; he offered us every
civility. As wre desired not only to make their
acquaintance, but to win from these bota-
nists at least a few grasses, we presented our-
selves like true commis voyageurs, with dried
herbs to sell, each of us having a package
of plants under his arm, — mine being Swiss,
gathered last summer, Braun's from the Pa-
O '
latinate. We gave specimens to each, and
received in exchange from Steudel some Amer-
ican plants ; from Hochstetter some from Bo-
hemia, and others from Moravia, his native
country. From Esslingen we were driven to
Goeppingen, in the most frightful weather
VOL. I.
50 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
possible ; it rained, snowed, froze, blew, all
at once. It was a pity, since our road lay
through one of the prettiest valleys I have
ever seen, watered by the Neckar, and bor-
dered on both sides by mountains of singular
form and of considerable height. They are
what the Wurtembergers call the Suabian
Alps, but I think that Chaumont is higher
than the loftiest peak of their Alps. Here we
found an old Heidelberg acquaintance, whose
father owns a superb collection of fossils, es-
pecially of shells and zoophytes. He has also
quite a large collection of shells from the
Adriatic Sea, but among these last not one
was named. As we knew them, we made it
our duty to arrange them, and in three hours
his whole collection was labeled. Since he
has duplicates of almost everything, he prom-
ised, as soon as he should have time, to make
a selection from these and send them to us.
Could we have stayed longer we might have
picked out what we pleased, for he placed his
collection at our disposal. But we were in
haste to arrive here, so we begged him to send
us, at his leisure, whatever he could give us.
Thence we continued our journey by post,
because it still rained, and the roads were so
detestable that with the best will in the world
LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 51
we could not have made our way on foot. In
the evening we reached Ulm, where, owing to
the late hour, we saw almost nothing except
the famous belfry of the cathedral, which
was distinctly visible as we entered the city.
After supper we continued our journey, still
by post, wishing to be in Munich the next
day. I have never seen anything more beau-
tiful than the view as we left Ulm. The
moon had risen and shone upon the belfry
like broad daylight. On all sides extended a
wide plain, unbroken by a single inequality,
so far as the eye could distinguish, and cut
by the Danube, glittering in the moonbeams.
We crossed the plain during the night, and
reached Augsburg at dawn. It is a beautiful
city, but we merely stopped there for break-
fast, and saw the streets only as we passed
through them. On leaving Augsburg, the
Tyrolean Alps, though nearly forty leagues
away, were in sight. About eighteen leagues
off was also discernible an immense forest ; of
this we had a nearer view as we advanced, for
it encircles Munich at some distance from the
town. We arrived here on Sunday, the 4th,
in the afternoon. . . . My address is opposite
the Sendlinger Thor No. 37. I have a very
pretty chamber on the lower floor with an al-
52 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
cove for my bed. The house is situated out-
side the town, on a promenade, which makes
it very pleasant. Moreover, by walking less
than a hundred yards, I reach the Hospital
and the Anatomical School, — a great conven-
ience for me when the winter weather begins.
One thing gives me great pleasure : from one
of my windows the whole chain of the Tyrol-
ean Alps is visible as far as Appenzell ; and
as the country is flat to their very base, I see
them better than we see our Alps from the
plain. It is a great pleasure to have at least
a part of our Swiss mountains always in sight.
To enjoy it the more, I have placed my table
opposite the window, so that every time I lift
my head my eyes rest on our dear country.
This does not prevent me from feeling dull
sometimes, especially when I am alone, but I
hope this will pass off when my occupations
become more regular. . . .
A far more stimulating intellectual life than
that of Heidelberg awaited our students at
Munich. Among their professors were some
of the most original men of the day, — men
whose influence was felt all over Europe.
Dollinger lectured on comparative anatomy
and kindred subjects ; Martius and Zuccarini
RELATIONS WITH PROFESSORS. 53
on botany. Martius gave, besides, his so-
called " Reise-Colleg," in which he instructed
the students how to observe while on their
travels. Schelling taught philosophy, the ti-
tles of his courses in the first term being, " In-
troduction to Philosophy ' and " The Ages
of the World " ; in the second, « The Philos-
ophy of Mythology ' and " The Philosophy
of Revelation." Schelling made a strong im-
pression upon the friends. His manner was
as persuasive as his style was clear, and his
mode of developing his subject led his hear-
ers along with a subtle power which did not
permit fatigue. Oken lectured on general nat-
ural history, physiology, and zoology, includ-
ing his famous views on the philosophy of na-
ture (Natur -philosophic). His lectures gave
occasion for much scientific discussion, the
more so as he brought very startling hypoth-
eses into his physiology, and drew from them
conclusions which even upon his own showing
were not always in accordance with experi-
ence. " On philosophical grounds," he was
wont to say, when facts and theory thus con-
fronted each other, "we must so accept it."
Oken was extremely friendly with the stu-
dents, and Agassiz, Braun, and Schimper (who
joined them at Munich) passed an evening
54 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
once a week at his house, where they listened
to scientific papers or discussed scientific mat-
ters, over a pipe and a glass of beer. They
also met once a week to drink tea at the
house of Professor von Martius, where, in
like manner, the conversation turned upon
scientific subjects, unless something interest-
ing in general events gave it a different turn.
Still more beloved was Dollinger, whose char-
acter they greatly esteemed and admired while
they delighted in his instruction. Not only
did they go to him daily, but he also came
often to see them, bringing botanical speci-
mens to Braun, or looking in upon Agassiz's
breeding experiments, in which he took the
liveliest interest, being always ready with ad-
vice or practical aid. The fact that Agassiz
and Braun had their room in his house made
intercourse with him especially easy. This
room became the rendezvous of all the as-
piring, active spirits among the young natural-
ists at Munich, and was known by the name
of " The Little Academy." Schimper, no
less than the other two, contributed to the
vivid enthusiastic intellectual life which char-
acterized their meetings. Not so happy as
Agassiz and Braun in his later experience,
the promise of his youth was equally brilliant ;
DAILY LIFE AT THE UNIVERSITY. 55
and those who knew him in those early days
remember his charm of mind and manner
with delight. The friends gave lectures in
turn on various subjects, especially on modes
of- development in plants and animals. These
lectures were attended not only by students,
but often by the professors.
Among Agassiz's intimate friends in Mu-
nich, beside those already mentioned, was Mi-
chahelles, the distinguished young zoologist
and physician, whose early death in Greece,
where he went to practice medicine, was so
much regretted. Like Agassiz, he was wont
to turn his room into a menagerie, where he
kept turtles and other animals, brought home,
for the most part, from his journeys in Italy
and elsewhere. Mahir, whose name occurs
often in the letters of this period, was an-
other college friend and fellow-student, though
seemingly Agassiz's senior in standing, if not
in years, for he gave him private instruction
in mathematics, and also assisted him in his
medical studies.
TO HIS SISTER CECILE.
*
MUNICH, November 20, 1827.
... I will tell you in detail how my time
is spent, so that when you think of me you
56 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
may know where I am and what I am do-
ing. In the morning from seven to nine I
am at the Hospital. From nine to eleven I
go to the Library, where I usually work at
that time instead of going home. From
eleven till one o'clock I have lectures, after
which I dine, sometimes at one place, some-
times at another, for here every one, that is,
every foreigner, takes his meals in the caf£s,
paying for the dinner on the spot, so that he
is not obliged to go always to the same place.
In the afternoon I have other lectures on
various subjects, according to the days, from
two or three till five o'clock. These ended,
I take a walk although it is then dark. The
environs of Munich are covered with snow,
and the people have been going about in
sleighs these three weeks. When I am frozen
o
through I come home, and set to work to re-
view my lectures of the clay, or I write and
read till eight or nine o'clock. Then I go
to my cafe for supper. After supper I am
glad to return to the house and go to bed.
This is the course of my daily life, with
the single exception that sometimes Braun
and I pass an evening with some professor,
discussing with all our might and main sub-
jects of which we often know nothing ; this
LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 57
does not, however, lessen the animation of the
talk. More often, these gentlemen tell us of
their travels, etc. I enjoy especially our visits
to M. Martius, because he talks to us of his
journey to Brazil, from which he returned
some years ago, bringing magnificent collec-
tions, which he shows us whenever we cah1
upon him. Friday is market day here, and I
never miss going to see the fishes to increase
my collection. I have already obtained sev-
eral not to be found in Switzerland ; and even
in my short stay here I have had the good
fortune to discover a new species, of which
I have made a very exact description, to be
printed in some journal of natural history.
Were my dear Cecile here, I should have
begged her to draw it nicely for me. That
would have been pleasant indeed. Now I
must ask a stranger to do it, and it will have
by no means the same value in my eyes. . . .
TO HIS BROTHER AUGUSTE.
MUNICH, December 26, 1827.
. . . After my long fast from news of you,
your letter made me very happy. I was
dull besides, and needed something to cheer
me. . . . Since my talk about natural history
does not bore you, I want to tell you various
58 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
other things about it, and also to ask you to
do me a favor. I have stuffed a superb otter
lately ; next week I shall receive a beaver, and
I have exchanged all my little toads from
Neuchatel for reptiles from Brazil and Java.
One of our professors here, who is publishing
a natural history of reptiles, will introduce in
his work my description of that species, and
my observations upon it. He has already had
lithographed those drawings of eggs that
Cecile made for me, as well as the colored
drawings made for me by Braun's sister when
I was at Carlsruhe. My collection of fishes
is also much increased, but I have no dupli-
cates left of the species I brought with me.
I have exchanged them all. I should there-
fore be greatly obliged if you would get me
some more of the same. I will tell you what
kinds I want, and how you are to forward
them. I have still at Cudrefin several jars of
thick green glass. When you go there take
them away with you, fill them with alcohol,
and put into them as many of these fishes as
you can find for me. Put something between
every two specimens, to prevent them from
rubbing against each other ; pack them in a
little box wrapped in hay, and send them
either by a good opportunity or in the least
LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 59
expensive way. The kinds I want are [here
follows the list]. ... It will interest you to
know that I am working with a young Dr.
Born upon an anatomy and natural history
of the fresh-water fishes of Europe. We have
already gathered a great deal of material, and
I think by the spring, or in the course of
the summer, we shall be able to publish the
first number. This will bring in a little ready
money for a short journey in the vacation.
I earnestly advise you to while away your
leisure hours with study. Read much, but
only good and useful books. I promised to
send you something ; do not think, because I
have not done so yet, that I have forgotten
it. On the contrary, the difficulty of choos-
ing is the cause of the delay; but I will
make farther inquiry as to what will suit
you best and you shall have my list. Mean-
time remember to read Say, and if you have
not already begun it, do not put it off. Re-
member that statistical and political knowl-
edge alone distinguishes the true merchant
from the mere tradesman, and guides him in
his undertakings. ... A merchant familiar
with the products of a country, its resources,
its commercial and political relations with
other countries, is much less likely to enter
60 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
into speculations based on false ideas, and
therefore of doubtful issue. Write me about
what you are reading and about your plans
and projects, for I can hardly believe that any
one could exist without forming them : I, at
least, could not. . . .
The last line of this letter betrays the rest-
less spirit of adventure growing out of the
desire for larger fields of activity and re-
search. Tranquilized for a while in the new
and more satisfying intellectual life of Munich,
it stirred afresh from time to time, not with-
out arousing anxiety in friends at home, as
we shall see. The letter to which the follow-
ing is an answer has not been found.
FKOM HIS MOTHER.
ORBE, January 8, 1828.
. . . Your letter reached me at Cudrefin,
where I have been passing ten days. With
what pleasure I received it, — and yet I read
it with a certain sadness too, for there was
something of ennui, I might say of discon-
tent, in the tone. . . . Believe me, my dear
Louis, your attitude is a wrong one ; you see
everything in shadow. Consider that you are
exactly in the position you have chosen for
CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIS MOTHER. 61
yourself; we have in no way opposed your
plans. We have, on the contrary, entered
into them with readiness, saying amen to your
proposals, only insisting upon a profession
that would make us easy about your future,
persuaded as we are that you have too much
energy and uprightness not to wish to fill
honorably your place in society. You left us
a few months ago with the assurance that two
o
years would more than suffice to complete
your medical studies. You chose the univer-
sity which offered, as you thought, the most
ample means to reach your end ; and now,
how is it that you look forward only with dis-
taste to the practice of medicine ? Have you
reflected seriously before setting aside this
profession ? Indeed, we cannot consent to
such a step. You would lose ground in our
opinion, in that of your family, and in that of
the public. You would pass for an inconsid-
erate, fickle young fellow, and the slightest
stain on your reputation would be a mortal
blow to us. There is one way of reconciling
all difficulties, — the only one in my opinion.
Complete your studies with all the zeal of
which you are capable, and then, if you have
still the same inclination, go on with your
natural history ; give yourself wholly up to it
62 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
should that be your wish. Having two strings
to your bow, you will have the greater facil-
ity for establishing yourself. Such is your
father's way of thinking as well as mine. . . .
Nor are you made to live alone, my child.
In a home only is true happiness to be found ;
there you can settle yourself to your liking.
The sooner you have finished your studies, the
sooner you can put up your tent, catch your
blue butterfly, and metamorphose her into a
loving housewife. Of course you will not
gather roses without thorns ; life consists of
pains and pleasures everywhere. To do all
the good you can to your fellow-beings, to
have a pure conscience, to gain an honorable
livelihood, to procure for yourself by work a
little ease, to make those around you happy,
— that is true happiness ; all the rest but
mere accessories and chimeras.
TO HIS MOTHER.
MUNICH, February 3, 1828.
. . . You know well to whom you speak,
dear mother, and how you must bait your
hook in order that the fish may rise. When
you paint it, I see nothing above domestic
happiness, and am convinced that the height
of felicity is to be found in the bosom of your
CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIS MOTHER. 63
family, surrounded by little marmots to love
and caress you. I hope, too, to enjoy this hap-
piness in time. ... But the man of letters
should seek repose only when he has deserved
it by his toil, for if once he anchor himself,
farewell to energy and liberty, by which alone
great minds are fostered. Therefore I have
said to myself, that I would remain unmarried
till rny work should assure me a peaceful and
happy future. A young man has too much
vigor to bear confinement so soon ; he gives
up many pleasures which he might have had,
and does not appreciate at their just value
those which he has. As it is said that the
vaurien must precede the bon sujet, so I be-
lieve that for the full enjoyment of sedentary
life one must have played the vagabond for
a while.
This brings me to the subject of my last
letter. It seems that you have misunderstood
me, for your answer grants me after all just
what I ask. You think that I wish to re-
nounce entirely the study of medicine? On
the contrary, the idea has never occurred to
me, and, according to my promise, you shall
have one of these days a doctor of medicine
as a son. What repels me is the thought of
practicing medicine for a livelihood, and here
64 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
you give nie free rein just where I wanted it.
That is, you consent that I should devote my-
self wholly to the natural sciences should this
career offer me, as I hope it may, a more favor-
able prospect. It requires, for instance, but
two or three years to go around the world at
government expense. I will levy contribu-
tions on all my senses that not a single chance
may escape me for making interesting ob-
servations and fine collections, so that I also
may be ranked among those who have en-
larged the boundaries of science. With that
my future is secured, and I shall return con-
tent and disposed to do all that you wish.
Even then, if medicine had gained greater at-
traction for me, there would still be time to
begin the practice of it. It seems to me there
is nothing impracticable in this plan. I beg
you to think of it, and to talk it over with
papa and with my uncle at Lausanne. ... I
am perfectly well and as happy as possible,
for I feed in clover here on my favorite stud-
ies, with every facility at my command. If
you thought my New Year's letter depressed,
it was only a momentary gloom due to the
memories awakened by the day. . . .
LETTER FROM HIS FATHER. 65
FROM HIS FATHER.
ORBE, February 21, 1828.
Your mother's last letter, my dear Louis,
was in answer to one from you which crossed
it on the way, and gave us, so far as your
health and contentment are concerned, great
satisfaction. Yet our gratification lacks some-
thing; it would be more complete had you
not a mania for rushing full gallop into the
future. I have often reproved you for this,
and you would fare better did you pay more
attention to my reproof. If it be an incur-
able malady with you, at all events do not
force your parents to share it. If it be ab-
solutely essential to your happiness that you
should break the ice of the two poles in order
to find the hairs of a mammoth, or that you
should dry your shirt in the sun of the trop-
ics, at least wait till your trunk is packed and
your passports are signed before you talk with
us about it. Begin by reaching your first
aim, a physician's and surgeon's diploma. I
will not for the present hear of anything else,
and that is more than enough. Talk to us,
then in your letters, of your friends, of your
personal life, of your wants (which I am al-
ways ready to satisfy), of your pleasures, of
VOL. I.
66 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
your feeling for us, but do not put yourself
out of our reach with your philosophical syl-
logisms. My own philosophy is to fulfill my
duties in my sphere, and even that gives me
more than I can do. ...
The Vaudois " Society of Public Utility "
has just announced an altogether new project,
that of establishing popular libraries. A com-
mittee consisting of eight members, of whom
I have the honor to be one, is nominated un-
der the presidency of M. Delessert for the
execution of this scheme. What do you
think of the idea? To me it seems a delicate
matter. I should say that before we insist
upon making people read we must begin by
preparing them to read usefully ? . . .
TO HIS FATHER.
MUNICH, March 3, 1828.
. . . What you tell me of the " Society of
Public Utility ' ' has aroused in me a throng of
ideas, about which I will write you when they
are .a little more mature. Meanwhile, please
tell me : 1. What is this Society ? 2. Of
what persons is it composed? 3. What is its
principal aim ? 4. What are the popular li-
braries to contain, and for what class are they
intended ? I believe this project may be of
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 67
the greatest service to our people, and it is on
this account that I desire farther details that
I may think it over carefully. Tell me, also,
in what way you propose to distribute your
libraries at small expense, and how large they
are to be. ...
I could not be more satisfied than I am with
my stay here. I lead a monotonous but an
exceedingly pleasant life, withdrawn from the
crowd of students and seeing them but little.
When our lectures are over we meet in the
evening at Braun's room or mine, with three
or four intimate acquaintances, and talk of
scientific matters, each one in his turn present-
ing a subject which is first developed by him,
and then discussed by all. These exercises
are very instructive. As my share, I have
begun to give a course of natural history, or
rather of pure zoology. Braun talks to us of
botany, and another of our company, Mahir,
who is an excellent fellow, teaches us mathe-
matics and physics in his turn. In two
months our friend Schimper, whom we left at
Heidelberg, will join us, and he will then be
our professor of philosophy. Thus we shall
form a little university, instructing each other
and at the same time learning what we teach
more thoroughly because we shall be obliged
68 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
to demonstrate it. Each session lasts two or
three hours, during which the professor in
charge retails his merchandise without aid of
notes or book. You can imagine how useful
this must be in preparing us to speak in public
and with coherence ; the experience is the
more important, since we all desire nothing so
much as sooner or later to become professors
in very truth, after having played at professor
in the university.
This brings me naturally to my projects
again. Your letter made me feel so keenly
the anxiety I had caused you by my passion
for travel, that I will not recur to it ; but as
my object was to make in that way a name
that would win for me a professorship, I ven-
ture upon another proposition. If during the
course of my studies I succeed in making my-
self known by a work of distinction, will you
not then consent that I shall study, at least
during one year, the natural sciences alone,
and then accept a professorship of natural his-
tory, with the understanding that in the first
place, and in the time agreed upon, I shall
take my Doctor's degree ? This is, indeed,
essential to my obtaining what I wish, at least
in Germany. You will object that, before
thinking of anything beyond, I ought first to
LETTER FROM HIS FATHER. 69
fulfill the condition. But let me say that the
more clearly a man sees the road before him,
the less likely he is to lose his way or take the
wrong turn, — the better he can divide his
stages and his resting-places. . . .
FROM HIS FATHER.
ORBE, March 25, 1828.
... I have had a long talk about you
with your uncle. He does not at all disap-
prove of your letters, of which I told him the
contents. He only insists, as we do, on the
necessity of a settled profession as absolutely
essential to your financial position. Indeed,
the natural sciences, however sublime and at-
tractive, offer nothing certain in the future.
They may, no doubt, be your golden bridge,
or you may, thanks to them, soar very high,
but — modern Icarus — may not also some
adverse fortune, an unexpected loss of popu-
larity, or, perhaps, some revolution fatal to
your philosophy, bring you down with a som-
ersault, and then you would not be sorry to
find in your quiver the means of gaining
your bread. Agreed that you have now an
invincible repugnance to the practice of med-
icine, it is evident from your last two letters
that you would have no less objection to any
70 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
other profession by which money is to be
made, and, besides, it is too late to make an-
other selection. This being so, we will come
to an understanding in one word : Let the
sciences be the balloon in which you pre-
pare to travel through higher regions, but let
medicine and surgery be your parachutes. I
think, my dear Louis, you cannot object to
this way of looking at the question and decid-
ing it. In making my respects to the pro-
fessor of zoology, I have the pleasure to tell
him that his uncle was delighted with his way
of passing his evenings, and congratulates him
with all his heart on his choice of a recreation.
Enough of this chapter. I close it here, wish-
ing you most heartily courage, health, success,
and, above all, contentment. . . .
Upon this follows the answer to Louis's re-
quest for details about the " Society of Public
Utility." It shows the intimate exchange of
thought between father and son on educa-
tional subjects, but it is of too local an inter-
est for reproduction here.
The Easter vacation was devoted to a short
journey, some account of which will be found
in the next letter. The traveling party con-
sisted of Agassiz, Braun, and Schimper, with
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 71
two other students, who did not, however, re-
main with them during the whole trip.
TO HIS FATHER.
MUNICH, May 15, 1828.
. . . Pleasant as my Easter journey was, I
will give you but a brief account of it, for
my enjoyment was so connected with my spe-
cial studies that the details would only be tire-
some to you. You know who were my travel-
ing companions, so I have only to tell you of
our adventures, assuredly not those of knights
errant or troubadours. Could these gentry
have been resuscitated, and have seen us start-
ing forth in blouses, with bags or botanical
boxes at our backs and butterfly-nets in our
hands, instead of lance and buckler, they
could hardly have failed to look down upon
us with pity from the height of their grand-
eur.
The first day brought us to Landshut,
where was formerly the university till it was
transferred, ten years ago, to Munich. We
had the pleasure of finding along our road
most of the early spring plants. The weather
was magnificent, and nature seemed to smile
upon her votaries. . . . We stopped on the
way but one day, at Ratisbon, to visit some
72 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
relations of Braun's, with whom we promised
to spend several days on our return. Learn-
ing on our arrival at Nuremberg that the
Durer festival, which had been our chief in-
ducement for this journey, would not take
place under eight or ten days, we decided to
pass the intervening time at Erlangen, the
seat, as you know, of a university. I do not
know if I have already told you that among
German students the exercise of hospitality
toward those who exchange visits from one
university to another is a sacred custom. It
gives offense, or is at least looked upon as
a mark of pride and disdain, if you do not
avail yourself of this. We therefore went to
one of the cafes de reunion, and received at
once our tickets for lodgings. We passed six
days at Erlangen most agreeably, making a bo-
tanical excursion every day. We also called
upon the professors of botany and zoology,
whom we had already seen at Munich, and by
whom we were most cordially received. The
professor of botany, M. Koch, invited us to
a very excellent dinner, and gave us many rare
plants not in our possession before, while M.
Wagner was kind enough to show us in detail
the Museum and the Library.
At last came the day appointed for the
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 73
third centennial festival of Dtirer. Every-
thing was so arranged as to make it very bril-
liant, and the weather was most favorable. I
doubt if ever before were collected so many
painters in the same place. They gathered,
as if to vie with each other, from all nations,
Russians, Italians, French, Germans, etc. Be-
side the pupils of the Academy of Fine Arts
at Munich, I think that every soul who could
paint, were it only the smallest sketch, was
there to pay homage to the great master. All
went in procession to the place where the
monument is to be raised, and the magistrates
of the city laid the first stones of the pedestal.
To my amusement they cemented these first
stones with a mortar which was served in
great silver platters, and made of fine pounded
porcelain mixed with champagne. In the
evening all the streets were illuminated ; there
O '
were balls, concerts, and plays, so that we
must have been doubled or quadrupled to see
everything. We stayed some days longer at
Nuremberg to visit the other curiosities of
the city, especially its beautiful churches, its
manufactories, etc., and then started on our
return to Ratisbon.
CHAPTER III.
1828-1829: ^ET. 21-22.
First Important Work in Natural History. — Spix's Brazilian
Fishes. — Second Vacation Trip. — Sketch of Work during
University Year. — Extracts from the Journal of Mr.
Dinkel. — Home Letters. — Hope of joining Humboldt's
Asiatic Expedition. — Diploma of Philosophy. — Comple-
tion of First Part of the Spix Fishes. — Letter concerning
it from Cuvier.
IT was not without a definite purpose that
Agassiz had written to his father some weeks
before, " Should I during the course of my
studies succeed in making myself known by a
distinguished work, would you not then con-
sent that I should study for one year the
natural sciences alone ? ' Unknown to his
parents, for whom he hoped to prepare a de-
lightful surprise, Agassiz had actually been
engaged for months on the first work which
gave him distinction in the scientific world ;
namely, a description of the Brazilian fishes
brought home by Martius and Spix from their
celebrated journey in Brazil. This was the
secret to which allusion is made in the next
LETTER TO HIS BROTHER. 75
letter. To his disappointment an accident
brought his undertaking to the knowledge of
his father and mother before it was completed.
He always had a boyish regret that his little
plot had been betrayed before the moment for
the denouement arrived. The book was writ-
ten in Latin and dedicated to Cuvier.1
TO HIS BROTHER.
MUNICH, July 27, 1828.
. . . Various things which I have begun
keep me a prisoner here. Probably I shall
not stir during the vacation, and shall even
give up the little trip in the Tyrol, which I
had thought of making as a rest from occu-
pations that bind me very closely at present,
but from which I hope to free myself in the
course of the holidays. Don't be angry with
me for not telling you at once what they are.
When you know, I hope to be forgiven for
keeping you so long in the dark. I have
kept it a secret from papa too, though in his
last letter he asks me what is my especial
work just now. A few months more of pa-
tience, and I will give you a strict account of
1 Selecta genera et species piscium quos collegit et pingendos
curavit Dr. J. W. de Spix. Digessit, descripsit et observa-
tionibus illustravit Dr. L. Agassiz.
76 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
my time since I came here, and then I am
sure you will be satisfied with me. I only
wish to guard against one thing : do not take
it into your head that I am about to don the
fool's cap suddenly and surprise you with a
Doctor's degree ; that would be going a lit-
tle too fast, nor do I think of it yet. ... I
want to remind you not to let the summer
pass without getting me fishes according to
the list in my last letter, which I hope you
have not mislaid. You would give me great
pleasure by sending them as soon as possible.
Let me tell you why. M. Cuvier has an-
nounced the publication of a complete work
on all the known fishes, and in the prospectus
he calls on such naturalists as occupy them-
selves with ichthyology to send him the fishes
of the country where they live ; he mentions
those who have already sent him collections,
and promises duplicates from the Paris Mu-
seum to those who will send him more. He
names the countries also from which he has
received contributions, and regrets that he has
nothing from Bavaria. Now I possess sev-
eral specimens of all the native species, and
have even discovered some ten not hitherto
known to occur here, beside one completely
new to science, which I have named Cyprinus
LETTER FROM HIS BROTHER. 77
uranoscopus on account of the position of the
eyes, placed on the top instead of the sides of
the head, — otherwise very like the gudgeon.
I have therefore thought I could not better
launch myself in the scientific world than by
sending Cuvier my fishes with the observa-
tions I have made on their natural history.
To these I should like to add such rare Swiss
species as you can procure for me. So do not
fail.
FROM HIS BROTHER.
NEUCHATEL, August 25, 1828.
... I received in good time, and with in-
finite delight, your pleasant letter of July
27th. Its mysteries have however been un-
veiled by Dr. Schinz, who came to the meet-
ing of the Natural History Society in Lau-
sanne, where he met papa and uncle, to
whom he pronounced the most solemn eulo-
giums on their son and nephew, telling them
at the same time what was chiefly occupy-
ing you now. I congratulate you, my dear
brother, but I confess that among us all I
am the least surprised, for my presentiments
about you outrun all this, and I hope soon
to see them realized. In all frankness I can
assure you that the stoutest antagonists of
your natural history schemes begin to come
78 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
over to your side. Among them is my uncle
here, who never speaks of you now but with
enthusiasm. What more can be said ? I gave
him your letter to read, and since then he has
asked me a dozen times at least if I had not
forgotten to forward the remittance you asked
for, saying that I must not delay it. The truth
is, I have deferred writing till the last mo-
ment, because I have not succeeded in getting
your fishes, and have always been hoping that
I might be able to fulfill your commission. I
busied myself on your behalf with all the zeal
and industry of which I was capable, but
quite in vain. The devil seemed to be in it.
The season of Bondelles was over two months
ago, and there are none to be seen ; as to
trout, I don't believe one has been eaten in
the whole town for six weeks. I am forever
at the heels of the fishermen, promising them
double and treble the value of the fish I want,
but they all tell me they catch nothing except
pike. I have been to Cudrefin for lampreys,
but found nothing. Rodolphe l has been pad-
dling in the brook every day without success.
I went to Sauge, — no eels, no anything but
perch and a few little cat-fish. Two mortal
Sundays did I spend, rod in hand, trying to
1 An experienced old boatman.
THE SP1X FISHES. 79
catch bream, chubs, etc. I did get a few, but
they were not worth sending. Now it is all
over for this year, and we may as well put on
mourning for them ; but I promise you that
as soon as the spring opens I will go to work,
and you shall have all you want. If, in spite
of everything, your hopes are not realized, I
shall be very sorry, but rest assured that it is
not my fault. . . .
TO HIS SISTER CECILE.
MUNICH, October 29, 1828.
... I have never written you about what
has engrossed me so deeply ; but since my
secret is out, I ought not to keep silence
longer. That you may understand why I
have entered upon such a work I will go back
to its origin. In 1817 the King of Bavaria
sent two naturalists, M. Martins and M. Spix,
on an exploring expedition to Brazil. Of
M. Martins, with whom I always spend my
Wednesday evenings, I have often spoken to
you. In 1821 these gentlemen returned to
their country laden with new discoveries, which
they published in succession. M. Martins is-
sued colored illustrations of all the unknown
plants he had collected on his journey, while
M. Spix brought out several folio volumes
80 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
on the monkeys, birds, and reptiles of Brazil,
the animals being drawn and colored, chiefly
life-size, by able artists. It had been his in-
tention to give a complete natural history of
Brazil, but to the sorrow of all naturalists
he died in 1826. M. Martius, desirous to see
the completion of the work which his travel-
ing companion had begun, engaged a profes-
sor from Erlangen to publish the shells, and
these appeared last year. When I came to
Munich there remained only the fishes and
insects, and M. Martius, who had learned
something about me from the professors to
whom I was known, found me worthy to con-
tinue the work of Spix, and asked me to
carry on the natural history of the fishes.
I hesitated for a long time to accept this
honorable offer, fearing that the occupation
might withdraw me too much from my stud-
ies ; but, on the other hand, the opportunity
for laying the foundation of a reputation
by a large undertaking seemed too favor-
able to be refused. The first volume is al-
ready finished, and the printing was begun
some weeks ago. You can imagine the pleas-
ure I should have had in sending it to our
dear father and mother before they had
heard one word about it, or knew even of
FIRST LITERARY EFFORT. 81
the proposition. But I hope the premature
disclosure of my secret (indeed, to tell the
truth, I had not imposed silence on M. Schinz,
not dreaming that he would see any one of
the family) will not diminish your pleasure in
receiving the first work of your brother Louis,
which I hope to send you at Easter. Already
forty colored folio plates are completed. Will
it not seem strange when the largest and fin-
o o
est book in papa's library is one written by
his Louis? Will it not be as good as to
see his prescription at the apothecary's? It
is true that this first effort will bring me in
but little ; nothing at all, in fact, because M.
de Martins has assumed all the expenses, and
will, of course, receive the profits. My share
will be a few copies of the book, and these I
shall give to the friends who have the first
o
claim.
To his father Agassiz only writes of his
work at this time : " I have been very busy
this summer, and I can tell you from a good
source (I have it from one of the professors
himself) that the professors whose lectures I
have attended have mentioned me more than
once, as one of the most assiduous and best
informed students of the university; saying
VOL. I.
82 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
also that I deserved distinction. I do not tell
you this from ostentation, but only that you
may not think I lose my time, even though I
occupy myself chiefly with the natural sci-
ences. I hope yet to prove to you that with
a brevet of Doctor as a guarantee, Natural
History may be a man's bread-winner as well
as the delight of his life." . . .
In September Agassiz allowed himself a
short interruption of his work. The next let-
ter gives some account of this second vacation
trip.
TO HIS PARENTS.
MUNICH, September 26, 1828.
. . . The instruction for the academic year
closed at the end of August, and our profes-
sors had hardly completed their lectures when
I began my Alpine excursion. Braun, impa-
tient to leave Munich, had already started the
preceding day, promising to wait for me on
the Salzburg road at the first spot which
pleased him enough for a halt. That I might
not keep him waiting, I begged a friend to
drive me a good day's journey, thinking to
overtake Braun the first day on the pleasant
banks of the Lake of Chiem. My traveling
companions were the younger Schimper [Wil-
A VACATION TRIP. 83
helm], of whom I have spoken to you (and
who made a botanical journey in the south of
France and the Pyrenees two years ago), and
Mahir, who drove us, with whom I am very
intimate ; he is a medical student, and also
a very enthusiastic physicist. He gave me
private lessons in mathematics all winter, and
was a member of our philomathic meetings.
Braun had not set out alone either, and his
two traveling companions were also friends
of ours. One was Trettenbacher, a medical stu-
dent greatly given to sophisms and logic, but
allowing; himself to be beaten in argument
o o
with the utmost good nature, though always
believing himself in the right ; a thoroughly
good fellow with all that, and a great connois-
seur of antiquities. The other was a young
student, More, from the ci-devant department
of Mt. Tonnerre, who devotes himself en-
tirely to the natural sciences, and has chosen
the career of traveling naturalist. You can
easily imagine that this attracts me to him,
but as he is only a beginner I am, as it were,
his mentor.
On the morning of our departure the
weather was magnificent. Driving briskly
along we had various surmises as to where
we should probably meet our traveling com-
84 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
panions, not doubting- that, as we hoped to
reach the Lake of Chieni the same day, we
should come across them the day following
on one of its pretty islands. But in the after-
noon the weather changed, and we were forced
to seek shelter from torrents of rain at Rosen-
heim, a charming town on the banks of the
Inn, where I saw for the first time this river
of Helvetic origin. I saluted it as a country-
man of mine, and wished I could change its
course and send it back laden with my greet-
ings. The next day Mahir drove us as far
as the shore of the lake. There we parted
from him, and took a boat to the islands,
where we were much disappointed not to find
Braun and his companions. We thought the
bad weather of the day before (for here it
had rained all day) might have obliged them
to make the circuit of the lake. However, in
order to overtake them before reaching Salz-
burg, we kept our boatmen, and were rowed
across to the opposite shore near Grabenstadt,
where we arrived at ten o'clock in the even-
ing. In the afternoon the weather had cleared
a little, and the view was beautiful as we
pulled away from the islands and watched
them fade in the twilight. I also gathered
much interesting information about the in-
A VACATION TRIP. 85
habitants of the waters of this lake. Among-
o
others, I was much pleased to find a cat-fish,
taken in the lake by one of the island fisher-
men, and also a kind of chub, not found in
Switzerland, and called by the fishermen here
" Our Lady's Fish," because it occurs only on
the shore of an island where there is a con-
vent, the nuns of which esteem it a great del-
icacy.
The third day we reached Traunstein, where,
although it was Sunday, there was a great
horse fair. We looked with interest at the
gay Tyroleans, with the cock-feathers in their
pointed hats, singing and jodeling in the
streets with their sweethearts on their arms.
Every now and then they let fall some sar-
castic comment on our accoutrements, which
were indeed laughable enough to these peo-
ple, who had never seen anything beyond
their own chalets, and for whom an excursion
from their mountains to a fair in the nearest
town is a journey. It was noon when we
stopped at Traunstein, and from there to Salz-
burg is but five leagues. Before reaching the
fortress, however, you must pass the great
custom-house on the Bavarian frontier, and
fearing we might be delayed there too long by
the stupid Austrian officials, and thus be pre-
86 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
vented from entering the city before the gates
were closed, we resolved to wait till the next
morning and spend the night at Adelstaetten,
a pretty village about a league from Salzburg,
and the last Bavarian post. Night was fall-
ing as we approached a little wood which hid
the village from us. There we asked a peas-
ant how far we had still to go, and when he
had answered our question he told us, evi-
dently with kind intention, that we should find
good company in the village, for a few hours
earlier three journeymen laborers had arrived
there ; and then he added that we should no
doubt be glad to meet comrades and have a
gay evening with them. We were not aston-
ished to be taken for workmen, since every
one who travels here on foot, with a knapsack
on his back, is understood to belong to the
laboring class. . . . Arrived at the village, we
were delighted to find that the three journey-
men were our traveling companions. They
had come, like ourselves, from Traunstein,
where we had missed each other in the crowd,
and they were going likewise to sleep at Adel-
staetten, to avoid the custom-house. Finally,
on Monday, at ten o'clock, we crossed the
long bridge over the Saala, between the white
coats with yellow trimmings on guard there.
A VACATION TRIP. 87
On the Bavarian frontier we had hardly re-
membered that there was a custom-house, and
the name of student sufficed to pass us without
our showing any passports ; here, on the con-
trary, it was another reason for the strictest ex-
amination. " Have you no forbidden books ? '
was the first question. By good fortune, be-
fore crossing the bridge, I had advised Tret-
tenbach to hide his sonof-book in the lining; of
o o
his boot. I am assured that had it been taken
upon him he would not have been allowed to
pass. In ransacking Braun's bag, one of the
officials found a shell such as are gathered by
the basketful on the shores of the Lake of
Neuchatel. His first impulse was to go to the
office and inquire whether we should not pay
duty on this, saying that it was no doubt for
the fabrication of false pearls, and we prob-
ably had plenty more. We had aU the diffi-
culty in the world to make him understand
that not fifty steps from the custom-house the
shores of the river were strewn with them. . . .
After all this we had to empty our purses to
show that we had money enough for our jour-
ney, and that we should not be forced to beg
in order to get through. While we underwent
this inquisition, another officer made a tour of
inspection around us, to observe our general
LOUIS AGASS1Z.
bearing, etc. . . . After having kept us thus
on coals for two hours they gave us back our
passports, and we went our way. At one
o'clock we arrived at Salzburg as hungry as
wolves, but at the gate we had still to wait
and give up our passports again in exchange
for receipts, in virtue of which we could obtain
permits from the police to remain in the city.
From our inn, we sent a waiter to get these
permits, but he presently returned with the
news that we must go in person to take them ;
there was, however, no hurry ; it would do in
three or four hours ! We had no farther diffi-
culty except that it was made a condition of
our stay that we should not appear in student's
dress. This dress, they said, was forbidden in
Austria. They begged More to have his hair
cut, otherwise it would be shortened gratis,
and also informed us that at our age it was not
becoming to dispense with cravats. Happily,
I had two with me, and Braun tied his hand-
kerchief around his neck. It astonished me,
also, to see that we were not entered on the
list of strangers published every evening. So
it was also, as we found, with other students,
though the persons who came with them by
the same conveyance, even the children, were
duly inscribed. It seems this is a precaution
against any gathering of students. . . .
LIFE AT MUNICH.
The letter concludes in haste for the mail,
and if the story of the journey was finished
the final chapter has not been preserved.
Some extracts from the home letters of Agas-
siz's friend Braun, which are in place here,
throw light on their university life for the
coming year.1
ALEXANDER BRAUN TO HIS FATHER.
MUNICH, November 18, 1828.
... I will tell you how we have laid out
our time for this term. Our human conscious-
ness may be said to begin at half-past five
o'clock in the morning. The hour from six
to seven is appointed for mathematics, name-
ly, geometry and trigonometry. To this ap-
pointment we are faithful, unless the professor
oversleeps himself, or Agassiz happens to have
grown to his bed, an event which sometimes
occurs at the opening of the term. From
seven to eight we do as we like, including
breakfast. Under Agassiz's new style of house-
keeping the coffee is made in a machine
which is devoted during the day to the soak-
ing of all sorts of creatures for skeletons, and
in the evening again to the brewing of our
1 See Life of Alexander Braun, by his daughter, Madame
Cecile Mettenius.
90 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
tea. At eight o'clock comes the clinical lec-
ture of Bingseis. As Bingseis is introduc-
ing an entirely new medical system, this is
not wholly without general physiological and
philosophical interest. At ten o'clock Stahl
lectures, five times a week, on mechanics as
preliminary to physics. These and also the
succeeding lectures, given only twice a week
on the special natural history of amphibians
by Wagler, we all attend together. From
twelve to one o'clock we have nothing settled
as yet, but we mean to take the lectures of
Db'llinger, in single chapters, as, for instance,
when he comes to the organs of the senses.
o
At one o'clock we go to dinner, for which we
have at last found a comfortable and regular
place, at a private house, after having dined
everywhere and anywhere, at prices from nine
to twenty kreutzers. Here, for thirteen kreut-
zers 1 each, in company with a few others,
mostly known to us, we are provided with a
good and neatly served meal. After dinner
we go to Dr. Waltl, with whom we study
chemistry, using Gmelin's text-book, and are
shown the most important experiments. Next
week we are to begin entomology with Dr.
Berthy, from three to four, three times a week.
1 About nine cents of our money.
LIFE AT MUNICH. 91
From one to two o'clock on Saturday we have
a lesson in experimental physiology, plainly
speaking, in animal dissection, from Dr. Oes-
terreicher, a young Docent, who has written
on the circulation of the blood. As Agassiz
dissects a great many animals, especially fish-
es, at the house, we are making rapid progress
in comparative anatomy. At four o'clock we
go usually once a week to hear Oken on " Na-
tur-philosophie ' (a course we attended last
term also), but by that means we secure a
good seat for Schelling's lecture immediately
after. A man can hardly hear twice in his
life a course of lectures so powerful as those
Schelling is now giving on the philosophy of
revelation. This will sound strangely to you,
because, till now, men have not believed that
revelation could be a subject for philosophical
treatment ; to some it has seemed too sacred ;
to others too irrational. . . . This lecture
brings us to six o'clock, when the public
courses are at an end : we go home, and now
begin the private lectures. Sometimes Agas-
siz tries to beat French rules and construc-
tions into our brains, or we have a lesson
in anatomy, or I read general natural his-
tory aloud to William Schimper. By and by
I shall review the natural history of grasses
92 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
and ferns, two families of which I made a
special study last summer. Twice a week
Karl Schimper lectures to us on the morphol-
ogy of plants ; a very interesting course on
a subject but little known. He has twelve
listeners. Agassiz is also to give us lectures
occasionally on Sundays upon the natural
history of fishes. You see there is enough
to do. . . .
A
Somewhat before this, early in 1828, Agas-
siz had made the acquaintance of Mr. Joseph
Dinkel, an artist. A day spent together in
the country, in order that Mr. Dinkel might
draw a brilliantly colored trout from life, un-
der the immediate direction of the young
naturalist, led to a relation which continued
uninterruptedly for many years. Mr. Dinkel
afterward accompanied Agassiz, as his artist,
on repeated journeys, being constantly em-
ployed in making illustrations for the " Pois-
sons Fossiles : and the " Poissons d'Eau
Douce," as well as for his monographs and
smaller papers. The two larger works, the
latter of which remained unfinished, were even
now in embryo. Not only was Mr. Dinkel at
work upon the plates for the Fresh-Water
Fishes, but Mr. J. C. Weber, who was then
AGASSIZ'S STUDENT LIFE. 93
engaged in making, under Agassiz's direction,
the illustrations for the Spix Fishes, was also
giving his spare hours to the same objects.
Mr. Dinkel says of Agassiz's student life at
this time : 1 —
" I soon found myself engaged four or five
hours almost daily in painting for him fresh-
water fishes from the life, while he was at my
side, sometimes writing out his descriptions,
sometimes directing me. . . . He never lost
his temper, though often under great trial ;
he remained self-possessed and did everything
calmly, having a friendly smile for every one
and a helping hand for those who were in
need. He was at that time scarcely twenty
years old, and was already the most prominent
among the students at Munich. They loved
him, and had a high consideration for him. I
had seen him at the Swiss students' club sev-
eral times, and had observed him among the
jolly students ; he liked merry society, but he
himself was in general reserved and never
noisy. He picked out the gifted and highly-
learned students, and would not waste his time
1 Extract from notes written out in English by Mr. Dinkel
after the death of Agassiz and sent to me. The English,
though a little foreign, is so expressive that it would lose by
any attempt to change it, and the writer will excuse me for
inserting his vivid sketch just as it stands. — E. C. A.
94 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
in ordinary conversation. Often, when he saw
a number of students going off on some empty
pleasure-trip, he said to me, ' There they go
with the other fellows ; their motto is, " Ich
gehe mit den andern." I will go my own
way, Mr. Dinkel, — and not alone : I will be
a leader of others.' In all his doings there
was an ease and calm which was remarkable.
His studio was a perfect German student's
room. It was large, with several wide win-
dows ; the furniture consisted of a couch and
about half a dozen chairs, beside some tables
for the use of his artists and himself. Dr.
Alex. Braun and Dr. Schmiper lodged in the
same house, and seemed to me to share his
studio. Being botanists, they, too, brought
home what they collected in their excursions,
and all this found a place in the atelier, on
the couch, on the seats, on the floors. Books
filled the chairs, one alone being left for the
other artist, while I occupied a standing desk
with my drawing. No visitor could sit down,
and sometimes there was little room to stand
or move about. The walls were white, and
diagrams were drawn on them, to which, by
and by, we artists added skeletons and cari-
catures. In short, it was quite original. I
was some time there before I could discover
COLLECTIONS. 95
the real names of his friends : each had a
nickname, - — Molluscus, Cyprinus, Rhubarb,
etc."
From this glimpse into " The Little Acad-
emy' we return to the thread of the home
letters, learning from the next one that Agas-
siz's private collections were assuming rather
formidable proportions when considered as
part of the household furniture. Brought
together in various ways, partly by himself,
partly in exchange for duplicates, partly as
pay for arranging specimens in the Munich
Museum, they had already acquired, when
compared with his small means, a considerable
pecuniary value, and a far higher scientific
importance. They included fishes, some rare
mammalia, reptiles, shells, birds, an herbarium
of some three thousand species of plants col-
lected by himself, and a small cabinet of min-
erals. After enumerating them in a letter to
his parents he continues : " You can imagine
that all these things are in my way now that
I cannot attend to them, and that for want
of room and care they are piled up and in
danger of spoiling. You see by my list that
the whole collection is valued at two hundred
louis ; and this is so low an estimate that
even those who sell objects of natural his-
96 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
tory would not hesitate to take them at that
price. You will therefore easily understand
howT anxious I am to keep them intact. Can
you not find me a place where they might be
spread out ? I have thought that perhaps
my uncle in Neuchatel would have the kind-
ness to let some large shelves be put up in
the little upper room of his house in Cudrefin,
where, far from being an annoyance or caus-
ing any smell, my collection, if placed in a
case under glass, or disposed in some other
suitable manner, would be an ornament. Be
so kind as to propose it to him, and if he
consents I will then tell you what I shall
need for its arrangement. Remember that
on this depends, in great part, the preserva-
tion of my specimens, and answer as soon as
possible."
Agassiz was now hurrying forward both his
preparation for his degree and the completion
of his Brazilian Fishes, in the hope of at last
fulfilling his longing for a journey of explora-
tion. This hope is revealed in his next home
letter. The letter is a long one, and the first
half is omitted since it concerns only the ar-
rangements for his collections, the care to be
taken of them, etc.
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 97
TO HIS FATHER.
MUNICH, February 14, 1829.
„ . . But now I must talk to you of more
important things, not of what I possess, but
of what I am to be. Let me first recall one
or two points touched upon before in our cor-
respondence, which should now be fully dis-
cussed.
1st. You remember that when I first left
Switzerland I promised you to win the title
of Doctor in two years, and to be prepared
(after having completed my studies in Paris)
to pass my examination before the " Conseil
de Sante," and begin practice.
2d. You will not have forgotten either that
you exacted this only that I might have a
profession, and that you promised, should I
be able to make my way in the career of let-
ters and natural history, you would not op-
pose my wishes. I am indeed aware that in
the latter case you see but one obstacle, that
of absence from my country and separation
from all who are dear to me. But you know
me too well to think that I would voluntarily
impose upon myself such an exile. Let us see
whether we cannot resolve these difficulties to
our mutual satisfaction, and consider what is
VOL. I.
98 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
the surest road to the end I have proposed to
myself ever since I began my medical studies.
Weigh all my reasons, for in this my peace of
mind and my future happiness are concerned.
Examine my conduct with reference to what
I propose in every light, that of son and Vau-
dois citizen included, and I feel sure you will
concur in my views.
Here is my aim and the means by which I
propose to carry it out. I wish it may be
said of Louis Agassiz that he was the first
naturalist of his time, a good citizen, and a
good son, beloved of those who knew him.
I feel within myself the strength of a whole
generation to work toward this end, and I
will reach it if the means are not wanting.
Let us see in what these means consist. [Here
follows the summing up of his reasons for
preferring a professorship of natural history
to the practice of medicine, and his intention
of trying for a diploma as Doctor of Philoso-
phy in Germany.] But how obtain a pro-
fessorship, you will say, — that is the impor-
tant point ? I answer, the first step is to
make myself a European name, and for that
I am on the right road. In the first place
my work on the fishes of Brazil, just about
to appear, will make me favorably known. I
LETTER TO HIS FATHER. 99
am sure it will be kindly received ; for at the
General Assembly of German naturalists and
medical men last September, in Berlin, the
part already finished and presented before the
Assembly was praised in a manner for which
I was quite unprepared. The professors also,
to whom I was known, spoke of me there in
very favorable terms.
In the second place there are now prepar-
ing two expeditions of natural history, one
by M. de Huniboldt, with whose reputation
you are surely familiar, — the same who spent
several years in exploring the equatorial re-
gions of South America, in company with M.
Bonpland. He has been for some years at
Berlin, and is now about to start on a journey
to the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus, and the
confines of the Caspian Sea. Braun, Schim-
per, and I have been proposed to him as
traveling companions by several of our pro-
fessors ; but the application may come too
late, for M. de Humboldt decided upon this
journey long ago, and has probably already
chosen the naturalists who are to accompany
him. How happy I should be to join this ex-
pedition to a country the climate of which is
by no means unhealthy, under the direction of
a man so generally esteemed, to whom the Em-
100 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
peror of Russia has promised help and an es-
cort at all times and under all circumstances.
The second expedition is to a country quite
as salubrious, and which presents no dangers
whatever for travelers, — South America. It
will be under the direction of M. Ackermann,
known as a distinguished agriculturist and as
Councillor of State to the Grand Duke of
Baden. I should prefer to go with Humboldt ;
but if I am too late, I feel very sure of being
able to join the second expedition. So it de-
pends, you see, only on your consent. This
journey is to last two years, at the end of
which time, happily at home once more, I can
follow with all desirable facilities the career I
have chosen. If there should be a place for
me at Lausanne, which I should prefer to any
other locality, I could devote my life to teach-
ing my young countrymen, awaken in them
the taste for science and observation so much
neglected among us, and thus be more useful
to my canton than I could be as a practitioner.
These projects may not succeed ; but in the
present state of things all the probabilities are
favorable. Therefore, I beg you to consider
it seriously, to consult my uncle in Lausanne,
and to write me at once what you think. . . .
In spite of the earnest desire for travel
LETTER FROM HIS FATHER. 101
shown in this letter it will be seen later how
the restless aspirations of childhood, boyhood,
and youth, which were, after all, only a latent
love of research, crystallize into the concen-
trated purpose of the man who could remain
for months shut up in his study, leaving his
microscope only to eat and sleep, — a life as
sedentary as ever was lived by a closet student.
FROM HIS FATHER.
ORBE, February 23, 1829.
... It was not without deep emotion that
we read your letter of the 14th, and I easily
understand that, anticipating its effect upon
us all, you have deferred writing as long as
possible. Yet you were wrong in so doing ;
had we known your projects earlier we might
have forestalled for you the choice of M. de
Humboldt, whose expedition seems to us pref-
erable, in every respect, to that of M. Acker-
mann. The first embraces a wider field, and
concerns the history of man rather than that
of animals ; the latter is confined to an excur-
sion along the sea-board, where there would
be, no doubt, a rich harvest for science, but
much less for philosophy. However that may
be, your father and mother, while they grieve
for the day that will separate them from their
102 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
oldest son, will offer no obstacles to his pro-
jects, but pray God to bless them. . . ,
The subjoined letter of about the same date
from Alexander Braun to his father tells us
how the projects so ardently urged upon his
parents by Agassiz, and so affectionately ac-
cepted by them, first took form in the minds
of the friends.
BRAUN TO HIS FATHER.
MUNICH, February 15, 1829.
. . . Last Thursday we were at Oken's.
There was interesting talk on all sorts of sub-
jects, bringing us gradually to the Ural and
then to Humboldt's journey, and finally Oken
asked if we would not like to go with Hurn-
boldt. To this we gave warm assent, and
told him that if he could bring it about we
would be ready to start at a day's notice, and
Agassiz added, eagerly, " Yes, — and if there
were any hope that he would take us, a word
from you would have more weight than any-
thing." Oken's answer gave us but cold com-
fort ; nevertheless, he promised to write at
once to Humboldt in our behalf. With this,
we went home in great glee ; it was very late
and a bright moonlight night. Agassiz rolled
LETTER TO CUV1ER. 103
himself in the snow for joy, and we agreed
that however little hope there might be of
our joining the expedition, still the fact that
Humboldt would hear of us in this way was
worth something, even if it were only that we
might be able to say to him one of these days,
" We are the fellows whose company you re-
jected."
With this hope the friends were obliged
to content themselves, for after a few weeks
of alternate encouragement and despondency
their bright vision faded. Oken fulfilled his
promise and wrote to Humboldt, recommend-
ing them most warmly. Humboldt answered
that his plans were conclusively settled, and
that he had chosen the only assistants who were
to accompany him, — Ehrenberg and Rose.
In connection with this frustrated plan is
here given the rough draft of a letter from
Agassiz to Cuvier, written evidently at a some-
what earlier date. Although a mere frag-
ment, it is the outpouring of the same passion-
ate desire for a purely scientific life, and shows
that the opportunity suggested by Humboldt's
journey had only given a definite aim to pro-
jects already full grown. From the contents
it must have been written in 1828. After
104 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
some account of his early studies, which would
be mere repetition here, he goes on : " Be-
fore finishing my letter, allow me to ask some
advice from you, whom I revere as a father,
and whose works have been till now my only
guide. Five years ago I was sent to the med-
ical school at Zurich. After the first few lec-
tures there in anatomy and zoology I could
think of nothing but skeletons. In a short
time I had learned to dissect, and had made for
myself a small collection of skulls of animals
from different classes. I passed two years in
Zurich, studying whatever I could find in the
Museum, and dissecting all the animals I could
procure. I even sent to Berlin at this time
for a monkey in spirits of wine, that I might
compare the nervous system with that of man.
I spent all the little means I had in order to
see and learn as much as possible. Then I
persuaded my father to let me go to Heidel-
berg, where for a year I followed Tiedemann's
courses in human anatomy. I passed almost
the whole winter in the anatomical laboratory.
The following summer I attended the lectures
of Leuckart on zoology, and those of Bronn
on fossils. When at Zurich, the longing to
travel some day as a naturalist had taken pos-
session of me, and at Heidelberg this desire
LETTER TO CUVIER. 105
only increased. My frequent visits to the Mu-
seum at Frankfort, and what I heard there
concerning M. Rtippell himself, strengthened
my purpose even more than all I had previ-
ously read. I was, as it were, Rtippell' s trav-
eling companion : the activity, the difficulties
to be overcome, all were present to me as I
looked upon the treasures he had brought to-
gether from the deserts of Africa. The vision
of difficulty thus vanquished, and of the in-
ward satisfaction arising from it, tended to
give all my studies a direction in keeping with
my projects.
" I felt that to reach my aim more surely it
was important to complete my medical stud-
ies, and for this I came to Munich eighteen
months ago. Still I could not make up my
mind to renounce the natural sciences. I at-
tended some of the pathological lectures, but
I soon found that I was neglecting them ;
and yielding once more to my inclination, I
followed consecutively the lectures of Dollin-
ger on comparative anatomy, those of Oken
on natural history, those of Fuchs on miner-
alogy, as well as the courses of astronomy,
physics, chemistry, and mathematics. I was
confirmed in this withdrawal from medical
studies by the proposition of M. de Martius
106 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
that I should describe the fishes brought back
o
by Spix from Brazil, and to this I consented
the more gladly because ichthyology has al-
ways been a favorite study with me. I have
not, however, been able to give them all the
care I could have wished, for M. de Martius,
anxious to complete the publication of these
works, has urged upon me a rapid execution.
I hope, nevertheless, that I have made no
gross errors, and I am the less likely to have
done so, because I had as my guide the ob-
servations you had kindly made for him on
the plates of Spix. Several of these plates
were not very exact ; they have been set aside
and new drawings made. I beg that you will
judge this work when it reaches you with in-
dulgence, as the first literary essay of a young
man. I hope to complete it in the course of
the next summer. I would beg you, in ad-
vance, to give me a paternal word of advice
as to the direction my studies should then
take. Ought I to devote myself to the study
of medicine ? I have no fortune, it is true ;
but I would gladly sacrifice my life if, by so
doing, I could serve the cause of science.
Though I have not even a presentiment of any
means with which I may one day travel in dis-
tant countries, I have, nevertheless, prepared
LETTER TO CUVIER. 107
myself during the last three years as if I might
be off at any minute. I have learned to skin
all sorts of animals, even very large ones,
have made more than a hundred skeletons of
quadrupeds, birds, reptiles, and fishes ; I have
tested all the various liquors for preserving
such animals as should not be skinned, and
have thought of the means of supplying the
want in countries where the like preparations
are not to be had, in case of need. Finally,
I have trained as traveling companion a young
friend,1 and awakened in him the same love of
the natural sciences. He is an excellent hun-
ter, and at my instigation has been taking
lessons in drawing, so that he is now able to
sketch from nature such objects as may be
desirable. We often pass delightful moments
in our imaginary travels through unknown
countries, building thus our castles in Spain.
Pardon me if I talk to you of projects which
at first sight seem puerile ; only a fixed aim
is needed to give them reality, and to you I
come for counsel. My longing is so great
that I feel the need of expressing it to some
one who will understand me, and your sympa-
thy would make me the happiest of mortals.
I am so pursued by this thought of a scientific
1 William Schimper, brother of Karl.
108 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
journey that it presents itself under a thou-
sand forms, and all that I undertake looks
toward one end. I have for six months fre-
quented a blacksmith's and carpenter's shop,
learning to handle hammer and axe, and I also
practice arms, the bayonet and sabre exercise.
I am strong and robust, know how to swim,
and do not fear forced marches. I have, when
botanizing and geologizing, walked my twelve
or fifteen leagues a day for eight days in suc-
cession, carrying on my back a heavy bag
loaded with plants or minerals. In one word,
I seem to myself made to be a traveling natu-
ralist. I only need to regulate the impetuos-
ity which carries me away. I beg you, then,
to be my guide."
The unfinished letter closes abruptly, hav-
ing neither signature nor address. Perhaps
the writer's courage failed him and it never
was sent. An old letter (date 1827) from
Cuvier to Martius, found among Agassiz's pa-
pers of this time, and containing the very
notes on the Spix Fishes to which allusion
is here made, leaves no doubt, however, that
this appeal was intended for the great master
who exercised so powerful an influence upon
Agassiz throughout his whole life.
In the spring of 1829 Agassiz took his
DIPLOMA OF PHILOSOPHY. 109
diploma in the faculty of philosophy. He did
this with no idea of making it a substitute for
his medical degree, but partly in deference
to Martius, who wished the name of his young
colleague to appear on the title-page of the
Brazilian Fishes with the dignity of Doc-
tor, and partly because he believed it would
strengthen his chance of a future professor-
ship. Of his experience on this occasion he
gives some account in the following letter : —
TO HIS BROTHER.
MUNICH, May 22, 1829.
. . . As it was necessary for me to go
through with my examination at once, and as
the days for promotion here were already en-
gaged two months in advance, I decided to
pass it at Erlangen. That I might not go
alone, and also for the pleasure of their com-
pany, I persuaded Schimper and Michahelles
to do the same. Braun wanted to be of the
party, but afterward decided to wait awhile.
We made our request to the Faculty in a
long Latin letter (because, you know, among
savants it is the thing to speak and write the
language you know least), requesting permis-
sion to pass our examination in writing, and
to go to Erlangen only for the colloquium and
110 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
promotion. They granted our request on con-
dition of our promise (jurisjurandi loco polli-
citi sumus) to answer the questions propounded
without help from any one and without con-
sulting books. Among other things I had to
develop a natural system of zoology, to show
the relation between human history and nat-
ural history, to determine the true basis and
limits of the philosophy of nature, etc. As
an inaugural dissertation, I presented some
general and novel considerations on the for-
mation of the skeleton throughout the animal
kingdom, from the infusoria, mollusks, and
insects to the vertebrates, properly so called.
The examiners were sufficiently satisfied with
my answers to give me my degree the 23d
or 24th of April, without waiting for the col-
loquium and promotion, writing to me that
they were satisfied with my examination, and
therefore forwarded my diploma without re-
gard to the oral examination. . . . The Dean
of the Faculty, in inclosing it to me, added
that he hoped before long to see me profes-
sor, and no less the ornament of my uni-
versity in that position than I had hitherto
been as student. I must try not to disappoint
him.
SENDS HOME HIS BOOK. Ill
A letter from his brother contains a few
lines in reference to this. " Last evening,
dear Louis, your two diplomas reached me.
I congratulate you with all my heart on your
success. I am going to send to grandpapa
the one destined for him, and I see in advance
all his pleasure, though it would be greater
if the word medicine stood for that of phi-
losophy."
The first part of the work on the Brazilian
Fishes was now completed, and he had the
pleasure of sending it to his parents as his
own forerunner. After joining a scientific
meeting to be held at Heidelberg, in Septem-
ber, he was to pass a month at home before
returning to Munich for the completion of
his medical studies.
TO HIS PARENTS.
MUNICH, July 4, 1829.
... I hope when you read this letter you
will have received the first part of my Bra-
zilian Fishes from M. , of Geneva, to
whom Martius had to send a package of
plants, with which my book was inclosed. I
venture to think that this work will give me
o
a name, and I await with impatience the crit-
icism that I suppose it will receive from Cu-
112 LOUIS AGASSTZ.
vier. ... I think the best way of reaching
the various aims I have in view is to continue
the career on which I have started, and to pub-
lish as soon as possible my natural history of
the fresh-water fishes of Germany and Switz-
erland. I propose to issue it in numbers, each
containing twelve colored plates accompanied
by six sheets of letter-press. ... In the mid-
dle of September there is to be a meeting of
all the naturalists and medical men of Ger-
many, to which foreign savants are invited. A
similar meeting has been held for the last two
or three years in one or another of the brilliant
centres of Germany. This year it will take
place at Heidelberg. Could one desire a bet-
ter occasion to make known a projected work ?
I could even show the original drawings al-
ready made of species only found in the en-
virons of Munich, and, so to speak, unknown
to naturalists. At Heidelberg will be assem-
bled Englishmen, Danes, Swedes, Russians, and
even Italians. If I could before then arrange
everything and distribute the printed circulars
of my work I should be sure of success. . . .
In those days of costly postage one sheet of
writing paper was sometimes made to serve
for several members of the family. The next
LETTER FROM HIS MOTHER. H3
crowded letter contains chiefly domestic de-
tails, but closes with a postscript from Mme.
Agassiz, filling, as she says, the only remain-
ing corner, and expressing her delight in his
diploma and in the completion of his book.
FROM HIS MOTHER.
August 16, 1829.
. . . The place your brother has left me
seems very insufficient for all that I have to
say, dear Louis, but I will begin by thanking
you for the happiness, as sweet as it is deeply
felt, which your success has given us. Already
our satisfaction becomes the reward of your
efforts. We wait with impatience for the mo-
ment when we shall see you and talk with you.
Your correspondence leaves many blanks, and
we are sometimes quite ashamed that we have
so few details to give about your book. You
will be surprised that it has not yet reached
us. Does the gentleman in Geneva intend to
read it before sending it to us, or has he per-
haps not received the package ? Not hearing
we are uneasy. . . . Good-by, my dear son ;
I have no room for more, except to add my
tender love for you. An honorable mention
of your name in the Lausanne Gazette has
brought us many pleasant congratulations. . . .
VOL. I. 8
114 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
TO HIS FATHER.
August, 1829.
... I hope by this time you have my book.
I can the less explain the delay since M. Cu-
vier, to whom I sent it in the same way, has
acknowledged its arrival. I inclose his let-
ter, hoping it will give you pleasure to read
what one of the greatest naturalists of the age
writes me about it.
CUVIER TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
PARIS, AU JARDLNT DU Hoi, August 3, 1829.
. . . You and M. de Martius have done me
honor in placing my name at the head of a
work so admirable as the one you have just
published. The importance and the rarity of
the species therein described, as well as the
beauty of the figures, will make the work an
important one in ichthyology, and nothing
could heighten its value more than the accu-
racy of your descriptions. It will be of the
greatest use to me in my History of Fishes.
I had already referred to the plates in the
second edition of my " Regne Animal." I
shall do all in my power to accelerate the sale
among amateurs, either by showing it to such
as meet at my house or by calling attention
to it in scientific journals.
LETTER FROM CUVIER. 115
I look with great interest for your history
of the fishes of the Alps. It cannot but fill
a wide gap in that portion of natural history,
— above all, in the different divisions of the
genus Salmo. The figures of Bloch, those of
Meidinger, and those of Marsigli, are quite
insufficient. We have the greater part of the
species here, so that it will be easy for rue
to verify the characters ; but only an artist,
working on the spot, with specimens fresh
from the water, can secure the colors. You
will, no doubt, have much to add also respect-
ing the development, habits, and use of all
these fishes. Perhaps you would do well to
limit yourself at first to a monograph of the
Salmones.
With my thanks for the promised docu-
ments, accept the assurance of my warm re-
gard and very sincere attachment.
B. G. CUVIER.
At last comes the moment, so long antici-
pated, when the young naturalist's first book
is in the hands of his parents. The news of
its reception is given in a short and hurried
note.
116 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
FROM HIS FATHER.
ORBE, August 31, 1827.
I hasten, my dear son, to announce the ar-
rival of your beautiful work, which reached
us on Thursday, from Geneva. I have no
terms in which to express the pleasure it has
given me. In two words, for I have only a
moment to myself, I repeat my urgent en-
treaty that you would hasten your return as
much as possible. . . . The old father, who
waits for you with open heart and arms, sends
you the most tender greeting. . . .
CHAPTER IV.
1829-1830: ^T. 22-23.
Scientific Meeting at Heidelberg. — Visit at Home. — Illness
and Death of his Grandfather. — Return to Munich. —
Plans for Future Scientific Publications. — Takes his De-
gree of Medicine. — Visit to Vienna. — Return to Munich.
— Home Letters. — Last Days at Munich. — Autobiograph-
ical Review of School and University Life.
TO HIS PARENTS.
HEIDELBERG, September 25, 1829.
. . . THE time of our meeting is almost at
hand. Relieved from all anxiety about the
subjects I had wished to present here, I can
now be quietly with you and enjoy the rest
and freedom I have so long needed. The ten-
sion of mind, forced upon me by the effort to
reach my goal in time, has crowded out the
thoughts which are most present when I am
at peace. I will not talk to you of what I
have been doing lately, (a short letter from
Frankfort will have put you on my track),
nor of the relations I have formed at the Hei-
delberg meeting, nor of the manner in which
118 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
I have been received, etc. These are matters
better told than written. ... I intend to leave
here to-morrow or the day after, according
to circumstances. I shall stay some days at
Carlsruhe to put my affairs in order, and from
there make the journey home as quickly as
possible. . . .
The following month we find him once more
at home in the parsonage of Orbe. After the
first pleasure and excitement of return, his
time was chiefly spent in arranging his col-
lections at Cudrefin, where his grandfather
had given him house-room for them. In this
work he had the help of the family in gen-
eral, who made a sort of scientific fete of the
occasion. But it ended sadly with the illness
and death of the kind old grandfather, under
whose roof children and grandchildren had
been wont to assemble.
AGASSIZ TO BKAUN.
ORBE, December 3, 1829.
... I will devote an hour of this last even-
ing I am to pass in Orbe, to talking with you.
You will wonder that I am still here, and that
I have not written. You already know that I
have been arranging my collections at Cudre-
ILLNESS OF HIS GRANDFATHER. 119
fin, and spending very happy days with my
grandfather. But he is now very ill, and even
should we have better news of him to-day, the
thought weighs heavily on my heart, that I
must take leave of him when he is perhaps on
his death-bed. ... I have just tied up my
last package of plants, and there lies my whole
herbarium in order, — thirty packages in all.
For this I have to thank you, clear Alex., and
it gives me pleasure to tell you so and to be
reminded of it. What a succession of glori-
ous memories came up to me as I turned them
over. Free from all disturbing incidents, I
enjoyed anew our life together, and even
more, if possible, than in actual experience.
Every talk, every walk, was present to me
a^ain, and in reviewing it all I saw how our
minds had been drawn to each other in an
ever-strengthening union. In you I see my
own intellectual development reflected as in a
mirror, for to you, and to my intercourse with
you, I owe my entrance upon this path of the
noblest and most lasting enjoyment. It is
delightful to look back on such a past with
the future so bright before us. ...
Agassiz now returned to Munich to add the
title of Doctor of Medicine to that of Doctor
120 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
of Philosophy. A case of somnambulism,
which fell under his observation and showed
him disease, or, at least, abnormal action of the
brain, under an aspect which was new to him,
seems to have given a fresh impulse to his
medical studies, and, for a time, he was inclined
to believe that the vocation which had thus far
been to him one of necessity, might become
one of preference. But the naturalist was
stronger than the physician. During this very
winter, when he was preparing himself with
new earnestness for his profession, a collection
of fossil fishes was put into his hands by the
Director of the Museum of Munich. It will
be seen with what ardor he threw himself into
this new investigation. His work on the
" Poissons Fossiles," which placed him in a
few years in the front rank of European sci-
entific men, took form at once in his fertile
brain.
TO HIS BROTHER.
MUNICH, January 18, 1830.
. . . My resolve to study medicine is now
confirmed. I feel all that may be done to
render this study worthy the name of science,
which it has so long usurped. Its intimate
alliance with the natural sciences and the en-
lightenment it promises me regarding them
FINAL STUDIES IN MUNICH. 121
are indeed my chief incitements to persevere
in my resolution. In order to gain time, and
to strike while the iron is hot (don't be afraid
it will grow cold ; the wood which feeds the
fire is good), I have proposed to Euler, with
whom I am very intimate, to review the medi-
cal course with me. Since then, we pass all
our evenings together, and rarely separate be-
fore midnight, — reading alternately French
and German medical books. In this way, al-
though I devote my whole day to my own
work about fishes, I hope to finish my pro-
fessional studies before summer. I shall then
pass my examination for the Doctorate in Ger-
many, and afterward do the same in Lausanne.
I hope that this decision will please mania.
My character and conduct are the pledge of
its accomplishment.
This, then, is my night-work. I have still
to tell you what I do by day, and this is more
important. My first duty is to complete my
Brazilian Fishes. To be sure, it is only an
honorary work, but it must be finished, and
is an additional means of making subsequent
works profitable. This is my morning occu-
pation, and I am sure of bringing it to a close
about Easter. After much reflection, I have
decided that the best way to turn my Fresh-
122 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Water Fishes to account, is to finish them com-
pletely before offering them to a publisher. All
the expenses being then paid, I could afford,
if the first publisher should not feel able to
take them on my own terms, to keep them as
a safe investment. The publisher himself see-
ing the material finished, and being sure of
bringing it out as a complete work, the value
of which he can on that account better es-
timate, will be more disposed to accept my
proposals, while I, on my side, can be more
exacting. The text for this I write in the
afternoon. My greatest difficulty at first was
the execution of the plates. But here, also,
my good star has served me wonderfully. I
told you that beside the complete drawings of
the fishes I wanted to represent their skele-
tons and the anatomy of the soft parts, which
has never been done for this class. I shall
thereby give a new value to the work, and
make it desirable for all who study compara-
tive anatomy. The puzzle was to find some
one who was prepared to draw things of this
kind; but I have made the luckiest hit, and
am more than satisfied. My former artist con-
tinues to draw the fishes, a second draws the
skeletons (one who had already been engaged
for several years in the same way, for a work
ILLUSTRATIONS FOR FUTURE WORKS. 123
upon reptiles), while a young physician, who
is an admirable draughtsman, makes my ana-
tomical figures. For my share, I direct their
work while writing the text, and thus the
whole advances with great strides. I do not,
however, stop here. Having by permission of
the Director of the Museum one of the finest
collections of fossils in Germany at my dis-
position, and being also allowed to take the
specimens home as I need them, I have under-
taken to publish the ichthyological part of
the collection. Since it only makes the differ-
ence of one or two people more to direct, I
have these specimens also drawn at the same
time. Nowhere so well as here, where the
Academy of Fine Arts brings together so many
draughtsmen, could I have the same facility
for completing a similar work ; and as it is an
entirely new branch, in which no one has as
yet done anything of importance, I feel sure
of success ; the more so because Cuvier, who
alone could do it (for the simple reason that
every one else has till now neglected the fishes),
is not engaged upon it. Add to this that just
now there is a real need of this work for the
determination of the different geological for-
mations. Once before, at the Heidelberg
meeting, it had been proposed to me ; the
124 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Director of the Mines at Strasbourg, M.
Voltz, even offered to send me at Munich the
whole collection of fossil fishes from their
Museum. I did not speak to you of this at
the time because it would have been of no
use. But now that I have it in my power to
carry out the project, I should be a fool to let
a chance escape me which certainly will not
present itself a second time so favorably. It
is therefore my intention to prepare a general
work on fossil ichthyology. I hope, if I can
command another hundred louis, to complete
everything of which I have spoken before
the end of the summer, that is to say, in July.
I shall then have on hand two works which
should surely be worth a thousand louis to me.
This is a low estimate, for even ephemeral
pieces and literary ventures are paid at this
price. You can easily make the calculation.
They allow three louis for each plate with the
accompanying text ; my fossils will have about
two hundred plates, and my fresh-water fishes
about one hundred and fifty. This seems to
me plausible. . . .
This letter evidently made a favorable im-
pression on the business heads of the family
at Neuchatel, for it is forwarded to his par-
PECUNIARY RISKS. 125
ents, with these words from his brother on
the last sheet : " I hasten, dear father, to send
you this excellent letter from my brother,
which has just reached me. They have read
it here with interest, and Uncle Francois
Mayor, especially, sees both stability and a
sound basis in his projects and enterprises."
There is something touching and almost
amusing in Agassiz's efforts to give a pruden-
tial aspect to his large scientific schemes. He
was perfectly sincere in this, but to the end
of his life he skirted the edge of the preci-
pice, daring all, and finding in himself the
power to justify his risks by his successes.
He was of frugal personal habits ; at this
very time, when he was keeping two or three
artists on his slender means, he made his own
breakfast in his room, and dined for a few
cents a day at the cheapest eating houses. But
where science was concerned the only econ-
omy he recognized, either in youth or old age,
was that of an expenditure as bold as it was
carefully considered.
In the above letter to his brother we have
the story of his work during the whole winter
of 1830. That his medical studies did not
suffer from the fact that, in conjunction with
them, he was carrying on his two great works
126 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
on the living and the dead world of fishes
may be inferred from the following account
of his medical theses. It was written after
his death, to his son Alexander Agassiz, by
Professor von Siebold, now Director of the
Museum in the University of Munich. " How
earnestly Agassiz devoted himself to the study
of medicine is shown by the theses (seventy-
four in number), a list of which was printed,
according to the prescribed rule and custom,
with his ' Einladung.' I am astonished at the
great number of these. The subjects are an-
atomical, pathological, surgical, obstetrical ;
they are inquiries into niateria medica, medi-
cina forensis, and the relation of botany to
these topics. One of them interested me es-
pecially. It read as follows. ' Foemina hu-
mana superior mare.' I would gladly have
known how your father interpreted that sen-
tence. Last fall (1873) I wrote him a letter,
the last I ever addressed to him, questioning
him about this very subject. That letter, alas !
remained unanswered."
In a letter to his brother just before taking
his degree, Agassiz says : " I am now deter-
mined to pursue medicine and natural history
side by side. Thank you, with all my heart,
for your disinterested offer, but I shall not
ARRANGEMENTS WITH PUBLISHER. 127
need it, for I am going on well with my pub-
lisher, M. Cotta, of Stuttgart. I have great
hope that he will accept my works, since he
has desired that they should be forwarded to
him for examination. I have sent him the
whole, and I feel very sure he will swallow the
pill. My conditions would be the only cause
of delay, but I hope he will agree to them.
For the fresh-water fishes and the fossils to-
gether I have asked twenty thousand Swiss
francs. Should he not consent to this, I shall
apply to another publisher."
On the 3d of April he received his degree
of Doctor of Medicine. A day or two later
he writes to his mother that her great desire
for him is accomplished.
TO HIS MOTHER.
MUNICH, April, 1830.
. . . My letter to-day must be to you, for
to you I owe it that I have undertaken the
work just completed, and I write to thank you
for having encouraged my zeal. I am very
sure that no letter from me has ever given
you greater pleasure than this one will bring ;
and I can truly say, on my own part, that I
have never written one with greater satisfac-
tion. Yesterday I finished my medical ex-
128 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
animation, after having satisfied every require-
ment of the Faculty. . . . The whole cere-
mony lasted nine days. At the close, while
they considered my case, I was sent out of
the room. On my return, the Dean said to
me, " The Faculty have been very much '
(emphasized) " pleased with your answers ;
they congratulate themselves on being able
to give the diploma to a young man who has
already acquired so honorable a reputation.
On Saturday, after having argued your thesis,
you will receive your degree, in the Academic
Hall, from the Eector of the University." The
Rector then added that he should look upon
it as the brightest moment of his Rectorship
when he conferred upon me the title I had so
well merited. Next Saturday, then, at the
very time you receive this letter, at ten o'clock
in the morning;, the discussion will have be^un,
O- O '
and at twelve I shall have my degree. Dear
Mother, dismiss all anxiety about me. You
see I am as good as my word. . . . Write
soon ; in a few days I go to Vienna for some
months. . . .
LETTER FROM HIS MOTHER. 129
FROM HIS MOTHER.
ORBE, April 7, 1830.
I cannot thank you enough, my dear Louis,
for the happiness you have given me in com-
pleting your medical examinations, and thus
securing to yourself a career as safe as it is
honorable. It is a laurel added to those you
have already won ; in my eyes the most pre-
cious of all. You have for my sake gone
through a long and arduous task ; were it
in my power I would gladly reward you, but
I cannot even say that I love you the more
for it, because that is impossible. My anxious
solicitude for your future is a proof of my
ardent affection for you ; only one thing was
wanting to make me the happiest of mothers,
and this, my Louis, you have just given me.
May God reward you by giving you all possi-
ble success in the care of your fellow-beings.
May the benedictions which honor the memory
of a good physician be your portion, as they
have been in the highest degree that of your
grandfather. Why can he not be here to
share my happiness to-day in seeing my Louis
a medical graduate ! . . .
Agassiz was recalled from Vienna in less
VOL. I. 9
130 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
than two months by the arrival in Munich of
his publisher, M. Cotta, a personal interview
with whom seemed to him important. The
only letter preserved from the Vienna visit
shows that his short stay there was full of in-
terest and instruction.
TO HIS FATHER.
VIENNA, May 11, 1830.
. . . Since my arrival I have seen so much
that I hardly know where to begin my narra-
tive, and what I have seen has suggested re-
flections on many grave subjects, of a kind I
had hardly expected to make here. Nowhere
have I seen establishments on broader or more
stately foundations, nor do I believe that any-
where are foreigners allowed more liberal use
of like institutions. I speak of the university,
the hospitals, libraries, and collections of all
sorts. Neither have I seen anywhere else such
fine churches, and I have more than once felt
the difference between worshiping within bare
walls, and in buildings more worthy of devo-
tional purposes. In one word, I should be
enchanted with my stay in Vienna if I could
be free from the idea that I am always sur-
rounded by an imperceptible net, ready to
close upon me at the slightest signal. With
VISIT TO VIENNA. 131
this exception, the only discomfort to a for-
eigner here, if he is unaccustomed to it, is
that of being obliged to abstain from all crit-
icism of affairs in public places ; still more
must he avoid commenting upon persons. I
am especiaUy satisfied with my visit from a
scientific point of view. I have learned, and
am still learning, the care of the eyes and how
to operate upon them ; as to medicine, the phy-
sicians, however good, do not surpass those I
have already known ; and as I do not believe
it important that a young physician should
familiarize himself with a great variety of
curative methods, I try to observe carefully
the patient and his disease rather than to re-
member the medicaments applied in special
cases. Surgery and midwifery are poorly pro-
vided, but one has a chance to see many inter-
esting cases.
During the last fortnight I have visited the
collection of natural history often, generally
in the afternoon. To tell you how I have
been expected there from the moment I was
known to be here, and how I was received on
my first visit, and have been feted since (as
Ichthyologus primus seculi, — so they say),
would, perhaps, tire you and might seem ego-
tistical in me, neither of which do I desire.
132 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
But it will not be indifferent to you to know
that Cotta is disposed to accept my Fishes.
He has been at Munich for some days, and
Schimper has been talking with him, and has
advanced matters more by a few words than
I had been able to do by much writing. For
this reason I intend returning soon to Munich
to complete the business, since Cotta is to be
there several weeks longer. Thus I shall have
reached my aim, and be provided from this
autumn onward with an independent mainte-
nance. I was often very anxious this past
winter, in my uncertainty about the means
of finally making good such large outlays.
If, however, Cotta makes no other condition
than that of a certain number of subscrib-
ers, I shall be sure of them in six months.
You may thus regard what I have done as a
speculation happily concluded, and one which
places me at the summit of my desires, for it
leaves me free, at last, to work upon my pro-
lecLS. ...
A letter to his brother, of the 29th of May,
just after his return to Munich, gives a retro-
spect of the Viennese visit, including the per-
sonal details which he had hesitated to write
to his father. They are important as showing
RECOGNITION AMONG SCIENTIFIC MEN. 133
the position he already, at twenty-three years
of age, held among scientific men. " Every-
thing," he says, " was open to me as a for-
eigner, and to my great surprise I was received
as an associate already known. Was it not
gratifying to go to Vienna with no recom-
mendation whatever, and to be welcomed and
sought by all the scientific men, and afterwards
presented and introduced everywhere ? In the
Museum, not only were the rooms opened for
me when I pleased, but also the cases, and even
the jars, so that I could take out whatever I
needed for examination. At the hospital sev-
eral professors carried their kindness so far, as
to invite me to accompany them in their pri-
vate visits. You may fancy whether I profited
by all this, and how many things I saw." Af-
ter some account of his business arrangements
with Cotta, he adds : " Meantime, be at ease
about me. I have strings enough to my bow,
and need not feel anxious about the future.
What troubles me is that the thing I most de-
sire seems to me, at least for the present, far-
thest from my reach, — namely, the direction
of a great Museum. When I have finished
with Cotta I shall begin to pack my effects,
and shall hope to turn my face homeward
somewhere about the end of August. I can
o
134 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
hardly leave earlier, because, for the sake of
practice, I have begun to deliver zoological
lectures, open to all who like to attend, and
I want to complete the course before my de-
parture. I lecture without even an outline or
headings before me, but this requires prepara-
tion. You see I do not lose my time."
The next home letter announces an impor-
tant change in the family affairs. His father
had been called from his parish at Orbe to that
of Concise, a small town situated on the north-
western shore of the Lake of Neuchatel.
FROM HIS MOTHER.
ORBE, July, 1830.
. . . Since your father wrote you on the
4th of June, dear Louis, we have had no news
from you, and therefore infer that you are
working with especial zeal to wind up your
affairs in Germany and come home as soon as
possible. Whatever haste you make, however,,
you will not find us here. Four days ago
your father became pastor of Concise, and yes-
terday we went to visit our new home. Noth-
ing can be prettier, and by all who know the
place it is considered the most desirable posi-
tion in the canton. There is a vineyard, a
fine orchard filled with fruit-trees in full bear-
REMOVAL OF HIS FATHER TO CONCISE. 135
ing, and an excellent kitchen garden. A
never-failing" spring gushes from a grotto, and
within fifty steps of the house is a pretty
winding stream with a walk along the bank,
bordered by shrubbery, and furnished here
and there with benches, the whole disposed
with much care and taste. The house also is
very well arranged. All the rooms look out
upon the lake, lying hardly a gunshot from
the windows. There are a parlor and a din-
ing-room on the first floor, beside two smaller
rooms ; and on the same floor two doors lead
out into the flower garden. The kitchen is
small, and on one side is a pretty ground where
we can dine in the open air in summer. The
distribution of rooms in the upper story is the
same, with a large additional room for the ac-
' O
commodation of your father's catechumens.
A jasmine vine drapes the front of the house
and climbs to the very roof. . . .
To this quiet pretty parsonage Madame
Agassiz became much attached. Her tranquil
life is well described in a letter written many
years afterward by one of her daughters.
66 Here mama returned to her spinning-wheel
with new ardor. It was a work she much
liked, and in which she was very skillful. In
136 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
former times at grandpapa's every woman in
the house, whether mistress or maid, had her
wheel, and the young ladies were accustomed
to spin and make up their own trousseaus.
Later, mama continued her spinning for her
children, and even for her grandchildren. We
all preserve as a precious souvenir, table linen
of her making. We delighted to see her
at her wheel, she was so graceful, and the
thread of her thought seemed to follow, so to
speak, the fine and delicate thread of her work
as it unwound itself under her touch from the
distaff."
Agassiz was detained by his publishing ar-
rangements and his work longer than he had
expected, and November was already advanced
before his preparations for leaving Munich
were completed.
TO HIS PARENTS.
MUNICH, November 9, 1830.
. . . According to your wish [this refers
to a suggestion about a fellow-student in a
previous letter] I shall not bring any friend
with me. I long to enjoy the pleasure of
family life. I shall, however, be accompa-
nied by one person, for whom I should like
to make suitable arrangements. He is the
PREPARING FOR HIS RETURN. 137
artist who makes all my drawings. If there
is no room for him in the house he can be
lodged elsewhere ; but I wish you could give
me the use of a well -lighted room, where I
could work and he could draw at my side
through the day. Do not be frightened ; he
is not at my charge ; but it would be a great
advantage to me if I could have him in the
house. As I do not want to lose time in the
mechanical part of my work, I would beg
papa to engage for me some handy boy, fif-
teen years old or so, whom I could employ
in cleaning skeletons and the like. Finally,
you will receive several boxes for me ; leave
them unopened till I come, without even pay-
ing the freight upon them, — the most unsat-
isfactory of all expenses ; — and I do not wish
you to have an unpleasant association with my
collections.
My affairs are all in order with Cotta, and
I have even concluded the arrangement more
o
advantageously than I had dared to hope, —
a thousand louis, six hundred payable on the
publication of the first number, and four hun-
dred in installments, as the publication goes
on. If I had not been in haste to close the
matter in order to secure myself against all
doubt, I might have done even better. But I
138 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
hope I have reconciled you thereby to Nat-
ural History. What remains to be done will
be the work of less than half a year, during
which I wish also to get together the materials
for my second work, on the fossils. Of that
I have already spoken with my publisher, and
he will take it on more favorable conditions
than I could have dictated. Do your best to
find me subscribers, that we may soon make
our typographical arrangements. . . .
His father's answer, full of fun as it is,
shows, nevertheless, that the prospect of do-
mesticating not only the naturalist and his
collections, but artist and assistant also, was
rather startling.
FROM HIS FATHER.
CONCISE, November 16, 1830.
. . . You speak of Christmas as the mo-
ment of your arrival ; let us call it the New
Year. You will naturally pass some days at
Neuchatel to be with your brother, to see the
Messrs. Coulon, etc. ; from there to Cudrefin
for a look at your collection ; then to Con-
cise, then to Montagny, Orbe, Lausanne,
Geneva, etc. : M. le Docteur will be claimed
and feted by all in turn. And during all
LETTER FROM HIS FATHER. 139
these indispensable excursions, for which, to
he within bounds, I allow a month at least,
it is as clear as daylight that regular work
must be set aside, if, indeed, the time be not
wholly lost. Now, for Heaven's sake, what
will you do, or rather what shall we do, with
your painter, in this interval employed by you
elsewhere. Neither is this all. Though the
date of Cecile's marriage is not fixed, it is
more than likely to take place in January,
so that you will be here for the wedding. If
you will recollect the overturning of the pa-
ternal mansion when your outfit was prepar-
ing for Bienne, Zurich, and other places, you
can form an idea of the state of our rooms
above and below, large and small, when the
work of the trousseau begins. Where, in
Heaven's name, will you stow away a painter
and an assistant in the midst of half a brigade
of dress-makers, seamstresses, lace-makers, and
milliners, without counting the accompanying
train of friends ? Where would you, or where
could you, put under shelter your possessions
(I dare not undertake to enumerate them),
among all the taffetas and brocades, linens,
muslin, tulles, laces, etc. ? But what am I say-
ing ? I doubt if these names are still in ex-
istence, for quite other appellations are sound-
140 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
ing in my ears, each one of which, to the
number of some hundred, signifies at least
twenty yards in width, to say nothing of the
length. For my part, I have already, notwith-
standing the approach of winter, put up a
big nail in the garret, on which to hang my
bands and surplice. Listen, then, to the con-
clusion of your father. Give all possible care
to your affairs in Munich, put them in per-
fect order, leave nothing to be done, and leave
nothing behind except the painter. You can
call him in from here, whenever you think
you can make use of him.
TO HIS PARENTS.
MUNICH, November 26, 1830.
. . . When you receive this I shall be no
longer in Munich ; by means of a last draft
on M. Eichthal I have settled with every one,,
and I hope to leave the day after to-morrow.
I fully recognize the justice of your observa-
tions, my dear father, but as you start from a
mistaken point of view, they do not coincide
altogether with existing circumstances. I in-
tend to stay with you until the approach of
summer, not only with the aim of working
upon the text of my book, but chiefly in order
to take advantage of all the fossil collections
RELATIONS WITH HIS ARTIST. 141
in Switzerland. For that purpose I positively
need a draughtsman, who, thanks to my pub-
lisher, is not in my pay, and who must accom-
pany me in future wherever I go. Since
there is no room at home, please see how he
can be lodged in the neighborhood. I have,
at the utmost, to glance each day at what
he has done. I can even give him work for
several weeks in which my presence would be
unnecessary. If there is a considerable col-
lection of fossils at Zurich, I shall leave him
there till he has finished his work, and then
he will rejoin me ; all that depends upon cir-
cumstances. In any case he must not be a
charge to you, still less interfere with our
family privacy. That I may spend all my
time with you, I shall at present bring with
me nothing that is not absolutely necessary.
We shall see later where I shall place my
museum. As to visits, they are not to be
thought of until the spring. I could not bear
the idea of interruption before the first num-
ber of my " Fishes ' ' is finished.
The artist in question was Mr. Dinkel. His
relations with the family became of a truly
friendly character. The connection between
him and Agassiz, most honorable to both par-
142 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
ties, lasted for sixteen years, and was then only
interrupted by the departure of Agassiz for
America. During this whole period Mr. Din-
kel was occupied as his draughtsman, living
sometimes in Paris, sometimes in England,
sometimes in Switzerland, wrherever, in short,
there were specimens to be drawn. In a pri-
vate letter, written long afterward, he says,
in speaking of the break in their intercourse
caused by Agassiz's removal to America :
" For a long time I felt unhappy at that
separation. . . . He was a kind, noble-hearted
friend ; he was very benevolent, and if he had
possessed millions of money he wrould have
spent them for his researches in science, and
have done good to his fellow-creatures as
much as possible."
Some passages from Braun's letters com-
plete the chapter of these years in Munich,
so rich in purpose and in experience, the pre-
lude, as it were, to the intellectual life of the
two friends who had entered upon them to-
gether. These extracts show how seriously,
not without a certain sadness, they near the
end.
LAST DAYS AT MUNICH. 143
BRAUN TO HIS FATHER.
MUNICH, November 7, 1830.
Were I to leave Munich now, I must sepa-
rate myself from Agassiz and Schimper, which
would be neither agreeable nor advantageous
o o
for me, nor would it be friendly toward them.
We will not shorten the time, already too
scantly measured, which we may still spend
so quietly, so wholly by ourselves, but rather,
as long- as it lasts, make the best use of it in
O '
a mutual exchange of what we have learned,
O f
trying to encourage each other in the right
path, and drawing more closely together for
our whole life to come. Agassiz is to stay till
the end of the month ; during this time he
will give us lectures in anatomy, and I shall
learn a good deal of zoology. Beside all this
one thing is certain ; namely, that we can re-
view our medical work much more quietly and
uninterruptedly here than in Carlsruhe. Add
to this, the advantage we enjoy here of visit-
ing the hospitals. . . . The time passes delight-
fully with us of late, for Agassiz has received
several baskets of books from Gotta, among
others, Schiller's and Goethe's complete works,
the Conversations-Lexicon, medical works, and
works on natural history. How many books
144: LOUIS AGASS1Z.
a man may receive in return for writing only
one ! They are, of course, deducted from his
share of the profits. Yesterday we did noth-
ing but read Goethe the whole day.
A brief account of Agassiz's university life,
dictated by himself, may fitly close the record
of this period. He was often urged to put to-
gether a few reminiscences of his life, but he
lived so intensely in the present, every day
bringing its full task, that he had little time
for retrospect, and this sketch remained a frag-
ment. It includes some facts already told, but
is given almost verbatim, because it forms a
sort of summary of his intellectual develop-
ment up to this date.
" I am conscious that at successive periods of
my life I have employed very different means
and followed very different systems of study.
I may, therefore, be allowed to offer the result
of my experience as a contribution toward the
building up of a sound method for the promo-
tion of the study of nature.
" At first, when a mere boy, twelve years of
age, I did what most beginners do. I picked
up whatever I could lay my hands on, and
tried, by such books and authorities as I had
at my command, to find the names of these
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 145
objects. My highest ambition, at that time,
was to be able to designate the plants and
animals of my native country correctly by a
Latin name, and to extend gradually a similar
knowledge in its application to the productions
of other countries. This seemed to me, in
those days, the legitimate aim and proper work
of a naturalist. I still possess manuscript
volumes in which I entered the names of all
the animals and plants with which I became
acquainted, and I well remember that I then
ardently hoped to acquire the same superficial
familiarity with the whole creation. I did not
then know how much more important it is
to the naturalist to understand the structure
of a few animals, than to command the whole
field of scientific nomenclature. Since I have
become a teacher, and have watched the prog-
ress of students, I have seen that they all
begin in the same way ; but how many have
grown old in the pursuit, without ever rising
to any higher conception of the study of na-
ture, spending their life in the determination
of species, and in extending scientific termi-
nology ! Long before I went to the univer-
sity, and before I began to study natural
history under the guidance of men who were
masters in the science during the early part of
VOL. I. 10
146 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
this century, I perceived that while nomen-
clature and classification, as then understood,
formed an important part of the study, being,
in fact, its technical language, the study of
living beings in their natural element was of
infinitely greater value. At that age, namely,
about fifteen, I spent most of the time I could
spare from classical and mathematical studies
in hunting the neighboring woods and mead-
ows for birds, insects, and land and fresh-
water shells. My room became a little mena-
gerie, while the stone basin under the fountain
in our yard was my reservoir for all the fishes
I could catch. Indeed, collecting, fishing,
and raising caterpillars, from which I reared
fresh, beautiful butterflies, were then my chief
pastimes. What I know of the habits of the
fresh-water fishes of Central Europe I mostly
learned at that time ; and I may add, that
when afterward I obtained access to a large
library and could consult the works of Bloch
and Lacepede, the only extensive works on
fishes then in existence, I wondered that they
contained so little about their habits, natural
attitudes, and mode of action with which I
was so familiar.
" The first course of lectures on zoology I
attended was given in Lausanne in 1823. It
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 147
consisted chiefly of extracts from Cuvier's
'Kegne Animal/ and from Lamarck's 'Ani-
maux sans Vertebres/ I now became aware,
for the first time, that the learned differ in
their classifications. With this discovery, an
immense field of study opened before me, and
I longed for some knowledge of anatomy, that
I might see for myself where the truth was.
During two years spent in the Medical School
of Zurich, I applied myself exclusively to the
study of anatomy, physiology, and zoology,
under the guidance of Professors Schinz and
Hirzel. My inability to buy books was, per-
haps, not so great a misfortune as it seemed to
me ; at least, it saved me from too great de-
pendence on written authority. I spent all
my time in dissecting animals and in studying
human anatomy, not forgetting my favorite
amusements of fishing and collecting. I was
always surrounded with pets, and had at this
time some forty birds flying about my study,
with no other home than a large pine-tree in
the corner. I still remember my grief when a
visitor, entering suddenly, caught one of my
little favorites between the floor and the door,
and he was killed before I could extricate him.
Professor Schinz' s private collection of birds
was my daily resort, and I then described every
148 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
bird it contained, as I could not afford to buy
even a text-book of ornithology. I also copied
with my own hand, having no means of pur-
chasing the work, two volumes of Lamarck's
* Animaux sans Vertebres/ and my dear
brother copied another half volume for me. I
finally learned that the study of the things
themselves was far more attractive than the
books I so much coveted ; and when, at last,
large libraries became accessible to me, I usu-
ally contented myself with turning over the
leaves of the volumes on natural historv, look-
i/ '
ing at the illustrations, and recording the ti-
tles of the works, that I might readily con-
sult them for identification of such objects as
I should have an opportunity of examining in
nature.
" After spending in this way two years in
Zurich, I was attracted to Heidelberg by the
great reputation of its celebrated teachers,
Tiedemann, Leuckart, Bronn, and others. It
is true that I was still obliged to give up a
part of my time to the study of medicine, but
while advancing in my professional course by a
steady application to anatomy and physiology,
I attended the lectures of Leuckart in zoology,
and those of Bronn in paleontology. The pub-
lication of Goldf uss's great work on the .fossils
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 149
of Germany was just then beginning, and it
opened a new world to me. Familiar as I was
with Cuvier's ' Regne Animal/ I had not then
seen his ' Researches on Fossil Remains/
and the study of fossils seemed to me only an
extension of the field of zoology. I had no
idea of its direct connection with geology, or
of its bearing on the problem of the successive
introduction of animals on the earth. I had
never thought of the larger and more philo-
sophical view of nature as one great world,
but considered the study of animals only as it
was taught by descriptive zoology in those
days. At about this time, however, I made
the acquaintance of two young botanists,
Bra tin and S chimp er, both of whom have
since become distinguished in the annals of
science. Botany had in those days received a
new impulse from the great conceptions of
Goethe. The metamorphosis of plants was
the chief study of my friends, and I could not
but feel that descriptive zoology had not
spoken the last word in our science, and that
grand generalizations, such as were opening
upon botanists, must be preparing for zoolo-
gists also. Intimate contact with German
students made me feel that I had neglected
my philosophical education ; and when, in the
150 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
year 1827, the new University of Munich
opened, with Schelling as professor of philos-
ophy, Oken, Schubert, and Wagler as pro-
fessors of zoology, Dollinger as professor of
anatomy and physiology, Martins and Zucca-
rini as professors of botany, Fuchs and Kobell
as professors of mineralogy, I determined to
go there with my two friends and drink new
draughts of knowledge. During the years I
passed at Munich I devoted myself almost ex-
clusively to the different branches of natural
science, neglecting more and more my medical
studies, because I began to feel an increasing
confidence that I could fight my way in the
world as a naturalist, and that I was therefore
justified in following my strong bent in that
direction. My experience in Munich was very
varied. With Dollinger I learned to value
accuracy of observation. As I was living in
his house, he gave me personal instruction in
the use of the microscope, and showed me his
own methods of embryological investigation.
He had already been the teacher of Karl
Ernst von Baer ; and though the pupil outran
the master, and has become the pride of the
scientific world, it is but just to remember that
he owed to him his first initiation into the
processes of embryological research. Dollin-
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 151
ger was a careful, minute, persevering observer,
as well as a deep thinker ; but he was as indo-
lent with his pen as he was industrious with
his brain. He gave his intellectual capital to
his pupils without stint or reserve, and noth-
ing delighted him more than to sit down for
a quiet talk on scientific matters with a few
students, or to take a ramble with them into
the fields outside the city, and explain to them
as he walked the result of any recent in-
vestigation he had made. If he found him-
o
self understood by his listeners he was satis-
fied, and cared for no farther publication of
his researches. I could enumerate many works
of masters in our science, which had no other
foundation at the outset than these inspiriting
conversations. No one has borne warmer tes-
timony to the influence Dollinger has had in
this indirect way on the progress of our sci-
ence than the investigator I have already
mentioned as his greatest pupil, — von Baer.
In the introduction to his work on embryol-
ogy he gratefully acknowledges his debt to
his old teacher.
" Among the most fascinating of our pro-
fessors was Oken. A master in the art of
teaching, he exercised an almost irresistible
influence over his students. Constructing the
152 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
universe out of his own brain, deducing from
a priori conceptions all the relations of the
three kingdoms into which he divided all liv-
ing beings, classifying the animals as if by
magic, in accordance with an analogy based
on the dismembered body of man, it seemed to
us who listened that the slow laborious pro-
cess of accumulating precise detailed knowl-
edge could only be the work of drones, while
a generous, commanding spirit might build
the world out of its own powerful imagina-
tion. The temptation to impose one's own
ideas upon nature, to explain her mysteries
by brilliant theories rather than by patient
study of the facts as we find them, still leads
us away. With the school of the physio-phi-
losophers began (at least in our day and gen-
eration) that overbearing confidence in the
abstract conceptions of the human mind as
applied to the study of nature, which still im-
pairs the fairness of our classifications and
prevents them from interpreting truly the
natural relations binding together all living1
o o o
beings. And yet, the young naturalist of
that day who did not share, in some degree,
the intellectual stimulus given to scientific pur-
suits by physio-philosophy would have missed
a part of his training. There is a great dis-
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 153
tance between the man who, like Oken, at-
tempts to construct the whole system of na-
ture from general premises and the one who,
while subordinating his conceptions to the
facts, is yet capable of generalizing the facts,
of recognizing their most comprehensive rela-
tions. No thoughtful naturalist can silence
the suggestions, continually arising in the
course of his investigations, respecting the
origin and deeper connection of all living be-
ings ; but he is the truest student of nature
who, while seeking the solution of these great
problems, admits that the only true scientific
system must be one in which the thought, the
intellectual structure, rises out of and is based
upon facts. The great merit of the physio-
philosophers consisted in their suggestiveness.
They did much in freeing our age from the
low estimation of natural history as a science
which prevailed in the last century. They
stimulated a spirit of independence among
observers ; but they also instilled a spirit of
daring, which, from its extravagance, has been
fatal to the whole school. He is lost, as an
observer, who believes that he can, with im-
punity, affirm that for which he can adduce
no evidence. It was a curious intellectual
experience to listen day after day to the lee-
154 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
tures of Oken, while following at the same
time Schelling's courses, where he was shift-
ing the whole ground of his philosophy from
its negative foundation as an a priori doc-
trine to a positive basis, as an historical
science. He unfolded his views in a succes-
sion of exquisite lectures, delivered during
four consecutive years.
" Among my fellow-students were many
young men who now rank among the highest
lights in the various departments of science,
and others, of equal promise, whose early death
cut short their work in this world. Some of
us had already learned at this time to work
for ourselves ; not merely to attend lectures
and study from books. The best spirit of
emulation existed among us ; we met often
to discuss our observations, undertook fre-
quent excursions in the neighborhood, deliv-
ered lectures to our fellow-students, and had,
not infrequently, the gratification of seeing
our university professors among the listeners.
These exercises were of the highest value to
o
me as a preparation for speaking, in later
years, before larger audiences. My study
was usually the lecture-room. It would hold
conveniently from fifteen to twenty persons,
and both students and professors used to call
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 155
our quarters " The Little Academy." In that
room I made all the skeletons represented on
the plates of Wagler's " Natural System of
Reptiles ; ' there I once received the great
anatomist, Meckel, sent to me by Dollinger,
to examine my anatomical preparations and
especially the many fish-skeletons I had made
from fresh-water fishes. By my side were
constantly at work two artists ; one engaged
in drawing various objects of natural history,
the other in drawing fossil fishes. I kept al-
ways one and sometimes two artists in my
pay ; it was not easy, with an allowance of
$250 a year, but they were even poorer than
I, and so we managed to get along together.
My microscope I had earned by writing.
" I had hardly finished the publication of
the Brazilian Fishes, when I began to study
the works of the older naturalists. Professor
Dollinger had presented me with a copy of
Eondelet, which was my delight for a long
time. I was especially struck by the naivete of
his narrative and the minuteness of his descrip-
tions as well as by the fidelity of his wood-
cuts, some of which are to this day the best
figures we have of the species they represent.
His learning overwhelmed me ; I would gladly
have read, as he did, everything that had been
written before my time ; but there were au-
156 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
thors who wearied me, and I confess that at
that age Linnaeus was among the number. I
O C)
found him dry, pedantic, dogmatic, conceited ;
while I was charmed with Aristotle, whose
zoology I have read and re-read ever since at
intervals of two or three years. I must, how-
ever, do myself the justice to add, that after
I knew more of the history of our science I
learned also duly to reverence LinnaBus. But
a student, already familiar with the works of
Cuvier, and but indifferently acquainted with
the earlier progress of zoology, could hardly
appreciate the merit of the great reformer of
natural history. His defects were easily per-
ceived, and it required more familiarity than
mine then was with the gradual growth of
the science, from Aristotle onward, to under-
stand how great and beneficial an influence
Linnseus had exerted upon modern natural
history.
" I cannot review my Munich life without
deep gratitude. The city teemed with re-
sources for the student in arts, letters, philos-
ophy, and science. It was distinguished at
that time for activity in public as well as in
academic life. The king seemed liberal ; he
was the friend of poets and artists, and aimed
at concentrating all the glories of Germany
in his new university. I thus enjoyed for a
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 157
few years the example of the most brilliant
intellects, and that stimulus which is given by
competition between men equally eminent in
different spheres of human knowledge. Un-
der such circumstances a man either subsides
into the position of a follower in the ranks
that gather around a master, or he aspires to
be a master himself.
"The time had come when even the small
allowance I received from borrowed capital
must cease. I was now twenty-four years of
age. I was Doctor of Philosophy and Medi-
cine, and author of a quarto volume on the
fishes of Brazil. I had traveled on foot all
over Southern Germany, visited Vienna, and
explored extensive tracts of the Alps. I knew
every animal, living and fossil, in the Mu-
seums of Munich, Stuttgart, Tubingen, Erlan-
gen, Wurzburg, Carlsruhe, and Frankfort ; but
my prospects were as dark as ever, and I saw
no hope of making my way in the world, ex-
cept by the practical pursuit of my profession
as physician. So, at the close of 1830, I left
the university and went home, with the inten-
tion of applying myself to the practice of
medicine, confident that my theoretical infor-
mation and my training in the art of observ-
ing would carry me through the new ordeal
I was about to meet.'
CHAPTER V.
1830-1832 : ,ET. 23-25.
Year at Home. — Leaves Home for Paris. — Delays on the
Road. — Cholera. — Arrival in Paris. — First Visit to Cu-
vier. — Cuvier's Kindness. — His Death. — Poverty in
Paris. — Home Letters concerning Embarrassments and
about his Work. — Singular Dream.
the 4th of December, 1830, Agassiz left
Munich, in company with Mr. Dinkel, and
after a short stay at St. Gallen and Zurich,
spent in looking up fossil fishes and making
drawings of them, they reached Concise on
the 30th of the same month. Anxiously as
his return was awaited at home, we have seen
that his father was not without apprehension
lest the presence of the naturalist, with artist,
specimens, and apparatus, should be an incon-
venience in the quiet parsonage. But every
obstacle yielded to the joy of reunion, and
Agassiz was soon established with his " paint-
er," his fossils, and all his scientific outfit,
under the paternal roof.
Thus quietly engaged in his ichthyological
studies, carrying on his work on the fossil
DEPARTURE FOR PARIS. 159
fishes, together with that on the fresh-water
' O
fishes of Central Europe, he passed nearly a
year at home. He was not without patients
also in the village and its environs, but had,
as yet, no prospect of permanent professional
employment. In the mean time it seemed
daily more and more necessary that he should
carry his work to Paris, to the great centre of
scientific life, where he could have the widest
field for comparison and research. There, also,
he could continue and complete to the best
advantage his medical studies. His poverty
was the greatest hindrance to any such move.
He was not, however, without some slight in-
dependent means, especially since his publish-
ing arrangements provided in part for the
carrying on of his work. His generous uncle
added something to this, and an old friend
of his father's, M. Christinat, a Swiss clergy-
man with whom he had been from boyhood
a great favorite, urged upon him his own con-
tribution toward a work in which he felt the
liveliest interest. Still the prospect with
which he left for Paris in September, 1831,
was dark enough, financially speaking, though
full of hope in another sense. On the road
he made several halts for purposes of study,
combining, as usual, professional with scien-
160 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
tific objects, hospitals with museums. He was,
perhaps, a little inclined to believe that the
most favorable conditions for his medical stud-
ies were to be found in conjunction with the
best collections. He had, however, a special
medical purpose, being earnest to learn every-
thing regarding the treatment and the limita-
tion of cholera, then for the first time making
' O
its appearance in Western Europe with fright-
ful virulence. Believing himself likely to con-
tinue the practice of medicine for some years
at least, he thought his observations upon this
scourge would be of great importance to him.
His letters of this date to his father are full
of the subject, and of his own efforts to ascer-
tain the best means of prevention and defense.
The following answer to an appeal from his
mother shows, however, that his delays caused
anxiety at home, lest the small means he could
devote to his studies in Paris should be con-
sumed on the road.
TO HIS MOTHER.
CARLSRUHE, November, 1831.
... I returned day before yesterday from
my trip in Wlirtemberg, and though I al-
ready knew what precautions had been taken
everywhere in anticipation of cholera, I do
STUDIES ON THE WAY TO PARIS. 161
not think my journey was a useless one, and
am convinced that my observations will not
be without interest, — chiefly for myself, of
course, but of utility to others also I hope.
Your letter being so urgent, I will not, how-
ever, delay my departure an instant. Between
to-day and to-niorrow I shall put in order the
specimens lent me by the Museum, and then
start at once. ... In proportion to my previ-
ous anxiety is my pleasure in the prospect of
going to Paris, now that I am better fitted to
present myself there as I could wish. I have
collected for my fossil fishes all the materials
I still desired to obtain from the museums of
Carlsruhe, Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, and
have extended my knowledge of geology suf-
ficiently to join, without embarrassment at
least, in conversation upon the more recent
researches in that department. Moreover,
Braun has been kind enough to give me a
superb collection, selected by himself, to serve
as basis and guide in my researches. I leave
it at Carlsruhe, since I no longer need it. ...
I have also been able to avail myself of the
Museum of Carlsruhe, and of the mineralog-
ical collection of Braun's father. Beside the
drawings made by Dinkel, I have added to
my work one hundred and seventy-one pages
VOL. I. 11
162 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
of manuscript in French (I have just counted
them), written between my excursions and in
the midst of other occupations. ... I could
not have foreseen so rich a harvest.
Thus prepared, he arrived in Paris with his
artist on the 16th of December, 1831. On
the 18th he writes to his father. ..." Dinkel
and I had a very pleasant journey, though the
day after our arrival I was so fatigued that I
coul d hardly move hand or foot, — that was
yesterday. Nevertheless, I passed the even-
ing very agreeably at the house of M. Cuvier,
who sent to invite me, having heard of my
arrival. To my surprise, I found myself not
quite a stranger, — rather, as it were, among
old acquaintances. I have already given you
my address, Rue Copeau (Hotel du Jardin du
Roi, No. 4). As it happens, M. Perrotet, a
traveling naturalist, lives here also, and has at
once put me on the right track about what-
ever I most need to know. There are in the
house other well-known persons besides. I am
accommodated very cheaply, and am at the
same time within easy reach of many things,
the neighborhood of which I can turn to good
account. The medical school, for instance,
is within ten minutes' walk ; the Jardin des
LIFE IN PARIS. 163
Plantes not two hundred steps away ; while
the Hospital (de la Pitie), where Messieurs
Andral and Lesfranc teach, is opposite, and
nearer still. To-day or to-morrow I shall de-
liver my letters, and then set to work in good
earnest."
Pleased as he was from the beginning with
all that concerned his scientific life in Paris,
the next letter shows that the young Swiss did
not at once find himself at home in the great
French capital.
TO HIS SISTER OLYMPE.
PARIS, January 15, 1832.
. . . My expectations in coming here have
been more than fulfilled. In scientific mat-
ters I have found all that I knew must exist
in Paris (indeed, my anticipations were rather
below than above the mark), and beside that
I have been met everywhere with courtesy,
and have received attentions of all sorts. M.
Cuvier and M. Humboldt especially treat me
on all occasions as an equal, and facilitate for
me the use of the scientific collections so that
I can work here as if I were at home. And
yet it is not the same thing ; this extreme,
but formal politeness chills you instead of
putting you at your ease ; it lacks cordiality.
164 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
and, to tell the truth, I would gladly go
away were I not held fast by the wealth of
material of which I can avail myself for in-
struction. In the morning I follow the clin-
ical courses at the Pitie. . . . At ten o'clock,
or perhaps at eleven, I breakfast, and then go
to the Museum of Natural History, where I
stay till dark. Between five and six I dine,
and after that turn to such medical studies as
do not require daylight. So pass my days,
one like another, with great regularity. I
have made it a rule not to go out after din-
ner, — I should lose too much time. . . . On
Saturday only I spend the evening at M. Cu-
vier's.
The homesickness which is easily to be
read between the lines of this letter, due, per-
haps, to the writer's want of familiarity with
society in its conventional aspect, yielded to
the influence of an intellectual life, which be-
came daily more engrossing. Cuvier's kind
reception was but an earnest of the affection-
ate interest he seems from the first to have
felt in him. After a few days he gave Agas-
siz and his artist a corner in one of his own
laboratories, and often came to encourage them
by a glance at their work as it went on.
LETTER TO DR. MAYOR. 165
This relation continued until Cuvier's death,
and Agassiz enjoyed for several months the
scientific sympathy and personal friendship of
the great master whom he had honored from
childhood, and whose name was ever on his
lips till his own work in this world was
closed. The following letter, written two
months later, to his uncle in Lausanne tells
the story in detail.
TO DR. MAYOR.
PARIS, February 16, 1832.
... I have also a piece of good news to
communicate, which will, I hope, lead to very
favorable results for me. I think I told you
when I left for Paris that my chief anxiety
was lest I might not be allowed to examine,
and still less to describe, the fossil fishes and
their skeletons in the Museum. Knowing that
Cuvier intended to write a work on this sub-
ject, I supposed that he would reserve these
specimens for himself. I half thought he
might, on seeing my work so far advanced,
propose to me to finish it jointly with him,
— but even this I hardly dared to hope. It
was on this account, with the view of increas-
ing my materials and having thereby a bet-
ter chance of success with M. Cuvier, that I
166 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
desired so earnestly to stop at Strasbourg and
Carlsruhe, where I knew specimens were to
be seen which would have a direct bearing on
my aim. The result has far surpassed my
expectation. I hastened to show nay material
to M. Cuvier the very day after my arrival.
He received me with great politeness, though
with a certain reserve, and immediately gave
me permission to see everything in the galler-
ies of the Museum. But as I knew that he
had put together in private collections all that
could be of use to himself in writing his book,
and as he had never said a word to me of his
plan of publication, I remained in a painful
state of doubt, since the completion of his
work would have destroyed all chance for the
sale of mine. Last Saturday I was passing
the evening there, and we were talking of
science, when he desired his secretary to bring
him a certain portfolio of drawings. He
showed me the contents ; they were drawings
of fossil fishes and notes which he had taken
in the British Museum and elsewhere. After
looking it through with me, he said he had
seen with satisfaction the manner in which
I had treated this subject ; that I had in-
deed anticipated him, since he had intended
at some future time to do the same thing;
LEGACY FROM CUVIER. 167
but that as I had given it so much attention,
and had done my work so well, he had decided
to renounce his project, and to place at my
disposition all the materials he had collected
and all the preliminary notes he had taken.
You can imagine what new ardor this has
given me for my work, the more so because
M. Cuvier, M. Humboldt, and several other
persons of mark who are interested in it have
promised to speak in my behalf to a publisher
(to Levrault, who seems disposed to undertake
the publication should peace be continued),
and to recommend me strongly. To accom-
plish my end without neglecting other occu-
pations, I work regularly at least fifteen hours
a day, sometimes even an hour or two more ;
but I hope to reach my goal in good time.
This trust from Cuvier proved to be a leg-
acy. Less than three months after the date
of this letter Agassiz went, as often hap-
pened, to work one morning with him in his
study. It was Sunday, and he was employed
upon something which Cuvier had asked him
to do, saying, " You are young ; you have time
enough for it, and I have none to spare." They
worked together till eleven o'clock, when Cu-
vier invited Agassiz to join him at breakfast.
168 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
After a little time spent over the breakfast
table in talk with the ladies of the family,
while Cuvier opened his letters, papers, etc.,
they returned to the working room, and were
busily engaged in their separate occupations
when Agassiz was surprised to hear the clock
strike five, the hour for his dinner. He ex-
pressed his regret that he had not quite fin-
ished his work, but said that as he belonged to
a student's table his dinner would not wait for
him, and he would return soon to complete
his task. Cuvier answered that he was quite
right not to neglect his regular hours for
meals, and commended his devotion to study,
but added, " Be careful, and remember that
work kills." They were the last words he
heard from his beloved teacher. The next
day, as Cuvier was going up to the tribune in
the Chamber of Deputies, he fell, was taken
up paralyzed, and carried home. Agassiz
never saw him again.1
In order to keep intact these few data re-
specting his personal relations with Cuvier, as
told in later years by Agassiz himself, the
1 This warning of Cuvier, " Work kills," strangely recalls
Johannes Miiller's " Blood clings to work ; " the one seems
the echo of the other. See Memoir of Johannes Muller, by
Rudolf Virchow, p. 38.
PECUNIARY ANXIETIES. 169
course of the narrative has been anticipated
by a month or two. Let us now return to the
natural order. The letter to his uncle of
course gave great pleasure at home. Just
after reading it his father writes (February,
1832), " Now that you are intrusted with the
portfolio of M. Cuvier, I suppose your plan
is considerably enlarged, and that your work
will be of double volume ; tell me, then, as
much about it as you think I can understand,
which will not be a great deal after all." His
mother's letter on the same occasion is full of
tender sympathy and gratitude.
Meanwhile one daily anxiety embittered his
scientific happiness. The small means at his
command could hardly be made, even with the
strictest economy, to cover the necessary ex-
penses of himself and his artist, in which were
included books, drawing materials, fees, etc.
He was in constant terror lest he should be
obliged to leave Paris, to give up his investiga-
tions on the fossil fishes, and to stop work on
the costly plates he had begun. The truth
about his affairs, which he would gladly have
concealed from those at home as long as
possible, was drawn from him by an acciden-
tal occurrence. His brother had written to
him for a certain book, and, failing to receive
170 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
it, inquired with some surprise why his com-
mission was neglected. Agassiz's next letter,
about a month later than the one to his uncle,
gives the explanation.
TO HIS BROTHER.
PARIS, March, 1832.
. . . Here is the book for which you asked
me, — price, 18 francs. I shall be very sorry
if it comes too late, but I could not help it.
... In the first place I had not money enough
to pay for it without being left actually penni-
less. You can imagine that after the fuel
bill for the winter is paid, little remains for
other expenses out of my 200 francs a month,
five louis of which are always due to my com-
panion. Far from having anything in ad-
vance, my month's supply is thus taken up at
once. . . . Beside this cause of delay, you
can have no idea what it is to hunt for any-
thing in Paris when you are a stranger there.
As I go out only in two or three directions
leading to my work, and might not otherwise
leave my own street for a month at a time, I
naturally find myself astray when I am off this
beaten track. . . . You have asked me sev-
eral times how I have been received by those
to whom I had introductions. Frankly, after
HOME LETTERS. 171
having delivered a few of my letters, I have
never been again, because I cannot, in my
position, spare time for visits. . . . Another
excellent reason for staying away now is that
I have no presentable coat. At M. Cuvier's
only am I sufficiently at ease to go in a frock
coat. . . . Saturday, a week ago, M. de Fe-
russac offered me the editorship of the zoo-
logical section of the " Bulletin ; ' it would
be worth to me an additional thousand francs,
but would require two or three hours' work
daily. Write me soon what you think about
it. In the midst of all the encouragements
which sustain me and renew my ardor, I am
depressed by the reverse side of my position.
This letter drew forth the following one.
FROM HIS MOTHER.
CONCISE, March, 1832.
. . . Much as your letter to your uncle de-
lighted us, that to your brother has saddened
us. It seems, my dear child, that you are
painfully straitened in means. I understand
it by personal experience, and in your case I
have foreseen it ; it is the cloud which has
always darkened your prospects to me. I
want to talk to you, my dear Louis, of your
172 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
future, which has often made me anxious.
You know your mother's heart too well to
misunderstand her thought, even should its ex-
pression be unacceptable to you. With much
knowledge, acquired by assiduous industry,
you are still at twenty-five years of age living
on brilliant hopes, in relation, it is true, with
great people, and known as having distin-
guished talent. Now, all this would seem to me
delightful if you had an income of fifty thou-
sand francs ; but, in your position, you must
absolutely have an occupation which will enable
you to live, and free you from the insupport-
able weight of dependence on others. From
this day forward, my dear child, you must
look to this end alone if you would find it pos-
sible to pursue honorably the career you have
chosen. Otherwise constant embarrassments
will so limit your genius, that you will fall
below your own capacity. If you follow our
advice you will perhaps reach the result of
your work in the natural sciences a little later,
but all the more surely. Let us see how you
can combine the work to which you have al-
ready consecrated so much time, with the pos-
sibility of self-support. It appears from your
letter to your brother that you see no one in
Paris ; the reason seems to me a sad one, but it
LETTER FROM HIS MOTHER. 173
is unanswerable, and since you cannot change
it, you must change your place of abode and
return to your own country. You have al-
ready seen in Paris all those persons whom
you thought it essential to see ; unless you
are strangely mistaken in their good-will, you
will be no less sure of it in Switzerland than
in Paris, and since you cannot take part in
their society, your relations with them will be
the same at the distance of a hundred leagues
as they are now. You must therefore leave
Paris for Geneva, Lausanne, or Neuchatel, or
any city where you can support yourself by
teaching. This seems to me the most ad-
o
vantageous course for you. If before fixing
yourself permanently you like to take your
place at the parsonage again, you will always
find us ready to facilitate, as far as we can,
any arrangements for your convenience. Here
you can live in perfect tranquillity and with-
out expense.
There are two other subjects which I want
to discuss with you, though perhaps I shall
not make myself so easily understood. You
have seen the handsome public building in
process of construction at Neuchatel. It will
be finished this year, and I am told that the
Museum will be placed there. I believe the
174 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
collections are very incomplete, and the city of
Neuchatel is rich enough to expend something
in filling the blanks. It has occurred to me,
my dear, that this would be an excellent op-
portunity for disposing of your alcoholic speci-
mens. They form, at present, a capital yield-
ing no interest, requiring care, and to be en-
joyed only at the cost of endless outlay in glass
jars, alcohol, and transportation, to say nothing
of the rent of a room in which to keep them.
All this, beside attracting many visitors, is too
heavy a burden for you, from which you may
free yourself by taking advantage of this rare
chance. To this end you must have an im-
mediate understanding with M. Coulon, lest
he should make a choice elsewhere. Your
brother, being on the spot, might negotiate
for you. . . . Finally, my last topic is Mr.
Dinkel. You are very fortunate to have
found in your artist such a thoroughly nice
fellow ; nevertheless, in view of the expense,
you must make it possible to do without him.
I see you look at me aghast ; but where a sac-
rifice is to be made we must not do it by
halves ; we must pull up the tree by the roots.
It is a great evil to be spending more than one
earns.
WORK IN PARIS. 175
TO HIS MOTHER.
PARIS, March 25, 1832.
... It is true, dear mother, that I am
greatly straitened ; that I have much less
money to spend than I could wish, or even
than I need; on the other hand, this makes
me work the harder, and keeps me away from
distractions which might otherwise tempt me.
. . . With reference to my work, however,
things are not quite as you suppose, as re-
gards either my stay here or my relations with
M. Cuvier. Certainly, I hope that I should
lose neither his good- will nor his protection on
leaving here ; on the contrary, I am sure that
he would be the first to advise me to accept
any professorship, or any place which might be
advantageous for me, however removed from
my present occupations, and that his counsels
would follow me there. But what cannot fol-
low me, and what I owe quite as much to
him, is the privilege of examining all the col-
lections. These I can have nowhere but in
Paris, since even if he would consent to it I
could not carry away with me a hundred
quintals of fossil fish, which, for the sake of
comparison, I must have before my eyes, nor
thousands of fish-skeletons, which would alone
176 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
fill some fifty great cases. It is this which
compels me to stay here till I have finished
my work. I should add that M. filie de Beau-
mont has also been kind enough to place at
my disposition the fossil fishes from the col-
lection at the Mining School, and that M.
Brongniart has made me the same offer re-
garding his collection, which is one of the
finest among those owned by individuals in
Paris. . . .
As to my collections, I had already thought
of asking either the Vaudois government or
the city of Neuchatel to receive them into
the Museum, merely on condition that they
should provide for the expenses of exhibi-
tion and preservation, making use of them,
meanwhile, for the instruction of the public.
I should be sorry to lose all right to them,
because I hope they may have another final
destination. I do not despair of seeing the
different parts of Switzerland united at some
future day by a closer tie, and in case of such
a union a truly Helvetic university would be-
come a necessity ; then, my aim would be to
make my collection the basis of that which
they would be obliged to found for their
courses of lectures. It is really a shame that
Switzerland, richer and more extensive than
RETRENCHMENT. 177
many a small kingdom, should have no uni-
versity, when some states of not half its size
have even two ; for instance, the grand duchy
of Baden, one of whose universities, that of
Heidelberg, ranks among the first in all Ger-
many. If ever I attain a position allowing
me so to do, I shall make every effort in my
power to procure for my country the greatest
of benefits : namely, that of an intellectual
unity, which can arise only from a high de-
gree of civilization, and from the radiation of
knowledge from one central point.
I, too, have considered the question about
Dinkel, and if, when I have finished my work
here, my position is not changed, and I have
no definite prospect, such as would justify me
in keeping him with me, — well ! then we
must part ! I have long been preparing my-
self for this, by employing him only upon
what is indispensable to the publication of my
first numbers, hoping that these may procure
me the means of paying for such illustrations
as I shall further need. As my justification
for having engaged him in the first instance,
and continued this expense till now, I can
truly say that it is in a great degree through
his drawings that M. Cuvier has been able to
judge of my work, and so has been led to
VOL I. 12
178 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
make a surrender of all his materials in my
favor. I foresaw clearly that this was my
only chance of competing with him, and it
was not without reason that I insisted so
strongly on having Dinkel with me in pass-
ing through Strasbourg and subsequently at
Carlsruhe. Had I not done so, M. Cuvier
might still be in advance of me. Now my
mind is at rest on this score ; I have already
written you all about his kindness in offering
me the work. Could I only be equally for-
tunate in its publication !
M. Cuvier urges me strongly to present my
book to the Academy, in order to obtain a
report upon its contents. I must first finish
it, however, and the task is not a light one.
For this reason, above all, I regret my want
of means ; but for that I could have the draw-
ings made at once, and the Academy report,
considered as a recommendation, would cer-
tainly help on the publication greatly. But
in this respect I have long been straitened;
Auguste knows that I had at Munich an art-
ist who was to complete what I had left there
for execution, and that I stopped his work on
leaving Concise. If the stagnation of the
book-trade continues I shall, perhaps, be forced
to give up Dinkel also ; for if I cannot be-
ARRIVAL OF BRAUN IN PARIS. 179
gin the publication, which will, I hope, bring
me some return, I must cease to accumulate
material in advance. Should business revive
soon, however, I may yet have the pleasure of
seeing all completed before I leave Paris.
I think I forgot to mention the arrival of
Braun six weeks after me. I had a double
pleasure in his coming, for he brought with
him his younger brother, a charming fellow,
and a distinguished pupil of the polytechnic
school of Carlsruhe. He means to be a min-
ing engineer, and comes to study such col-
lections at Paris as are connected with this
branch. You cannot imagine what happiness
and comfort I have in my relations with Alex-
ander ; he is so good, so cultivated and high-
minded, that his friendship is a real blessing to
me. We both feel very much our separation
from the elder Schimper, who, spite of his
great desire to join us at Carlsruhe and ac-
company us to Paris, was not able to leave
Munich. . . .
P. S. My love to Auguste. To-day (Sun-
day) I went again to see M. Humboldt about
Auguste's * plan, but did not find him.
Then follow several pages, addressed to his
1 Concerning a business undertaking in Mexico.
180 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
father, in answer to the request contained in
one of his last letters that Louis would tell
him as much as he thinks he can understand
of his work. There is something touching
in this little lesson given by the son to the
father, as showing with what delight Louis
responded to the least touch of parental affec-
tion respecting his favorite studies, so long
looked upon at home with a certain doubt
and suspicion. The whole letter is not given
here, as it is simply an elementary treatise on
geology ; but the close is not without inter-
est as relating to the special investigations on
which he was now employed.
" The aim of our researches upon fossil ani-
mals is to ascertain what beings have lived at
each one of these (geological) epochs of crea-
tion, and to trace their characters and their
relations with those now living ; in one word,
to make them live again in our thought. It
is especially the fishes that I try to restore
for the eyes of the curious, by showing them
which ones have lived in each epoch, what
were their forms, and, if possible, by drawing
some conclusions as to their probable modes
of life. You will better understand the diffi-
culty of my work when I tell you that in
many species I have only a single tooth, a
CURIOUS DREAM. 181
scale, a spine, as my guide in the reconstruc-
tion of all these characters, although some-
times we are fortunate enough to find species
with the fins and the skeletons complete. . . .
" I ask pardon if I have tired you with my
long talk, but you know how pleasant it is
to ramble on about what interests us, and the
pleasure of being questioned by you upon sub-
jects of this kind has been such a rare one for
me, that I have wished to present the matter
in its full light, that you may understand the
zeal and the enthusiasm which such researches
can excite."
To this period belongs a curious dream
mentioned by Agassiz in his work on the fos-
sil fishes.1 It is interesting both as a psycho-
logical fact and as showing how, sleeping and
waking, his work was ever present with him.
He had been for two weeks striving to deci-
pher the somewhat obscure impression of a fos-
sil fish on the stone slab in which it was pre-
served. Weary and perplexed he put his work
aside at last, and tried to dismiss it from his
mind. Shortly after, he waked one night per-
suaded that while asleep he had seen his fish
with all the missing features perfectly restored.
1 Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles. Cyclopoma spinosum
Agassiz. Vol. iv. tab. 1, pp. 20, 21.
182 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
But when he tried to hold and make fast the
image, it escaped him. Nevertheless, he went
early to the Jardin des Plantes, thinking that
on looking anew at the impression he should
see something which would put him on the
track of his vision. In vain, — the blurred
record was as blank as ever. The next night
he saw the fish again, but with no more satis-
factory result. When he awoke it disappeared
from his memory as before. Hoping that the
same experience might be repeated, on the
third night he placed a pencil and paper be-
side his bed before going to sleep. Accord-
ingly toward morning the fish reappeared in
his dream, confusedly at first, but at last with
such distinctness that he had no longer any
doubt as to its zoological characters. Still
half dreaming, in perfect darkness, he traced
these characters on the sheet of paper at the
bedside. In the morning he was surprised to
see in his nocturnal sketch features which he
thought it impossible the fossil itself should
reveal. He hastened to the Jardin des Plantes,
and, with his drawing as a guide, succeeded in
chiseling away the surface of the stone under
which portions of the fish proved to be hid-
den. When wholly exposed it corresponded
with his dream and his drawing, and he sue-
CURIOUS DREAM. 183
ceeded in classifying it with ease. He often
spoke of this as a good illustration of the
well-known fact, that when the body is at rest
the tired brain will do the work it refused be-
fore.
CHAPTER VI.
1832 : ,ET. 25.
Unexpected Relief from Difficulties. — Correspondence with
Humboldt. — Excursion to the Coast of Normandy. — First
Sight of the Sea. — Correspondence concerning Professor-
ship at Neuchatel. — Birthday Fete. — Invitation to Chair
of Natural History at Neuchatel. — Acceptance. — Letter
to Humboldt.
AGASSIZ was not called upon to make the
sacrifice of giving up his artist and leaving
Paris, although he was, or at least thought
himself, prepared for it. The darkest hour
is before the dawn, and the letter next given
announces an unexpected relief from press-
ing distress and anxiety.
TO HIS FATHER AND MOTHER.
PARIS, March, 1832.
... I am still so agitated and so surprised
at what has just happened that I scarcely be-
lieve what my eyes tell me.
I mentioned in a postscript to my last letter
that I had called yesterday on M. de Hum-
UNEXPECTED RELIEF. 185
boldt, whom I had not seen for a long time,
in order to speak to him concerning Auguste's
affair, but that I did not find him. In former
visits I had spoken to him about my position,
and told him that I did not well know what
course to take with my publisher. He offered
to write to him, and did so more than two
months ago. Thus far, neither he nor I have
had any answer. This morning, just as I was
going out, a letter came from M. de Hum-
boldt, who writes me that he is very uneasy at
receiving no reply from Cotta, that he fears
lest the uncertainty and anxiety of mind re-
sulting from this may be injurious to my work,
and begs me to accept the inclosed credit of
a thousand francs. . . . Oh ! if my mother
would forget for one moment that this is the
celebrated M. de Humboldt, and find courage
to write him only a few lines, how grateful I
should be to her. I think it would come
better from her than from papa, who would
do it more correctly, no doubt, but perhaps
not quite as I should like. Humboldt is so
good, so indulgent, that you should not hesi-
tate, dear mother, to write him a few lines. He
lives Rue du Colombier, No. 22 ; address, quite
simply, M. de Humboldt. . . .
186 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
In the agitation of the moment the letter
was not even signed.
The following note from Humboldt to Mme.
Agassiz, kept by her as a precious possession,
shows that in answer to her son's appeal his
mother took her courage, as the French say-
ing is, " with both hands," and wrote as she
was desired.
FROM HUMBOLDT TO MME. AGASSIZ.
PARIS, April 11, 1832.
I should scold your son, Madame, for hav-
ing spoken to you of the slight mark of inter-
est I have been able to show him ; and yet,
how can I complain of a letter so touching, so
noble in sentiment, as the one I have just re-
ceived from your hand. Accept my warmest
thanks for it. How happy you are to have
a son so distinguished by his talents, by the
variety and solidity of his acquirements, and,
withal, as modest as if he knew nothing, —
in these days, too, when youth is generally
characterized by a cold and scornful amour-
propre. One might well despair of the world
if a person like your son, with information so
substantial and manners so sweet and prepos-
sessing, should fail to make his way. I ap-
prove highly the Neuchatel plan, and hope,
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 187
in case of need, to contribute to its success.
One must aim at a settled position in life.
Pray excuse, Madame, the brevity of these
lines, and accept the assurance of my respect-
ful regard. HUMBOLDT.
The letter which lifted such a load of care
from Louis and his parents was as follows : —
HUMBOLDT TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
PARIS, March 27, 1832.
I am very uneasy, my dearest M. Agassiz, at
being still without any letter from Cotta. Has
he been prevented from writing by business,
or illness perhaps? You know how tardy he
always is about writing. Yesterday (Mon-
day) I wrote him earnestly again concerning
your affair (an undertaking of such moment
for science), and urged upon him the issuing
of the fossil and fresh-water fishes in alternate
numbers. In the mean time, I fear that the
protracted delay may weigh heavily on you
and your friends. A man so laborious, so
gifted, and so deserving of affection as you
are should not be left in a position where
lack of serenity disturbs his power of work.
You will then surely pardon my friendly good-
will toward you, my dear M. Agassiz, if I en-
188 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
treat you to make use of the accompanying
small credit. You would do more for me I
am sure. Consider it an advance which need
not be paid for years, and which I will gladly
increase when I go away or even earlier. It
would pain me deeply should the urgency of
my request made in the closest confidence, —
in short, a transaction as between two friends
of unequal age, — be disagreeable to you. I
should wish to be pleasantly remembered by a
young man of your character.
Yours, with the most affectionate respect,
ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT.
With this letter was found the following
note of acknowledgment, scrawled in almost
illegible pencil marks. Whether sent exactly
as it stands or not, it is evidently the first out-
burst of Agassiz's gratitude.
My benefactor and friend, — it is too much ;
I cannot find words to tell you how deeply
your letter of to-day has moved me. I have
just been at your house that I might thank
you in person with all my heart ; but now I
must wait to do so until I have the good for-
tune to meet you. At what a moment does
your help come to me ! I inclose a letter from
AGASSI Z TO HUMBOLDT. 189
my dear mother that you may understand my
whole position. My parents will now readily
consent that I should devote myself entirely to
science, and I am freed from the distressing
thought that I may be acting contrary to their
wishes and their will. But they have not the
means to help me, and had proposed that I
should return to Switzerland and give lessons
either in Geneva or Lausanne. I had already
resolved to follow this suggestion in the course
of next summer, and had also decided to part
with Mr. Dinkel, my faithful companion, as
soon as he should have finished the most in-
dispensable drawings of the fossils on which
he is now engaged here. I meant to tell you
of this on Sunday, and now to-day comes your
letter. Imagine what must have been my feel-
ing, after having resolved on renouncing what
till now had seemed to me noblest and most
desirable in life, to find myself unexpectedly
rescued by a kind, helpful hand, and to have
again the hope of devoting my whole powers
to science, — you can judge of the state into
which your letter has thrown me. . . .
Soon after this event Agassiz made a short
excursion with Braun and Dinkel to the coast
of Normandy ; worth noting, because he now
190 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
saw the sea for the first time. He wrote
home : " For five days we skirted the coast
from Havre to Dieppe ; at last I have looked
upon the sea and its riches. From this ex-
cursion of a few days, which I had almost
despaired of making, I bring back new ideas,
more comprehensive views, and a more accu-
rate knowledge of the great phenomena pre-
sented by the ocean in its vast expanse."
Meanwhile the hope he had always enter-
tained of finding a professorship of natural
history in his own country was ripening into
a definite project. His first letter on this
subject to M. Louis Coulon, himself a well-
known naturalist, and afterward one of his
warmest friends in Neuchatel, must have been
written just before he received from Hum-
boldt the note of the same date, which extri-
cated him from his pecuniary embarrassment.
AGASSIZ TO LOUIS COTJLON.
PARIS, March 27, 1832.
. . . When I had the pleasure of seeing
you last summer I several times expressed my
strong desire to establish myself near you, and
my intention of taking some steps toward ob-
taining the professorship of natural history
to be founded in your Lyceum. The matter
PROFESSORSHIP AT NEUCHATEL. 191
must be more advanced now than it was last
year, and you would oblige me greatly by giv-
ing me some information concerning it. I
have spoken of my project to M. de Humboldt,
whom I often see, and who kindly interests
himself about my prospects and helps me with
his advice. He thinks that under the circum-
stances, and especially in my position, meas-
ures should be taken in advance. There is an-
other point of great importance for me about
which I wished also to speak to you. Though
you have seen but a small part of it, you
nevertheless know that in my different jour-
neys, partly through my relations with other
naturalists, partly by exchange, I have made a
very fair collection of natural history, espe-
cially rich in just those classes which are less
fully represented in your museum. My collec-
tion might, therefore, fill the gaps in that of
the city of Neuchatel, and make the latter
more than adequate for the illustration of a
full course of natural history. Should an in-
crease of your zoological collection make part
of your plans for the Lyceum, I venture to
believe that mine would fully answer your
purpose. In that case I would offer it to you,
since the expense of arranging it, the rent of
a room in which to keep it, and, in short, its
192 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
support in general, is beyond my means. I
must find some way of relieving myself from
this burden, although it will be hard to part
with these companions of my study, upon
which I have based almost all my investiga-
tions. I have spoken of this also to M. de
Humboldt, who is good enough to show an
interest in the matter, and will even take all
necessary steps with the government to facili-
tate this purchase. You would render me the
greatest service by giving me your directions
about all this, and especially by telling me :
1. On whom the nomination to the professor-
ship depends? 2. With whom the purchase
of the collection would rest? 3. What you
think I should do with reference to both ? Of
course you will easily understand that I can-
not give up my collections except under the
condition that I should be allowed the free use
of them. . . .
The answer was not only courteous, but
kind, although some time elapsed before the
final arrangements were made. Meanwhile
the following letter shows us the doubts and
temptations which for a moment embarrassed
Agassiz in his decision. The death of Cuvier
had intervened.
LETTER TO HUMBOLDT. 193
AGASSIZ TO HILMBOLDT.
PARIS, May, 1832.
... I would not write you until I had
definite news from Neuchatel. Two days ago
I received a very delightful letter from M.
Coulon, which I hasten to share with you. I
will not copy the whole, but extract the essen-
tial part. He tells me that he has proposed to
the Board of Education the establishment of a
professorship of natural history, to be offered
to me. The proposition met with a cordial
hearing. The need of such a professorship
was unanimously recognized, but the President
explained that neither would the condition of
the treasury allow its establishment in the
present year, nor could the proposition be
brought before the Council of State until the
o
opening of the new Lyceum.
Monsieur Coulon was commissioned to thank
me, and to request me in the name of the board
to keep the place in mind ; should I prefer
it, however, he doubts not that whatever the
city could not do might be made good by
subscription before next autumn, in which
case I could enter upon office at once. He
requests a prompt answer in order that he
may make all needful preparations. Only too
VOL. I. 13
194 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
gladly would I have consulted you about vari-
ous propositions made to me here in the last
few days, and have submitted my course to
your approval, had it not been that here, as in
Neuchatel, a prompt answer was urged. Al-
though guided rather by instinct than by any-
thing else, I think, nevertheless, that I have
chosen rightly. In such moments, when one
cannot see far enough in advance to form an
accurate judgment upon deliberation, feeling
is, after all, the best adviser ; that inner im-
pulse, which is a safe guide if other consid-
erations do not confuse the judgment. This
says to me, " Go to Neuchatel ; do not stay
in Paris." But I speak in riddles; I must
explain myself more clearly. Last Monday
Levrault sent for me in order to propose that
Valenciennes and I should jointly undertake
the publication of the Cuvierian fishes. ... I
was to give a positive answer this week. I
have carefully considered it, and have decided
that an unconditional engagement would lead
me away from my nearest aim, and from what
I look upon as the task of my life. The al-
ready published volumes of the System of
Ichthyology lie too far from the road on which
I intend to pursue my researches. Finally,
it seems to me that in a quiet retired place
BIRTHDAY FETE. 195
like Neuchatel, whatever may be growing up
within me will have a more independent and
individual development than in this restless
Paris, where obstacles or difficulties may not
perhaps divert me from a given purpose, but
may disturb or delay its accomplishment. I
will therefore so shape my answer to Levrault
as to undertake only single portions of the
work, the choice of these, on account of my
interest in the fossil and the fresh-water fishes,
being allowed me, with the understanding,
also, that I should be permitted to have these
collections in Switzerland and work them up
there. From Paris, also, it would not be so
easy to transfer myself to Germany, whereas
I could consider Neuchatel as a provisional
position from which I might be called to a
German university. . . .
In the mean time, while waiting hopefully
the result of his negotiations with Neuchatel,
Agassiz had organized with his friends, the two
Brauns, a bachelor life very like the one he
and Alexander had led with their classmates in
Munich. The little hotel where they lodged
had filled up with young German doctors, who
had come to visit the hospitals in Paris and
study the cholera. Some of these young men
196 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
had been their fellow-students at the univer-
sity, and at their request Agassiz and Braun
resumed the practice of giving private lectures
on zoology and botany, the whole being con-
ducted in the most informal manner, admitting
absolute freedom of discussion, as among inti-
mate companions of the same age. Such an
interchange naturally led to very genial rela-
tions between the amateur professors and their
class, and on the eve of Agassiz's birthday
(28th of May) his usual audience prepared for
him a very pleasant surprise. Returning from
a walk after dusk he found Braun in his room.
Continuing his stroll within four walls, he and
his friend paced the floor together in earnest
talk, when, at a signal, Braun suddenly drew
him to the window, threw it open, and on the
pavement below stood their companions, sing-
ing a part song, composed in honor of Agas-
siz. Deeply moved, he withdrew from the win-
dow in time to receive them as they trooped
up the stairway to offer their good wishes.
They presently led the way to another room
which they had dressed with flowers, Agassiz's
name, among other decorations, being braided
in roses beneath two federal flags crossed on
the wall. Here supper was laid, and the rest
of the evening passed gayly with songs and
LETTER TO M. COULON. 197
toasts, not only for the hero of the feast and
for friends far and near, but for the progress
of science, the liberty of the people, and the
independence of nations. There could be no
meeting of ardent young Germans and Swiss
in those days without some mingling of pa-
triotic aspirations with the sentiment of the
hour.
The friendly correspondence between Agas-
siz and M. Coulon regarding the professorship
at Neuchatel was now rapidly bringing the
matter to a happy conclusion.
AGASSIZ TO LOUIS COULON.
PARIS, June 4, 1832.
I have received your kind letter with great
pleasure and hasten to reply. What you write
gives me the more satisfaction because it
opens to me in the near future the hope of
establishing myself in your neighborhood and
devoting to my country the fruits of my labor.
It is true, as you suppose, that the death of
M. Cuvier has sensibly changed my position ;
indeed, I have already been asked to continue
his work on fishes in connection with M. Va-
lenciennes, who made me this proposition the
day after your letter reached me. The condi-
tions offered me are, indeed, very tempting,
198 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
but I am too little French by character, and
too anxious to live in Switzerland, not to pre-
fer the place you can offer me, however small
the appointments, if they do but keep me
above actual embarrassment. I say thus much
only in order to answer that clause in your
letter where you touch upon this question. I
would add that I leave the field quite free in
this respect, and that I am yours without re-
serve, if, indeed, within the fortnight, the ur-
gency of the Parisians does not carry the day,
or, rather, as soon as I write you that I have
been able finally to withdraw. You easily un-
derstand that I cannot bluntly decline offers
which seem to those who make them so bril-
liant. But I shall hold out against them to
the utmost. My course with reference to my
own publications will have shown you that I
do not care for a lucrative position from per-
sonal interest ; that, on the contrary, I should
always be ready to use such means as I may
have at my disposition for the advancement of
the institution confided to my care.
My work will still detain me for four or five
months at Paris, — my time being after that
completely at my disposal. The period at
which I should like to begin my lectures is
therefore very near, and I think if your people
APPOINTMENT AT NEUCHATEL. 199
are favorably disposed toward the creation of
a new professorship we must not let them
grow cold. But you have shown me so much
kindness that I may well leave to your care,
in concert with your friends, the decision of
this point ; the more so since you are willing
to take charge of my interests, until you see
the success of what you are pleased to look
upon as an advantage to your institution,
while for me it is the realization of a sincere
desire to do what I can for the advancement of
science, and the instruction of our youth. . . .
The next letter from M. Coulon (June 18,
1832) announces that the sum of eighty louis
having been guaranteed for three years, chiefly
by private individuals, but partly also by the
city, they were now able to offer a chair of
natural history at once to their young coun-
tryman. In conclusion, he adds : —
" I can easily understand that the brilliant
offers made you in Paris strongly counterbal-
ance a poor little professorship of natural his-
tory at Neuchatel, and may well cause you to
hesitate ; especially since your scientific career
there is so well begun. On the other hand,
you cannot doubt our pleasure in the pros-
pect of having you at Neuchatel, not only
200 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
because of the friendship felt for you by
many persons here, but also on account of
the lustre which a chair of natural history so
filled would shed upon our institution. Of
this our subscribers are well aware, and it ac-
counts for the rapid filling of the list. I am
very anxious, as are all these gentlemen, to
know your decision, and beg you therefore to
let us hear from you as soon as possible."
A letter from Humboldt to M. Coulon,
about this time, is an earnest of his watchful
care over the interests of Agassiz.
HUMBOLDT TO LOUIS COULON.
POTSDAM, July 25, 1832.
... I do not write to ask a favor, but
only to express my warm gratitude for your
noble and generous dealings with the young
savant, M. Agassiz, who is well worthy your
encouragement and the protection of your
government. He is distinguished by his tal-
ents, by the variety and substantial character
of his attainments, and by that which has a
special value in these troubled times, his natu-
ral sweetness of disposition.
Through our common friend, M. von Buch,
I have known for many years that you study
natural history with a success equal to your
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 201
zeal, and that you have brought together fine
collections, which you place at the disposal of
others with a noble liberality. It gratifies me
to see your kindness shown to a young man
to whom I am so warmly attached, and one
whom the illustrious Cuvier, whose loss we
must ever deplore, would have recommended
with the same heartiness, for his faith, like
mine, was based on those admirable works of
Agassiz which are now nearly completed. . . .
I have strongly advised M. Agassiz not to
accept the offers made to him at Paris since
M. Cuvier's death, and his decision has antici-
pated my advice. How happy it would be for
him, and for the completion of the excellent
works on which he is engaged, could he this
very year be established on the shores of your
lake ! I have no doubt that he will receive
the powerful protection of your worthy gov-
ernor, to whom I shall repeat my requests,
and who honors me, as well as my brother,
with a friendship I warmly appreciate. M.
von Buch also has promised me, before leav-
ing Berlin for Bonn and Vienna, to add his
entreaty to mine. . . . He is almost as much
interested as myself in M. Agassiz and his
work on fossil fishes, the most important ever
undertaken, and equally exact in its relation
202 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
to zoological characters and to geological de-
posits. . . .
The next letter from Agassiz to his influen-
tial friend is written after his final acceptance
of the Neuchatel professorship.
AGASSIZ TO HUMBOLDT.
PARIS, July, 1832.
... I would most gladly have answered
your delightful letter at once, and have told
you how smoothly all has gone at Neuchatel.
Your letters to M. de Coulon and to General
von Pfiiel have wrought marvels; but they
are now inclined to look upon me there as a
wonder from the deep,1 and I must exert my-
self to the utmost lest my actual presence
should give the lie to fame. It is all right.
I shall be the less likely to relax in devotion
to my work.
The real reason of my silence has been that
I was unwilling to acknowledge so many evi-
dences of efficient sympathy and friendly en-
couragement by an empty letter. I wished
especially to share with you the final result of
my investigations on the fossil fishes, and for
that purpose it was necessary to revise my
1 Ein blaues Meerwunder.
NEW CLASSIFICATION OF FISHES. 203
manuscripts and take an account of my ta-
bles in order to condense the whole in a few
phrases. I have already told you that the in-
vestigation of the living fishes had suggested
to me a new classification, in which families as
at present circumscribed respectively received
new, and to my thinking more natural posi-
tions, based upon other considerations than
those hitherto brought forward. I did not at
first lay any special stress on my classification.
. . . My object was only to utilize certain
structural characters which frequently recur
among fossil forms, and which might there-
fore enable me to determine remains hitherto
considered of little value. . . . Absorbed in
the special investigation, I paid no heed to
the edifice which was meanwhile unconscious-
ly building itself up. Having however com-
pleted the comparison of the fossil species in
Paris, I wanted, for the sake of an easy revis-
ion of the same, to make a list according to
their succession in geological formations, with
a view of determining the characteristics more
exactly and bringing them by their enumera-
tion into bolder relief. What was my joy and
surprise to find that the simplest enumeration
of the fossil fishes according to their geolog-
ical succession was also a complete statement
204 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
of the natural relations of the families among
themselves ; that one might therefore read the
genetic development of the whole class in the
history of creation, the representation of the
genera and species in the several families be-
ing therein determined ; in one word, that the
genetic succession of the fishes corresponds
perfectly with their zoological classification,
and with just that classification proposed by
me. The question therefore in characterizing
formations is no longer that of the numerical
preponderance of certain genera and species,
but of distinct structural relations, carried
through all these formations according to a
definite direction, following each other in an
appointed order, and recognizable in the or-
ganisms as they are brought forth. ... If
my conclusions are not overturned or modi-
fied through some later discovery, they will
form a new basis for the study of fossils.
Should you communicate my discovery to oth-
ers I shall be especially pleased, because it
may be long before I can begin to publish it
myself, and many may be interested in it.
This seems to me the most important of my
results, though I have also, partly from per-
fect specimens, partly from fragments, identi-
fied some five hundred extinct species, and
DELAY IN PUBLICATION. 205
more than fifty extinct genera, beside reestab-
lishing three families no longer represented.
Cotta has written me in very polite terms
that he could not undertake anything new at
present ; he would rather pay, without regard
to profit, for what has been done thus far, and
lets me have fifteen hundred francs. This
makes it possible for me to leave Dinkel in
Paris to complete the drawings. Although it
often seems to me hard, I must reconcile my-
self to the thought of leaving investigations
which are actually completed, locked up in my
desk.
CHAPTER VII.
1832-1834: .ET. 25-27.
Enters upon his Professorship at Neuchatel. — First Lecture.
— Success as a Teacher. — Love of Teaching. — Influence
upon the Scientific Life of Neuchatel. — Proposal from
University of Heidelberg. — Proposal declined. — Threat-
ened Blindness. — Correspondence with Humboldt. — Mar-
riage. — Invitation from Charpentier. — Invitation to visit
England. — Wollaston Prize. — First Number of " Poissons
Fossiles." — Review of the Work.
THE following autumn Agassiz assumed the
duties of his professorship at Neuchatel. His
opening lecture " Upon the Relations between
the different branches of Natural History and
the then prevailing tendencies of all the
Sciences ' was given on the 12th of Novem-
ber, 1832, at the Hotel de Ville. Judged by
the impression made upon the listeners as re-
corded at the time, this introductory discourse
must have been characterized by the same
broad spirit of generalization which marked
Agassiz's later teaching. Facts in his hands
fell into their orderly relation as parts of a
connected whole, and were never presented
LOVE OF TEACHING. 207
merely as special or isolated phenomena.
From the beginning his success as an instruc-
tor was undoubted. He had, indeed, now en-
tered upon the occupation which was to be
from youth to old age the delight of his life.
Teaching was a passion with him, and his
power over his pupils might be measured by
his own enthusiasm. He was intellectually,
as well as socially, a democrat, in the best
sense. He delighted to scatter broadcast the
highest results of thought and research, and
to adapt them even to the youngest and most
uninformed minds. In his later American
travels he would talk of glacial phenomena
to the driver of a country stage-coach among
the mountains, or to some workman, splitting
rock at the road-side, with as much earnest-
ness as if he had been discussing problems
with a brother geologist ; he would take the
common fisherman into his scientific confi-
dence, telling him the intimate secrets of fish-
structure or fish - embryology, till the man
in his turn grew enthusiastic, and began to
pour out information from the stores of his
own rough and untaught habits of observa-
tion. Agassiz's general faith in the suscepti-
bility of the popular intelligence, however un-
trained, to the highest truths of nature, was
208 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
contagious, and he created or developed that
in which he believed.
In Neuchatel the presence of the young
professor was felt at once as a new and stimu-
lating influence. The little town suddenly
became a centre of scientific activity. A so-
ciety for the pursuit of the natural sciences,
of which he was the first secretary, sprang
into life. The scientific collections, which had
already attained, under the care of M. Louis
Coulon, considerable value, presently assumed
the character and proportions of a well-or-
dered museum. In M. Coulon Agassiz found
a generous friend and a scientific colleague
who sympathized with his noblest aspirations,
and was ever ready to sustain all his efforts in
behalf of scientific progress. Together they
worked in arranging, enlarging, and building
up a museum of natural history which soon
became known as one of the best local institu-
tions of the kind in Europe.
Beside his classes at the gymnasium, Agas-
siz collected about him, by invitation, a small
audience of friends and neighbors, to whom
he lectured during the winter on botany, on
zoology, on the philosophy of nature. The
instruction was of the most familiar and in-
formal character, and was continued in later
METHOD OF TEACHING. 209
years for his own children and the children
of his friends. In the latter case the subjects
were chiefly geology and geography in connec-
tion with botany, and in favorable weather
the lessons were usually given in the open air,
One can easily imagine what joy it must have
been for a party of little playmates, boys and
girls, to be taken out for long walks in the
country over the hills about Neuchatel, and
especially to Chaumont, the mountain which
rises behind it, and thus to have their lessons,
for which the facts and scenes about them fur-
nished subject and illustration, combined with
pleasant rambles. From some high ground
affording a wide panoramic view Agassiz
would explain to them the formation of lakes,
islands, rivers, springs, water-sheds, hills, and
valleys. He always insisted that physical ge-
ography could be better taught to children in
the vicinity of their own homes than by books
or maps, or even globes. Nor did he think a
varied landscape essential to such instruction.
Undulations of the ground, some contrast of
hill and plain, some sheet of water with the
streams that feed it, some ridge of rocky soil
acting as a water-shed, may be found every-
where, and the relation of facts shown per-
haps as well on a small as on a large scale.
VOL. I. 14
210 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
When it was impossible to give the lessons
out of doors, the children were gathered
around a large table, where each one had
before him or her the specimens of the day,
sometimes stones and fossils, sometimes flow-
ers, fruits, or dried plants. To each child in
succession was explained separately what had
first been told to all coUectively. When the
talk was of tropical or distant countries pains
were taken to procure characteristic specimens,
and the children were introduced to dates,
bananas, cocoa-nuts, and other fruits, not easily
to be obtained in those days in a small inland
town. They, of course, concluded the lesson
by eating the specimens, a practical illustration
which they greatly enjoyed. A very large
wooden globe, on the surface of which the va-
rious features of the earth as they came up
for discussion could be shown, served to make
them more clear and vivid. The children took
their own share in the instruction, and were
themselves made to point out and describe
that which had just been explained to them.
They took home their collections, and as a
preparation for the next lesson were often
called upon to classify and describe some unu-
sual specimen by their own unaided efforts.
There was no tedium in the class. Agassiz's
INVITATION TO HEIDELBERG. 211
lively, clear, and attractive method of teach-
ing awakened their own powers of observa-
tion in his little pupils, and to some at least
opened permanent sources of enjoyment.
His instructions to his older pupils were
based on the same methods, and were no less
acceptable to them than to the children. In
winter his professional courses to the students
were chiefly upon zoology and kindred topics ;
in the summer he taught them botany and
geology, availing himself of the fine days for
excursions and practical instruction in the
field. Professor Louis Favre, speaking of
these excursions, which led them sometimes
into the gorges of the Seyon, sometimes into
the forests of Chaumont, says : " They were
fete days for the young people, who found in
their professor an active companion, fuU of
spirits, vigor, and gayety, whose enthusiasm
kindled in them the sacred fire of science."
It was not long before his growing reputa-
tion brought him invitations from elsewhere.
One of the first of these was from Heidelberg.
PROFESSOR TIEDEMANN TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
HEIDELBERG, December 4, 1832.
. . . Last autumn, when I had the pleasure
of meeting you in Carlsruhe, I proposed to
212 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
you to give some lectures on Natural History
at this university. Professor Leuckart, who
till now represented zoology here, is called to
Freiburg, and you would therefore be the
only teacher in that department. The uni-
versity being so frequented, a numerous audi-
ence may be counted upon. The zoological
collection, by no means an insignificant one,
is open to your use. Professor Leuckart re-
ceived a salary of five hundred florins. This
is now unappropriated, and I do not doubt
that the government, conformably to the prop-
osition of the medical faculty, would give you
the appointment on the same terms. By your
knowledge you are prepared for the work of
an able academical teacher. My advice is,
therefore, that you should not bind yourself
to any lyceum or gymnasium, as a permanent
position ; such a place would not suit a cul-
tivated scientific man, nor does it offer a field
for an accomplished scholar. Consider care-
fully, therefore, a question which concerns the
efficiency of your life, and give me the re-
sult of your deliberation as soon as possible.
Should it be favorable to the acceptance of my
proposition, I hope you will find yourself here
at Easter as full professor, with a salary of
five hundred florins, and a fitting field of ac-
LETTER TO HUMBOLDT. 213
tivity for your knowledge. The fees for lec-
tures and literary work might bring you in
an additional fifteen hundred gulden yearly.
If you accede to this offer send me your inau-
gural dissertation, and make me acquainted
with your literary work, that I may take the
necessary steps with the Curatorio. Consider
this proposition as a proof of my high appre-
ciation of your literary efforts and of my re-
gard for you personally.
Agassiz's next letter to Humboldt is to con-
sult him with respect to the call from Heidel-
berg, while it is also full of pleasure at the
warm welcome extended to him in Neuchatel.
AGASSIZ TO HUMBOLDT.
December, 1832.
... At last I am in Neuchatel,^ having, in-
deed, begun my lectures some weeks ago. I
have been received in a way I could never have
anticipated, and which can only be due to
your good- will on my behalf and your friendly
recommendation. You have my warmest
thanks for the trouble you have taken about
me, and for your continued sympathy. Let
me show you by my work in the years to come,
rather than by words, that I am in earnest
214 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
about science, and that my spirit is not irre-
sponsive to a noble encouragement such as
you have given me.
You will have received my letter from Carls-
ruhe. Could I only tell you all that I have
since thought and observed about the history
of our earth's development, the succession of
the animal populations, and their genetic clas-
sification ! It cannot easily be compressed
within letter limits; I will, nevertheless, at-
tempt it when my lectures make less urgent
claim upon me, and my eyes are less fatigued.
I should defer writing till then were it not
that to-day I have something of at least out-
side interest to announce. It concerns the in-
closed letter received to-day. (The offer of
a professorship at Heidelberg.) Should you
think that I need not take it into considera-
tion, and you have no time to answer me, let
me know your opinion by your silence. I will
tell you the reasons which would induce me
to remain for the present in Neuchatel, and I
think you will approve them. First, as my
lectures do not claim a great part of my time
I shall have the more to bestow on other work ;
add to this the position of Neuchatel, so favor-
able for observations such as I propose making
on the history of development in several classes
LETTER TO HUMBOLDT. 215
of animals; then the hope of freeing myself
from the burden of my collections ; and next,
the quiet of my life here with reference to
my somewhat overstrained health. Beside my
wish to remain, these favorable circumstances
furnish a powerful motive, and then I am sat-
isfied that people here would assist me with
the greatest readiness should my publications
not succeed otherwise. As to the publication
of my fishes, I can, after all, better direct the
lithographing of the plates here. I have just
written to Cotta concerning this, proposing
also that he should advance the cost of the
lithographs. I shall attend to it all carefully,
and be content for the present with my small
means. Prom the gradual sale he can, little
by little, repay my expenses, and I shall ask
no profit until the success of the work war-
rants it. I await his answer. This proposal
seems to me the best and the most likely to
advance the publication of this work.
Since I arrived here some scientific efforts
have been made with the help of M. Cou-
lon. We have already founded a society of
Natural History,1 and I hope, should you
make your promised visit next year, you will
find this germ between foliage and flower at
1 Societe des Sciences Naturelles de Neuchatel.
216 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
least, though perhaps not yet ripened into
seed. . . .
M. Coulon told me the day before yester-
day that he had spoken with M. de Montmol-
lin, the Treasurer, who would write to M. An-
cillon concerning the purchase of my collec-
tion. . . . Will you have the kindness, when
occasion offers, to say a word to M. Ancillon
about it ? ... Not only would this collection
be of the greatest value to the museum here,
but its sale would also advance my farther
investigations. With the sum of eighty louis,
which is all that is subscribed for my profes-
sorship, I cannot continue them on any large
scale.
I await now with anxiety Cotta's answer
to my last proposition ; but whatever it be,
I shall begin the lithographing of the plates
immediately after the New Year, as they must
be carried on under my own eye and direction.
This I can well do since my uncle, Dr. Mayor
in Lausanne, gives me fifty louis toward it,
the amount of one year's pay to Weber, my
former lithographer in Munich. I have there-
fore written him to come, and expect him
after New Year. With my salary I can also
henceforth keep Dinkel, who is now in Paris,
drawing the last fossils which I described. . . .
HUMBOLDT TO M. COULON. 217
No answer to this letter has been found
beyond such as is implied in the following to
M. Coulon.
HUMBOLDT TO M. COULON, FILS.
BERLIN, January 21, 1833.
... It gives me great pleasure to acknowl-
edge the flattering welcome offered by you
and your fellow-citizens to M. Agassiz, who
stands so high in science, and whose intel-
lectual qualities are enhanced by his amiable
character. They write me from Heidelberg
that they intend the place of M. Leuckart in
zoology for my young friend. The choice is
proposed by M. Tiedemann, and certainly noth-
ing could be more honorable to M. Agassiz.
Nevertheless, I hope that he will refuse it.
He should remain for some years in your
country, where a generous encouragement fa-
cilitates the publication of his work, which is
of equal importance to zoology and geology.
I have spoken with M. Ancillon, and have
left with him an official notice respecting the
purchase of the Agassiz collection. The dif-
ficulty will be found, as in all human affairs,
in the prose of life, in money. M. Ancillon
writes me this morning : " Your paper in fa-
vor of M. Agassiz is a scientific letter of credit
218 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
which we shall try to honor. The acquisition
of a superior man and a superior collection
at the same time would be a double conquest
for the principality of Neuehatel. I have re-
quested a report from the Council of State on
the means of accomplishing this, and I hope
that private individuals may do something
toward it." Thus you see the affair is at
least on the right road. I do not think, how-
ever, that the royal treasury will give at pres-
ent more than a thousand Prussian crowns
toward it. ...
Regarding the invitation to Heidelberg,
Agassiz's decision was already made. A letter
to his brother toward the close of December
mentions that he is offered a professorship at
the University of Heidelberg, but that, al-
though his answer has not actually gone, he
has resolved to decline it; adding that the
larger salary is counterbalanced in his mind
by the hope of selling his collection at Neu-
ehatel, and thus freeing himself from a heavy
burden.
Agassiz was now threatened with a great
misfortune. Already, in Paris, his eyes had
begun to suffer from the strain of microscopic
work. They now became seriously impaired ;
THREATENED WITH BLINDNESS. 219
and for some months he was obliged to abate
his activity, and to refrain even from writing
a letter. During this time, while he was shut
up in a darkened room, he practiced the study
of fossils by touch alone, using even the tip
of the tongue to feel out the impression, when
the fingers were not sufficiently sensitive. He
said he was sure at the time that he could
bring himself in this way to such delicacy of
touch that the loss of sight would not oblige
him to abandon his work. After some months
his eyes improved, and though at times threat-
ened with a return of the same malady, he
was able, throughout life, to use his eyes more
uninterruptedly than most persons. His lec-
tures, always delivered extemporaneously, do
not seem to have been suspended for any
length of time.
o
The following letter from Agassiz to Hum-
boldt is taken from a rough and incomplete
draught, which was evidently put aside (per-
haps on account of the trouble in his eyes),
and only completed in the following May.
Although imperfect, it explains Humboldt's
answer, which is not only interesting in itself,
but throws light on Agassiz's work at this
period.
220 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
AGASSIZ TO HUMBOLDT.
NEUCHATEL, January 27, 1833.
... A thousand thanks for your last most
welcome letter. I can hardly tell you what
pleasure it gave me, or how I am cheered and
stimulated to new activity by intercourse with
you on so intimate a footing. Since I wrote
you, some things have become more clear to me,
as, for instance, my purpose of publishing the
" Fossil Fishes ' ' here. Certain doubts remain
in my mind, however, about which, as well as
about other matters, I would ask your advice.
Now that Cotta is dead, I cannot wait till I
have made an arrangement with his successor.
I therefore allow the "Fresh-Water Fishes " to
lie by and drive on the others. Upon careful
examination I have found, to my astonishment,
that all necessary means for the publication of
such a work are to be had here : two good
lithographers and two printing establishments,
both of which have excellent type. I have
sent for Weber to engrave the plates, or draw
them on stone ; he will be here at the end of
the month. Then I shall begin at once, and
O '
hope in May to send out the first number.
The great difficulty remains now in the distri-
bution of the numbers, and in finding a suffi-
LETTER TO HUMBOLDT. 221
cient sale so that they may follow each other
with regularity. I think it better to begin the
publication as a whole than to send out an
abridgment in advance. The species can be
characterized only by good illustrations. A
summary always requires farther demonstra-
tion, whereas, if I give the plates at once I
can shorten the text and present the general
results as an introduction to the first number.
With twelve numbers, of twenty plates each,
followed by about ten pages of text, I can tell
all that I have to say. The cost of one hun-
dred and fifty copies printed here would, ac-
cording to careful inquiry, be covered by
seventy subscriptions if the price were put at
one louis-d'or the number.
Now comes the question whether I should
print more than one hundred and fifty copies.
On -account of the expense I shall not pre-
serve the stones. For the distribution of the
copies and the collecting of the money could
you, perhaps, recommend me to some house in
Berlin or Leipzig, who would take the work
for sale in Germany on commission under rea-
sonable conditions? For England, I wrote
yesterday to Lyell, and to-morrow I shall write
to Levrault and Bossange.
Both the magistrates and private individ-
222 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
uals here are now much interested in public
instruction, and I am satisfied that sooner or
later my collection will be purchased, though
nothing has been said about it lately.1
For a closer description of my family of
Lepidostei, to which belong all the anti-chalk
bony fishes, I am anxious to have for dissec-
tion a Polypterus Bichir and a Lepidosteus
osseus, or any other species belonging exclu-
sively to the present creation. Hitherto, I
have only been able to examine and describe
the skeleton and external parts. If you could
obtain a specimen of both for me you would
do me the greatest service. If necessary, I
will engage to return the preparations. I beg
for this most earnestly. Forgive the many
requests contained in this letter, and see in it
only my ardent desire to reach my aim, in
which you have already helped me so often
and so kindly.
HUMBOLDT TO AGASSIZ.
SANS Souci, July 4, 1833.
... I am happy in your success, my dear
Agassiz, happy in your charming letter of
May 22d, happy in the hope of having been
1 His collection was finally purchased by the city of Neu-
chatel in the spring of 1833.
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 223
able to do something that may be useful to
you for the subscription. The Prince Royal's
name seemed to me rather important for you.
I have delayed writing, not because I am one
of the most persecuted men in Europe (the
persecution goes on crescendo ; there is not a
scholar in Prussia or Germany having any-
thing to ask of the King, or of M. d'Altenstein,
who does not think it necessary to make me
his agent, with power of attorney), but be-
cause it was necessary to await the Prince
Royal's return from his military circuit, and
the opportunity of speaking to him alone,
which does not occur when I am with the
King.
Your prospectus is full of interest, and does
ample justice to those who have provided you
with materials. To name me among them
was an affectionate deceit, the ruse of a noble
soul like yours ; I am a little vexed with you
about it.1
1 The few words which called forth this protest from Hum-
boldt were as follows. After naming all those from whom he
had received help in specimens or otherwise, Agassiz con-
cludes : —
" Finally, I owe to M. de Humboldt not only important
notes on fossil fishes, but so many kindnesses in connection
with my work that in enumerating them I should fear to
wound the delicacy of the giver." This will hardly seem an
exaggeration to those who know the facts of the case.
224 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Here is the beginning of a list. I think
the Department of the Mines de Province will
take three or four more copies. We have not
their answer yet. Do not be frightened at the
brevity of the list. ... I am, however, the
least apt of all men in collecting subscriptions,
seeing no one but the court, and forced to be
out of town three or four days in the week.
On account of this same inaptitude, I beg you
to send me, through the publisher, only my
own three copies, and to address the others,
through the publisher also, to the individuals
named on the list, merely writing on each copy
that the person has subscribed on the list of
M. de Hurnboldt.
With all my affection for you, my dear
friend, it would be impossible for me to take
charge of the distribution of your numbers
or the returns. The publishing houses of
Dtinmiler or of Humblot and Dunker would
be useful to you at Berlin. I find it difficult
to believe that you will navigate successfully
among these literary corsairs ! I have had a
short eulogium of your work inserted in the
Berliner Staats-Zeitung. You see that I do
not neglect your interests, and that, for love
of you, I even turn journalist. You have
omitted to state in your prospectus whether
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 225
your plates are lithographed, as I fear they
are, and also whether they are colored, which
seems to nae unnecessary. Have your superb
original drawings remained in your posses-
sion, or are they included in the sale of your
collection ? . . .
I could not make use of your letter to the
King, and I have suppressed it. You have
been ill-advised as to the forms. " Erhabener
Konig" has too poetical a turn ; we have here
the most prosaic and the most degrading offi-
cial expressions. M. de Pfuel must have some
Arch-Prussian with him, who would arrange
the formula of a letter for you. At the head
there must be " Most enlightened, most power-
ful King, — all gracious sovereign and lord."
Then you begin, " Your Eoyal Majesty, deep-
ly moved, I venture to lay at your feet most
humbly my warmest thanks for the support
so graciously granted to the purchase of my
collection for the Gymnasium in Neuchatel.
Did I know how to write," etc. The rest of
your letter was very good ; put only " so much
grace as to answer ' ' instead of " so much kind-
ness." You should end with the words, " I
remain till death, in deepest reverence, the
most humble and faithful servant of your
Royal Majesty." The whole on small folio,
VOL. I. 15
226 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
sealed, addressed outside, " To the King's Maj-
esty, Berlin." Send the letter, not through me,
but officially, through M. de Pfiiel.1
The letter to the King is not absolutely
necessary, but it will give pleasure, for the
King likes any affectionate demonstration from
the country that has now become yours.2 It
will be useful, also, with reference to our re-
quest for the purchase of some copies, which
we will make to the King as soon as the first
number has appeared. Had I obtained the
King's name for you to-day (which would have
been difficult, since the King detests subscrip-
tions), we should have spoiled the sequence.
It seems to me that a letter of acknowledge
1 At the head there must be "Allerdurchlauchtigster, gross-
machtigster Kb'nig, — allergnadigster Konig und Herr." Then
you begin, " Euer konigliehen Majestat, wage ich meinen leb-
haftesten Dank fur die allergnadigst bewilligte Unterstii-
tzung zum Aukauf naeiner Sammlung fiir das Gymnasium
in Neuchatel tief geriihrt alleruuterthauigst zu Fiissen zu
legen. Wiisste ich zu schreiben," etc. The rest of your let-
ter was very good, — put only, " so vieler Gnade zu entspre-
chen " instead of " so vieler Giite." You should end with
the words, " Ich ersterbe in tief ster Ehrfurcht Euer konigli-
cher Majestat aller unter thanigsten getreuester." The whole
on small folio, sealed, addressed outside, "An des Konig's
Majestat, Berlin."
These forms are no longer in use. They belong to a past
generation.
2 It may not be known to all readers that Neuchatel was
then under Prussian sovereignty.
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 227
ment from you to M. Ancillon would be very
suitable also. Do not think it is too late.
One addresses him as " Monsieur et plus votre
Excellence." I am writing the most pedantic
letter in the world in answer to yours, so full
of charm. It must seem to you absurd that
I write you in French, when you, French by
origin, or rather by language, prefer to write
me in German. Pray tell me, did you learn
German, which you write with such purity, as
a child ?
I am happy to see that you publish the
whole together. The parceling out of such
a work would have led to endless delays ; but,
for mercy's sake, take care of your eyes ; they
are ours. I have not neglected the subscrip-
tions in Russia, but I have, as yet, no answer.
At a venture, I have placed the name of M.
von Buch on my list. He is absent ; it is said
that he will go to Greece this summer. Pray
make it a rule not to give away copies of your
work. If you follow that inclination you will
be pecuniarily ruined.
I wish I could have been present at your
course of lectures. What you tell me of them
delights me, though I am ready to do battle
with you about those metamorphoses of our
globe which have even slipped into your title.
228 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
I see by your letter that you cling to the idea
of internal vital processes of the earth, that
you regard the successive formations as differ-
ent phases of life, the rocks as products of
metamorphosis. I think this symbolical lan-
guage should be employed with great reserve.
I know that point of view of the old " Natur-
philosophie ; " I have examined it without pre-
judice, but nothing seems to me more dissimi-
lar than the vital action of the metamorphosis
of a plant in order to form the calyx or the
flower, and the successive formation of beds
of conglomerate. There is order, it is true,
in the superposed beds, sometimes an alterna-
tion of the same substance, an interior cause,
— sometimes even a successive development,
starting from a central heat; but can the
term life be applied to this kind of move-
ment? Limestone does not generate sand-
stone. I do not know that there exists what
physiologists call a vital force, different from,
or opposed to, the physical forces which we
recognize in all matter; I think the vital
process is only a particular mode of action, of
limitation of those physical forces ; action, the
nature of which we have not yet fully sounded.
I believe there are nervous storms (electric)
like those which set fire to the atmosphere,
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 229
but that special action which we call organic,
in which every part becomes cause or effect,
seems to me distinct from the changes which
our planet has undergone. I pause here, for
I feel that I must annoy you, and I care for
you too much to run that risk. Moreover, a
superior man like yourself, my dear friend,
floats above material things and leaves a mar-
gin for philosophic doubt.
Farewell ; count on the little of life that
remains to me, and on my affectionate devo-
tion. At twenty-six years of age, and pos-
sessed of so much knowledge, you are only
entering upon life, while I am preparing to
depart ; leaving this world far different from
what I hoped it would be in my youth. I
will not forget the Bichir and the Lepidosteus.
Remember always that your letters give me
the greatest pleasure. . . .
[P. S.] Look carefully at the new number
of Poggendorf, in which you will find beauti-
ful discoveries of Ehrenberg (microscopical)
on the difference of structure between the
brain and the nerves of motion, also upon the
crystals forming the silvered portion of the
peritoneum of Esox Lucius.
230 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
In October, 1833, Agassiz's marriage to
Cecile Braun, the sister of his life-long friend,
Alexander Braun, took place. He brought
his wife home to a small apartment in Neu-
chatel, where they began their housekeeping
after the simplest fashion, with such economy
as their very limited means enforced. Her
rare artistic talent, hitherto devoted to her
brother's botanical pursuits, now found a new
field. Trained to accuracy in drawing objects
of Natural History, she had an artist's eye for
form and color. Some of the best drawings
in the Fossil Fishes and the Fresh - Water
Fishes are from her hand. Throughout the
summer, notwithstanding the trouble in his
eyes, Agassiz had been still pressing on these
works. His two artists, Mr. Dinkel and Mr.
Weber, the former in Paris, the latter in Neu-
chatel, were constantly busy on his plates.
Although Agassiz was at this time only
twenty-six years of age, his correspondence
already shows that the interest of scientific
men, all over Europe, was attracted to him
and to his work. From investigators of note
in his own country, from those of France,
Italy, and Germany, from England, and even
from America, the distant El Dorado of natu-
ralists in those days, came offers of coopera-
INVITED TO VISIT ENGLAND. 231
tion, accompanied by fossil fishes or by the
drawings of rare or unique specimens. He
was known in all the museums of Europe as
an indefatigable worker and collector, seeking
everywhere materials for comparison.
Among the letters of this date is one from
Charpentier, one of the pioneers of glacial
investigation, under whose auspices, two years
later, Agassiz began his inquiries into glacial
phenomena. He writes him from the neigh-
borhood of Bex, his home in the valley of the
Rhone, the classic land of glacial work ; but
he writes of Agassiz's special subjects, inviting
him to come and see such fossils as were to be
found in his neighborhood, and to investigate
certain phenomena of upheaval and of plu-
tonic action in the same region, little dream-
ing that the young zoologist was presently
to join him in his own chosen field of re-
search.
Agassiz now began also to receive pressing
invitations from the English naturalists, from
Buckland, Lyell, Murchison, and others, to
visit England, and examine their wonderful
o •*
collections of fossil remains.
232 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
FROM PROFESSOR BUCKLAND TO AGASSIZ.
OXFORD, December 25, 1833.
... I should very much like to put into
your hands what few materials I possess in the
Oxford Museum relating to fossil fishes, and
am also desirous that you should see the fos-
sil fish in the various provincial museums of
England, as well as in London. Sir Philip
Egerton has a very large collection of fishes
from Engi and Oeningen, which he wishes to
place at your disposition. Like myself, he
would willingly send you drawings, but draw-
ings made without knowledge of the ana-
tomical details which you require, cannot well
represent what the artist himself does not
perceive. I would willingly lend you my spec-
imens, if I could secure them against the
barbarous hands of the custom-house officials.
What I would propose to you as a means of
seeing all the collections of England, and
gaining at the same time additional subscrip-
tions for your work, is, that you should come
to England and attend the British Associa-
tion for the Advancement of Science in Sep-
tember next. There you will meet all the
naturalists of England, and I do not doubt
that among them you will find a good many
LETTER FROM BUCKLAND. 233
subscribers. You will likewise see a new mine
of fossil fishes in the clayey schist of the coal
formation at Newhaven, on the banks of the
Forth, near Edinburgh. You can also make
arrangements to visit the museums of York,
Whitby, Scarborough, and Leeds, as well as
the museum of Sir Philip Egerton, on your
way to and from Edinburgh. You may, like-
wise, visit the museums of London, Cam-
bridge, and Oxford ; everywhere there are
fossil fishes ; and traveling by coach in Eng-
land is so rapid, easy, and cheap, that in six
weeks or less you can accomplish all that I have
proposed. As I seriously hope that you will
come to England for the months of August
and September, I say nothing at present of any
other means of putting into your hands the
drawings or specimens of our English fossil
fishes. I forgot to mention the very rich col-
lection of fossil fishes in the Museum of Mr.
Mantell, at Brighton, where, I think, you
could take the weekly steam-packet for Rot-
terdam as easily as in London, and thus ar-
rive in Neuchatel from London in a very few
days. . . .
234 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
AGASSIZ TO PROFESSOR BUCKLAND.
... I thank you most warmly for the very
important information you have so kindly
given me respecting the rich collections of
England ; I will, if possible, make arrange-
ments to visit them this year, and in that case
I will beg you to let me have a few letters of
recommendation to facilitate my examination
of them in detail. Not that I question for a
moment the liberality of the English natural-
ists. All the continental savants who have vis-
ited your museums have praised the kindness
shown in intrusting to them the rarest objects,
and I well know that the English rival other
o
nations in this respect, and even leave them far
behind. But one must have merited such
favors by scientific labors ; to a beginner they
are always a free gift, wholly undeserved. . . .
A few months later Agassiz received a very
gratifying and substantial mark of the inter-
est felt by English naturalists in his work.
CHARLES LYELL TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
SOMERSET HOUSE, LONDON, February 4, 1834.
... It is with the greatest pleasure that
I announce to you good news. The Geolog-
WOLLASTON PRIZE. 235
ical Society of London desires me to inform
you that it has this year conferred upon you
the prize bequeathed by Dr. Wollaston. He
has given us the sum of one thousand pounds
sterling, begging us to expend the interest, or
about seven hundred and fifty francs every
year, for the encouragement of the science of
geology. Your work on fishes has been con-
sidered by the Council and the officers of the
Geological Society worthy of this prize, Dr.
Wollaston having said that it could be given
for unfinished works. The sum of thirty
guineas, or £31 10s. sterling, has been placed
in my hands, but I would not send you the
money before knowing exactly where you were
and learning from you where you wish it to
be paid. You will probably like an order on
some Swiss banker.
I cannot yet give you the extract from the
address of the President in which your work
is mentioned, but I shall have it soon. In the
mean time I am desired to tell you that the
Society declines to receive your magnificent
work as a gift, but wishes to subscribe for it,
and has already ordered a copy from the pub-
lishers.
236 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
AGASSIZ TO LYELL.
NEUCHATEL, March 25, 1834.
. . .. You cannot imagine the joy your let-
ter has given me. The prize awarded to me
is at once so unexpected an honor and so wel-
come an aid that I could hardly believe my
eyes when, with tears of relief and gratitude,
I read your letter. In the presence of a sa-
vant, I need not be ashamed of my penury,
since I have spent the little I had, wholly in
scientific researches. I do not, therefore, hes-
itate to confess to you that at no time could
your gift have given me greater pleasure.
Generous friends have helped me to bring out
the first number of my " Fossil Fishes ; ' the
plates of the second are finished, but I was
greatly embarrassed to know how to print a
sufficient number of copies before the returns
from the first should be paid in. The text is
ready also, so that now, in a fortnight, I can
begin the distribution, and, the rotation once
established, I hope that preceding numbers
will always enable me to publish the next in
succession without interruption. I even count
upon this resource as affording me the means
of making a journey to England before long.
If no obstacle arises I hope to accomplish this
LETTER TO LYELL. 237
during the coming summer, and to be pres-
ent at the next meeting of the English natu-
ralists.
I do not live the less happily on account of
my anxieties, but I am sometimes obliged to
work more than I well can, or ought in reason
to do. . . . The second number of my " Fos-
sil Fishes ' contains the beginning of the
anatomy of the fishes, but only such portions
as are to be found in the fossil state. I have
begun with the scales ; later, I treat of the
bones and the teeth. Then comes the con-
tinuation of the description of the Ganoids
and the Scornberoids, and an additional sheet
contains a sketch of my ichthyological clas-
sification. The plates are even more success-
ful than those of the first number. If all
goes well the third number will appear next
July. I long to visit your rich collections ; I
hope that whenever it becomes possible for
me to do so, I shall have the good fortune to
find you in London. . . .
I have thought a letter addressed to the
President of the Society in particular, and
to the members in general, would be fitting.
Will you have the kindness to deliver it for
me to Mr. Murchison ?
238 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
The first number of the " Fossil Fishes " had
already appeared, and had been greeted with
enthusiasm by scientific men. Elie de Beau-
mont writes Agassiz in June, 1834 : " I have
read with great pleasure your first number ; it
promises us a work as important for science
as it is remarkable in execution. Do not let
yourself be discouraged by obstacles of any
kind ; they will give way before the concert
of approbation which so excellent a work will
awaken. I shall always be glad to aid in over-
coming any one of them."
Perhaps it is as well to give here a slight
sketch of this work, the execution of which
was carried on during the next ten years
(1833-1843). The inscription tells, in few
words, the author's reverence for Huniboldt
and his personal gratitude to him. " These
pages owe to you their existence ; accept their
dedication." The title gives in a broad out-
line the comprehensive purpose of the work:
" Researches on the Fossil Fishes : compris-
ing an Introduction to the Study of these Ani-
mals ; the Comparative Anatomy of Organic
Systems which may contribute to facilitate the
Determination of Fossil Species ; a New Classi-
fication of Fishes expressing their Relations to
the Series of Formations ; the Explanation of
REVIEW OF FOSSIL FISHES. 239
the Laws of their Succession and Develop-
ment during all the Changes of the Terres-
trial Globe, accompanied by General Geolog-
ical Considerations ; finally, the Description
of about a thousand Species which no longer
exist, and whose Characters have been restored
from Remains contained in the Strata of the
Earth."
The most novel results comprised in this
work were : first, the remodeling of the classi-
fication of the whole type of fishes, fossil and
living, and especially the separation of the
Ganoids from all other fishes, under the rank
of a distinct order ; second, the recognition
of those combinations of reptilian and bird-
like characters in the earlier geological fishes,
which led the author to call them prophetic
types ; and third, his discovery of an anal-
ogy between the embryological phases of the
higher present fishes and the gradual intro-
duction of the whole type on earth, the series
in growth and the series in time revealing a
certain mutual correspondence. As these com-
prehensive laws have thrown light upon other
types of the animal kingdom beside that of
fishes, their discovery may be said to have
advanced general zoology as well as ichthy-
ology.
o J
240 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
The Introduction presents, as it were, the
prelude to this vast chapter of natural history
in the simultaneous appearance of the four
great types of the animal kingdom : Radiates,
Mollusks, Articulates, and Vertebrates. Then
comes the orderly development of the class by
which the vertebrate plan was first expressed,
namely, the fishes. Underlying all its divis-
ions and subdivisions, is the average expression
of the type in the past and present ; the Pla-
coids and Ganoids, with their combination of
reptilian and fishlike features, characterizing
the earlier geological epochs, while in the later
the simple bony fishes, the Cycloids and Cte-
noids, take the ascendency. Here, for the first
time, Agassiz presents his " synthetic or pro-
phetic types," namely, early types embracing,
as it were, in one large outline, features after-
ward individualized in special groups, and
never again reunited. No less striking than
these general views of structural relations are
the clearness and simplicity with which the dis-
tribution of the whole class of fishes in rela-
tion to the geological formations, or, in other
words, to the physical history of the earth, is
shown. In reading this introductory chapter,
one familiar with Agassiz as a public teacher
will almost hear his voice marshaling the long
REVIEW OF FOSSIL FISHES. 241
procession of living beings, as he was wont
to do, in their gradual introduction upon the
earth. Indeed, his whole future work in ich-
thyology, and one might almost say in gen-
eral zoology, was here sketched.
The technicalities of this work, at once
so comprehensive in its combinations and so
minute in its details, could interest only the
professional reader, but its generalizations
may well have a certain attraction for every
thoughtful mind. It treats of the relations,
anatomical, zoological, and geological, between
the whole class of fishes, fossil and living, il-
lustrated by numerous plates, while additional
light is thrown on the whole by the revelations
of embryology.
" Notwithstanding these striking differ-
ences," says the author in the opening of the
fifth chapter on the relations of fishes in gen-
eral, " it is none the less evident to the atten-
tive observer that one single idea has presided
over the development of the whole class, and
that all the deviations lead back to a primary
plan, so that even if the thread seem broken
in the present creation, one can reunite it on
reaching the domain of fossil ichthyology."
Having shown how the present creation has
1 Vol. i. chapter v. pp. 92, 93.
VOL. I. 16
242 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
given him the key to past creations, how the
complete skeleton of the living fishes has ex-
plained the scattered fragments of the ancient
ones, especially those of which the soft carti-
laginous structure was liable to decay, he pre-
sents two modes of studying the type as a
whole ; either in its comparative anatomy, in-
cluding in the comparison the whole history
of the type, fossil and living, or in its com-
parative embryology. " The results," he adds,
" of these two methods of study complete and
control each other." In all his subsequent
researches indeed, the history of the individ-
ual in its successive phases went hand in hand
with the history of the type. He constantly
tested his zoological results by his embryolog-
ical investigations.
After a careful description of the dorsal
chord in its embryological development, he
shows that a certain parallelism exists between
the comparative degrees of development of
the vertebral column in the different groups
of fishes, and the phases of its embryonic de-
velopment in the higher fishes. Farther on
he shows a like coincidence between the devel-
opment of the system of fins in the different
groups of fishes, arid the gradual growth and
differentiation of the fins in the embryo of the
REVIEW OF FOSSIL FISHES. 243
higher living fishes.1 " There is, then," he
concludes, " as we have said above, a certain
analogy, or rather a certain parallelism, to be
established between the embryological devel-
opment of the Cycloids and Ctenoids, and the
genetic or paleontological development of the
whole class. Considered from this point of
view, no one will dispute that the form of the
caudal fin is of high importance for zoolog-
ical and paleontological considerations, since
it shows that the same thought, the same
plan, which presides to-day over the forma-
tion of the embryo, is also manifested in the
successive development of the numerous crea-
tion which have formerly peopled the earth."
Agassiz says himself in his Preface : "I have
succeeded in expressing the laws of succes-
sion and of the organic development of fishes
during all geological epochs ; and science may
henceforth, in seeing the changes of this class
from formation to formation, follow the pro-
gress of organization in one great division of
the animal kingdom, through a complete se-
ries of the ages of the earth." This is not
inconsistent with his position as the leading
opponent of the development or Darwinian
1 Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles, vol. i. chapter v. p.
102.
244 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
theories. To him, development meant devel-
opment of plan as expressed in structure, not
the change of one structure into another. To
his apprehension the change was based upon
intellectual, not upon material causes. He
sums up his own conviction with reference to
this question as follows : l " Such facts pro-
claim aloud principles not yet discussed in
science, but which paleontological researches
place before the eyes of the observer with an
ever-increasing persistency. I speak of the
relations of the creation with the creator.
Phenomena closely allied in the order of their
succession, and yet without sufficient cause in
themselves for their appearance ; an infinite
diversity of species without any common ma-
terial bond, so grouping themselves as to pre-
sent the most admirable progressive develop-
ment to which our own species is linked, —
are these not incontestable proofs of the ex-
istence of a superior intelligence whose power
alone could have established such an order
of things ? . . .
"More than fifteen hundred species of fossil
fishes, which I have learned to know, tell me
that species do not pass insensibly one into
1 Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles, vol. i. chapter vi. pp.
171, 172. " Essay on the Classification of Fishes."
REVIEW OF FOSSIL FISHES. 245
another, but that they appear and disappear
unexpectedly, without direct relations with
their precursors ; for I think no one will seri-
ously pretend that the numerous types of Cy-
cloids and Ctenoids, almost all of which are
contemporaneous with one another, have de-
scended from the Placoids and Ganoids. As
well might one affirm that the Mammalia, and
O '
man with them, have descended directly from
fishes. All these species have a fixed epoch of
appearance and disappearance ; their existence
is even limited to an appointed time. And yet
they present, as a whole, numerous affinities
more or less close, a definite coordination in a
given system of organization which has inti-
mate relations with the mode of existence of
each type, and even of each species. An in-
visible thread unwinds itself throughout all
time, across this immense diversity, and pre-
sents to us as a definite result, a continual
progress in the development of which man is
the term, of which the four classes of verte-
brates are intermediate forms, and the totality
of invertebrate animals the constant accessory
accompaniment."
The difficulty of carrying out comparisons
so rigorous and extensive as were needed in
o
order to reconstruct the organic relations be-
246 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
tween the fossil fishes of all geological for-
mations and those of the present world, is
best told by the author.1 " Possessing no fos-
sil fishes myself, and renouncing forever the
acquisition of collections so precious, I have
been forced to seek the materials for my work
in ah1 the collections of Europe containing
such remains; I have, therefore, made fre-
quent journeys in Germany, in France, and in
England, in order to examine, describe, and
illustrate the objects of my researches. But
notwithstanding the cordiality with which even
the most precious specimens have been placed
at my disposition, a serious inconvenience has
resulted from this mode of working, namely,
that I have rarely been able to compare di-
rectly the various specimens of the same spe-
cies from different collections, and that I have
often been obliged to make my identification
from memory, or from simple notes, or, in the
more fortunate cases, from my drawings only.
It is impossible to imagine the fatigue, the ex-
haustion of all the faculties, involved in such
a method. The hurry of traveling, joined to
the lack of the most ordinary facilities for
observation, has not rendered my task more
1 Recherches sur les Poissons Fossiles, vol. i. Addition a la
Preface.
INSUFFICIENT MATERIAL. 247
easy. I therefore claim indulgence for such
of my identifications as a later examination,
made at leisure, may modify, and for descrip-
tions which sometimes bear the stamp of the
precipitation with which they have been pre-
pared."
It was, perhaps, this experience of Agassiz's
earlier life which made him so anxious to es-
tablish a museum of comparative zoology in
this country, — a museum so abundant and
comprehensive in material, that the student
should not only find all classes of the animal
kingdom represented within its walls, but pre-
served also in such numbers as to allow the
sacrifice of many specimens for purposes of
comparison and study. He was resolved that
no student should stand there baffled at the
door of knowledge, as he had often done him-
self, when shown the one precious specimen,
which could not be removed, or even examined
on the spot, because unique.
CHAPTER VIII.
1834-1837: JET. 27-30.
First Visit to England. — Reception by Scientific Men. —
Work on Fossil Fishes there. — Liberality of English
Naturalists. — First Relations with American Science. —
Farther Correspondence with Humboldt. — Second Visit
to England. — Continuation of " Fossil Fishes." — Other
Scientific Publications. — Attention drawn to Glacial Phe-
nomena. — Summer at Bex with Charpentier. — Sale of
Original Drawings for " Fossil Fishes." — Meeting of Hel-
vetic Society. — Address on Ice-Period. — Letters from
Humboldt and Von Buch.
IN August, 1834, according to his cherished
hope, Agassiz went to England, and was re-
ceived by the scientific men with a cordial
sympathy which left not a day or an hour of
his short sojourn there unoccupied. The fol-
lowing letter from Buckland is one of many
proffering hospitality and friendly advice on
his arrival.
DR. BUCKLAND TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
OXFORD, August 26, 1834.
... I am rejoiced to hear of your safe ar-
rival in London, and write to say that I am
FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND, 249
in Oxford, and that I shall be most happy to
receive you and give you a bed in my house
if you can come here immediately. I expect
M. Arago and Mr. Pentland from Paris to-
morrow (Wednesday) afternoon. I shall be
most happy to show you our Oxford Museum
on Thursday or Friday, and to proceed with
you toward Edinburgh. Sir Philip Egerton
has a fine collection of fossil fishes near Ches-
ter, which you should visit on your road. I
have partly engaged myself to be with him on
Monday, September 1st, but I think it would
be desirable for you to go to him Saturday,
that you may have time to take drawings of
his fossil fishes.
I cannot tell certainly what day I shall
leave Oxford until I see M. Ara^o, whom I
O '
hope you will meet at my house, on your
arrival in Oxford. I shall hope to see you
Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
Pray come to my house in Christ Church, with
your baggage, the moment you reach Ox-
ford. . . .
Agassiz always looked back with delight on
this first visit to Great Britain. It was the
beginning of his life -long friendship with
Buckland, Sedgwick, Murchison, Lyell, and
250 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
others of like pursuits and interests. Made
welcome in many homes, he could scarcely
respond to all the numerous invitations, social
and scientific, which followed the Edinburgh
meeting.
Guided by Dr. Buckland, to whom not only
every public and private collection, but every
rare specimen in the United Kingdom, seems
to have been known, he wandered from treas-
ure to treasure. Every day brought its reve-
lation, until, under the accumulation of new
facts, he almost felt himself forced to begin
afresh the work he had believed well ad-
vanced. He might have been discouraged
by a wealth of resources which seemed to
open countless paths, leading he knew not
whither, but for the generosity of the Eng-
lish naturalists who allowed him to cull, out
of sixty or more collections, two thousand spe-
cimens of fossil fishes, and to send them to
London, where, by the kindness of the Geo-
logical Society, he was permitted to deposit
them in a room in Somerset House. The
mass of materials once sifted and arranged,
the work of comparison and identification be-
came comparatively easy. He sent at once
for his faithful artist, Mr. Dinkel, who began,
without delay, to copy all such specimens as
ENGLISH FRIENDSHIPS. 251
threw new light on the history, of fossil fishes,
a work which detained him in England for
several years.
Agassiz made at this time two friends,
whose sympathy and cooperation in his scien-
tific work were invaluable to him for the rest
of his life. Sir Philip Egerton and Lord Cole
(Earl of Enniskillen) owned two of the most
valuable collections of fossil fishes in Great
Britain.1 To aid him in his researches, their
most precious specimens were placed at Agas-
siz's disposition ; his artist was allowed to
work for months on their collections, and
even after Agassiz came to America, they
never failed to share with him, as far as possi-
ble, the advantages arising from the increase
of their museums. From this time his corre-
spondence with them, and especially with Sir
Philip Egerton, is closely connected with the
ever-growing interest as well as with the diffi-
culties of his scientific career. Keluctantlv,
»/ *
and with many a backward look, he left Eng-
land in October, and returned to his lectures
in Neuchatel, taking with him such specimens
as were indispensable to the progress of his
work. Every hour of the following winter
which could be spared from his lectures was
devoted to his fossil fishes.
1 Now the property of the British Museum.
252 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
A letter of this date from Professor Silliman,
of New Haven, Connecticut, marks the begin-
ning of his relations with his future New Eng-
land home, and announces his first New Eng-
land subscribers.
YALE COLLEGE NEW HAVEN, )
UNITED STATES OF N. AMERICA, April 22, 1835. >
. . . From Boston, March 6th, I had the
honor to thank you for your letter of January
5th, and for your splendid present of your
great work on fossil fishes — livraison 1-22
— received, with the plates. I also gave a
notice of the work in the April number of
the Journal * (this present month), and repub-
lished Mr. Bakewell's account of your visit
to Mr. Mantell's museum.
In Boston I made some little efforts in be-
half of your work, and have the pleasure of
naming as follows : —
Harvard University, Cambridge (Cambridge
is only four miles from Boston), by Hon.
Josiah Quincy, President.
Boston Athenaeum, by its Librarian.
Benjamin Green, Esq., President of the Bos-
ton Natural History Society.
I shall make application to some other insti-
1 The American Journal of Science and Arts.
FIRST RELATIONS WITH AMERICA. 253
tutions or individuals, but do not venture to
promise anything more than my best exer-
tions. . . .
Agassiz little dreamed, as he read this let-
ter, how familiar these far-off localities would
become to him, or how often, in after years,
he would traverse by day and by night the
four miles which lay between Boston and his
home in Cambridge.
o
Agassiz still sought and received, as we see
by the following letter, Humboldt's sympathy
in every step of his work.
HUMBOLDT TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
BERLIN, May, 1835.
I am to blame for my neglect of you, my
dear friend, but when you consider the grief
which depresses me,1 and renders me unfit to
keep up my scientific connections, you will
not be so unkind as to bear me any ill-will
for my long silence. You are too well aware
of my high esteem for your talents and your
character — you know too well the affection-
ate friendship I bear you — to fear for a mo-
ment that you could be forgotten.
I have seen the being I loved most, and
1 Owing to the death of his brother, William von Humboldt.
254 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
who alone gave me some interest in this arid
land, slowly decline. For four long years my
brother had suffered from a weakness of all
the muscles, which made me always fear that
the seat of the trouble was the medulla oblon-
gata. Yet his step was firm ; his head was en-
tirely clear. The higher intellectual faculties
retained all their energy. He was engaged
from twelve to thirteen hours a day on his
works, reading or rather dictating, for a nerv-
ous trembling of the hand prevented him from
using a pen. Surrounded by a numerous fam-
ily ; living on a spot created, so to speak, by
himself, and in a house which he had adorned
with antique statues ; withdrawn also from
affairs, he was still attached to life. The ill-
ness which carried him off in ten days — an
inflammation of the chest — was but a secon-
dary symptom of his disease. He died with-
out pain, with a strength of character and a
serenity of mind worthy of the greatest ad-
miration. It is cruel to see so noble an intel-
ligence struggle during ten long days against
physical destruction. We are told that in
great grief we should turn with redoubled
energy to the study of nature. The advice is
easy to give ; but for a long time even the
wish for distraction is wanting:.
o
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 255
My brother leaves two works which we in-
tend to publish : one upon the languages and
ancient Indian civilization of the Asiatic archi-
pelago, and the other upon the structure of
languages in general, and the influence of that
structure upon the intellectual development of
nations. This last work has great beauty of
style. We shall soon begin the publication
of it. My brother's extensive correspondence
with all those countries over which his philo-
logical studies extended brings upon me just
at present, such a multiplicity of occupations
and duties that I can only write you these
few lines, my dear friend, as a pledge of my
constant affection, and, I may also add, my
admiration of your eminent works. It is a
pleasure to watch the growing renown of
those who are dear to us ; and who should
merit success more than you, whose elevation
of character is proof against the temptations
of literary self-love? I thank you for the
little you have told me of your home life. It
is not enough to be praised and recognized as
a great and profound naturalist ; to this one
must add domestic happiness as well. . . .
I am about finishing my long and weari-
some work of (illegible) ; a critical examination
into the geography of the Middle Ages, of
256 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
which fifty sheets are already printed. I will
send you the volumes as soon as they appear,
in octavo. I devoured your fourth number ;
the plates are almost finer than the previous
ones ; and the text, though I have only looked
it through hastily, interested me deeply, espe-
cially the analytical catalogue of Bolca, and
the more general and very philosophical views
of fishes in general, pp. 57-64. The latter is
also remarkable in point of style. . . .
M. von Buch, who has just left me, sends
you a warm greeting. None the less does he
consider the method of issuing your text in
fragments from different volumes, altogether
diabolical. I also complain a little, though in
all humility ; but I suppose it to be connected
with the difficulty of concluding any one fam-
ily, when new materials are daily accumulat-
ing on your hands. Continue then as before.
In my judgment, M. Agassiz never does
wrong. . . .
The above letter, though written in May,
did not reach Agassiz until the end of July,
when he was again on his way to England,
where his answer is dated.
LETTER TO HUMBOLDT. 257
AGASSIZ TO HUMBOLDT.
(LONDON), October — , 1835.
... I cannot express to you my pleasure in
reading your letter of May 10th (which was,
unhappily, only delivered to me on my pas-
sage through Carlsruhe, at the end of July).
. . . To know that I have occupied your
thoughts a moment, especially in days of trial
and sorrow such as you have had to bear,
raises me in my own eyes, and redoubles my
hope for the future. And just now such en-
couragement is particularly cheering under
the difficulties which I meet in completing
my task in England. I have now been here
nearly two months, and I hope before leaving
to finish the description of all that I brought
together at the Geological Society last year.
Knowing that you are in Paris, however, I
cannot resist the temptation of going to see
you ; indeed, should your stay be prolonged
for some weeks, it would be my most direct
path for home. I should like to tell you a
little of what I have done, and how the world
has gone with me since we last met. ... I
have certainly committed an imprudence in
throwing myself into an enterprise so vast
in proportion to my means as my " Fossil
VOL. I. 17
258 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Fishes." But, having begun it, I have no al-
ternative ; my only safety is in success. I
have a firm conviction that I shall bring my
work to a happy issue, though often in the
evening I hardly know how the mill is to be
turned to-morrow. . . .
By a great good fortune for me, the Brit-
ish Association, at the suggestion of Buck-
land, Sedgwick, and Murchison, has renewed,
for the present year, its vote of one hundred
guineas toward the facilitating of researches
upon the fossil fishes of England, and I hope
that a considerable part of this sum may be
awarded to me, in which case I may be able to
complete the greater number of the drawings
I need. If I had obtained in France only
half the subscriptions I have had in England,
I should be afloat ; but thus far M. Bailliere
has only disposed of some fifteen copies. . . .
My work advances fairly ; I shall soon have
described all the species I know, numbering
now about nine hundred. I need some weeks
in Paris for the comparison of several tertiary
species with living ones in order to satisfy my-
self of their specific identity, and then my task
will be accomplished. Next comes the put-
ting in order of all my notes. My long va-
cations will give me time to do this with the
greatest care. . . .
OTHER PUBLICATIONS. 259
His second visit to England, during which
the above letter was written, was chiefly spent
in reviewing the work of his artist, whom he
now reinforced with a second draughtsman,
M. Weber, the same who had formerlv worked
x «/
with him in Munich. He also attended the
meeting of the British Association in Dublin,
stayed a few days at Oulton Park for another
look at the collections of Sir Philip Egerton,
made a second grand tour among the other
fossil fishes of England and Ireland, and re-
turned to Neuchatel, leaving his two artists
in London with their hands more than full.
While Agassiz thus pursued his work on
fossil fishes with ardor and an almost perilous
audacity, in view of his small means, he found
also time for various other investigations. Dur-
ing the year 1836, though pushing forward
constantly the publication of the " Poissons
Fossiles," his "Prodromus of the Class of
Echinodermata ' ' appeared in the Memoirs of
the Natural History Society of Neuchatel, as
well as his paper on the fossil Echini belong-
ing to the Neocomien group of the Neuchatel
Jura, accompanied by figures. Not long after,
he published in the Memoirs of the Helvetic
Society his descriptions of fossil Echini pecul-
iar to Switzerland, and issued also the first
260 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
number of a more extensive work, " Monogra-
phic d'Echinodermes." During this year he
received a new evidence of the sympathy of
the English naturalists, in the Wollaston medal
awarded to him by the London Geological
Society.
The summer of 1836 was an eventful one
for Agassiz, — the opening, indeed, of a new
and brilliant chapter in his life. The at-
tention of the ignorant and the learned had
alike been called to the singular glacial phe-
nomena of movement and transportation in
the Alpine valleys. The peasant had told his
strange story of boulders carried on the back
of the ice, of the alternate retreat and advance
of glaciers, now shrinking to narrower limits,
now plunging forward into adjoining fields,
by some unexplained power of expansion and
contraction. Scientific men were awake to
the interest of these facts, but had consid-
ered them only as local phenomena. Venetz
and Charpentier were the first to detect their
wider significance. The former traced the an-
cient limits of the Alpine glaciers as defined
by the frame-work of debris or loose material
they had left behind them ; and Charpentier
went farther, and affirmed that all the erratic
boulders scattered over the plain of Switzer-
GLACIAL RESEARCHES. 261
land and on the sides of the Jura had been
thus distributed by ice and not by water, as
had been supposed.
Agassiz was among those who received this
hypothesis as improbable and untenable. Still,
he was anxious to see the facts in place, and
Charpentier was glad to be his guide. He
therefore passed his vacation, during this sum-
mer of 1836, at the pretty town of Bex, in the
valley of the Rhone. Here he spent a number
of weeks in explorations, which served at the
same time as a relaxation from his more seden-
tary work. He went expecting to confirm his
own doubts, and to disabuse his friend Char-
pentier of his errors. But after visiting with
him the glaciers of the Diablerets, those of
the valley of Chamounix, and the moraines of
the great valley of the Rhone and its princi-
pal lateral valleys, he came away satisfied that
a too narrow interpretation of the phenomena
was Charpentier 's only mistake.
During this otherwise delightful summer, he
was not without renewed anxiety lest he should
be obliged to suspend the publication of the
Fossil Fishes for want of means to carry it on.
On this account he writes from Bex to Sir
Philip Egerton in relation to the sale of his
original drawings, the only property he pos-
262 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
sessed. " It is absolutely impossible/' he says,
" for me to issue even another number until
this sale is effected. ... I shall consider my-
self more than repaid if I receive, in exchange
for the whole collection of drawings, simply
what I have expended upon them, provided
I may keep those which have yet to be litho-
graphed until that be done."
Sir Philip made every effort to effect a sale
to the British Museum. He failed at the
moment, but the collection was finally pur-
chased and presented to the British Museum
by a generous relative of his own, Lord Fran-
cis Egerton. In the mean time, Sir Philip and
Lord Cole, in order to make it possible for
Agassiz to retain the services of Mr. Dinkel,
proposed to pay his expenses while he was
drawing such specimens from their own collec-
tions as were needed for the work. These
drawings were, of course, finally to remain
their own property.
During his sojourn at Bex, Agassiz's intel-
lect and imagination had been deeply stirred
by the glacial phenomena. In the winter of
1837, on his return to Neuchatel, he investi-
gated anew the slopes of the Jura, and found
that the facts there told the same story. Al-
though he resumed with unabated ardor his
ADDRESS TO THE HELVETIC SOCIETY. 263
various works on fishes, radiates, and mol-
lusks, a new chapter of nature was all the
while unfolding itself in his fertile brain.
When the Helvetic Association assembled at
Neuchatel in the following summer, the young
president, from whom the members had ex-
pected to hear new tidings of fossil fishes,
startled them by the presentation of a glacial
theory, in which the local erratic phenomena
of the Swiss valleys assumed a cosmic sig-
nificance. It is worthy of remark here that
the first large outlines in which Agassiz, when
a young man, planned his intellectual work
gave the key-note to all that followed. As
the generalizations on which all his future
zoological researches were based, are sketched
in the Preface to his " Poissons Fossiles," so
his opening address to the Helvetic Society
in 1837 unfolds the glacial period as a whole,
much as he saw it at the close of his life, af-
ter he had studied the phenomena on three
continents. In this address he announced his
conviction that a great ice-period, due to a tem-
porary oscillation of the temperature of the
globe, had covered the surface of the earth
with a sheet of ice, extending at least from
the north pole to Central Europe and Asia*
" Siberian winter," he says, "established itself
264 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
for a time over a world previously covered
with a rich vegetation and peopled with large
mammalia, similar to those now inhabiting the
warm regions of India and Africa. Death en-
o
veloped all nature in a shroud, and the cold,
having reached its highest degree, gave to
this mass of ice, at the maximum of tension,
the greatest possible hardness." In this novel
presentation the distribution of erratic boul-
ders, instead of being classed among local
phenomena, was considered " as one of the ac-
cidents accompanying the vast change occa-
sioned by the fall of the temperature of our
globe before the commencement of our epoch."
This was, indeed, throwing the gauntlet
down to the old expounders of erratic phe-
nomena upon the principle of floods, freshets,
and floating ice. Many well-known geologists
were present at the meeting, among them Leo-
pold von Buch, who could hardly contain his
indignation, mingled with contempt, for what
seemed to him the view of a youthful and in-
experienced observer. One would have liked
to hear the discussion which followed, in spe-
cial section, between Von Buch, Charpentier,
and Agassiz. Elie de Beaumont, who should
have made the fourth, did not arrive till later.
Difference of opinion, however, never dis-
OPPOSITION TO THE GLACIAL THEORY. 265
turbed the cordial relation which existed be-
tween Von Buck and his young opponent. In-
deed, A^assiz's reverence and admiration for
t O
Yon Buch was then, and continued through-
out his life, deep and loyal.
Not alone from the men who had made
these subjects their special study, did Agassiz
meet with discouragements. The letters of
o
his beloved mentor, Humboldt, in 1837, show
how much he regretted that any part of his
young friend's energy should be diverted
from zoology, to a field of investigation which
he then believed to be one of theory rather
than of precise demonstration. He was, per-
haps, partly influenced by the fact that he
saw through the prejudiced eyes of his friend
Von Buch. " Over your and Charpentier's
moraines," he says, in one of his letters,
" Leopold von Buch rages, as you may al-
ready know, considering the subject, as he
does, his exclusive property. But I too,
though by no means so bitterly opposed to
new views, and ready to believe that the
boulders have not all been moved by the same
means, am yet inclined to think the moraines
due to more local causes."
The next letter shows that Humboldt was
seriously anxious lest this new field of activ-
266 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
ity, with its fascinating speculations, should
draw Agassiz away from his ichthyological re-
searches.
HTJMBOLDT TO AGASSIZ.
BERLIN, December 2, 1837.
I have this moment received, my dear
friend, by the hand of M. de W either, the
cabinet minister, your eighth and ninth num-
bers, with a fine pamphlet of text. I hasten
to express my warm thanks, and I congratu-
late the public on your somewhat tardy res-
olution to give a larger proportion of text.
One should flatter neither the king, nor the
people, nor one's dearest friend. I maintain,
therefore, that no one has told you forcibly
enough how the very persons who justly ad-
mire your work, constantly complain of this
fragmentary style of publication, which is the
despair of those who have not the leisure to
place your scattered sheets where they belong
and disentangle the skein.1
I think you would do well to publish for
a while more text than plates. You could do
1 Owing to the irregularity with which he received and
was forced to work up his material, Agassiz was often either
in advance or in arrears with certain parts of his subject, so
that his plates and his text did not keep pace with each other,
thus causing his readers much annoyance.
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 267
this the better because your text is excellent,
full of new and important ideas, expressed
with admirable clearness. The charming let-
ter (again without a date) which preceded
your package impressed me painfully. I see
you are ill again ; you complain of congestion
of the head and eyes. For mercy's sake take
care of your health which is so dear to us.
I am afraid you work too much, and (shall
I say it frankly?) that you spread your in-
tellect over too many subjects at once. I
think that you should concentrate your moral
and also your pecuniary strength upon this
beautiful work on fossil fishes. In so doing
you will render a greater service to positive
geology, than by these general considerations
(a little icy withal) on the revolutions of the
primitive world ; considerations which, as you
well know, convince only those who give
them birth. In accepting considerable sums
from England, you have, so to speak, con-
tracted obligations to be met only by complet-
ing a work which will be at once a monument
to your own glory and a landmark in the his-
tory of science. Admirable and exact as your
researches on other fossils are, your contem-
poraries claim from you the fishes above all.
You will say that this is making you the slave
268 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
of others ; perfectly true, but such is the
pleasing position of affairs here below. Have
I not been driven for thirty-three years to busy
myself with that tiresome America, and am I
not, even yet, daily insulted because, after
publishing thirty - two volumes of the great
edition in folio and in quarto, and twelve hun-
dred plates, one volume of the historical sec-
tion is wanting? We men of letters are the
servants of an arbitrary master, whom we have
imprudently chosen, who flatters and pets us
first, and then tyrannizes over us if we do
not work to his liking. You see, my dear
friend, I play the grumbling old man, and, at
the risk of deeply displeasing you, place my-
self on the side of the despotic public. . . .
With reference to the general or periodical
lowering of the temperature of the globe, I
have never thought it necessary, on account
of the elephant of the Lena, to admit that
sudden frost of which Cuvier used to speak.
What I have seen in Siberia, and what has
been observed in Captain Beechey's expedition
on the northwest coast of America, simply
proves that there exists a layer of frozen drift,
in the fissures of which (even now) the muscu-
lar flesh of any animal which should acciden-
tally fall into them would be preserved intact.
DISTRUST OF GLACIAL THEORY. 269
It is a slight local phenomenon. To me, the
ensemble of geological phenomena seems to
prove, not the prevalence of this glacial sur-
face on which you would carry along your
boulders, but a very high temperature spread-
ing almost to the poles, a temperature favor-
able to organizations resembling those now
living in the tropics. Your ice frightens me,
and gladly as I would welcome you here, my
dear friend, I think, perhaps, for the sake of
your health, and also that you may not see
this country, always so hideous, under a sheet
of snow and ice (in February), you would do
better to come two months later, with the
first verdure. This is suggested by a letter
received yesterday by M. d'O , which
alarmed me a little, because the state of your
eyes obliged you to write by another hand.
Pray do not think of traveling before you are
quite well. I close this letter, feeling sure that
it does not contain a line which is not an ex-
pression of friendship and of the high esteem
I bear you. The magnificence of your last
numbers, eight and nine, cannot be told. How
admirably executed are your Macropoma, the
Ophiopris procerus, Mantell's great beast, the
minute details of the Dercetis, Psamniodus,
. . . the skeletons. . . . There is nothing
270 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
like it in all that we possess upon vertebrates.
I have also begun to study your text, so rich
in well arranged facts ; the monograph of the
Lepidostei, the passage upon the bony rays,
and, dear Agassiz, I could hardly believe my
eyes, sixty-five continuous pages of the third
volume, without interruption ! You will spoil
the public. But, rny good friend, you have
already information upon a thousand species ;
" claudite jam rivos ! ' You say your work
can go on if you have two hundred subscrib-
ers ; but if you continue to support two travel-
ing draughtsmen, I predict, as a practical man,
that it cannot go on. You cannot even pub-
lish what you have gathered in the last five
years. Consider that in attempting to give a
review of all the fossil fishes which now exist
in collections, you pursue a phantom which
ever flies before you. Such a work would
not be finished in less than fifteen years, and
besides, this now is an uncertain element.
Cannot you conquer yourself so far as to
finish what you have in your possession at
present ? Recall your artists. With the rep-
utation you enjoy in Europe, whatever might
essentially change your opinion on certain or-
ganisms would willingly be sent to you. If
you continue to keep two ambassadors in for-
ADVICE FROM HUMBOLDT. 271
eign lands, the means you destine for the
engraving and printing will soon be absorbed.
You will struggle with domestic difficulties,
and at sixty years of age (tremble at the
sight of this number ! ) you will be as un-
certain as you are to-day, whether you pos-
sess, even in your coUection of drawings, all
that is to be found among amateurs. How
exhaust an ocean in which the species are
indefinitely increasing ? Finish, first, what
you have this December, 1837, and then, if
the subject does not weary you, publish the
supplements in 1847. You must not forget
that these supplements will be of two kinds :
1st. Ideas which modify some of your old
views. 2d. New species. Only the first kind
of supplement would be really desirable. Fur-
thermore, you must regain your intellectual
independence and not let yourself be scolded
any more by M. de Humboldt. Little will
it avail you should I vanish from the scene
of this world with your fourteenth number !
When I am a fossil in my turn I shall still ap-
pear to you as a ghost, having under my arm
the pages you have failed to interpolate and
the volume of that eternal America which I
owe to the public. I close with a touch of fun,
in order that my letter may seem a little less
272 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
like preaching. A thousand affectionate re-
membrances. No more ice, not much of echi-
nodernis, plenty of fish, recall of ambassadors
in partibus, and great severity toward the
book-sellers, an infernal race, two or three of
whom have been killed under me.
A. DE HUMBOLDT.
I sigh to think of the trouble my horrible
writing will give you.
A letter of about the same date from Von
Buch shows that, however he might storm at
Agassiz's heterodox geology, he was in full
sympathy with his work in general.
LEOPOLD VON BUCH TO LOULS AGASSIZ.
December 22, 1837.
. . . Pray reinstate me in the good graces
of my unknown benefactor among you. By
a great mistake the reports of the Society for-
warded to me from Neuchatel have been sent
back. As it is weh1 known at the post-office
that I do not keep the piles of educational
journals sent to me from France, the postage
on them being much too heavy for my means,
they took it for granted that this journal, the
charges on which amounted to several crowns,
was of the number. I am very sorry. I do
LETTER FROM VON BUCH. 273
not even know the contents of the journal,
but I suppose it contained papers of yours,
full of genius and ardor. I like your way of
looking at nature, and I think you render
great service to science by your observations.
A right spirit will readily lead you to see that
this is the true road to glory, far preferable to
the one which leads to vain analogies and
speculations, the time for which is long past.
I am grieved to hear that you are not well,
and that your eyes refuse their service. M.
de Humboldt tells me that you are seeking a
better climate here, in the month of February.
You may find it, perhaps, thanks to our stoves.
But as we shall still have plenty of ice in the
streets, your glacial opinions will not find a
market at that season. I should like to pre-
sent you with a memoir or monograph of
mine, just published, on Spirifer and Orthis,
but I will take good care to let no one pay
postage on a work which, by its nature, can
have but a very limited interest. ... I will
await your arrival to give you these descrip-
tions. I am expecting the numbers of your
Fossil Fishes, which have not yet come. Hum-
boldt often speaks of them to me. Ah ! how
much I prefer you in a field which is wholly
your own than in one where you break in
VOL. I. 18
274 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
upon the measured and cautious tread, intro-
duced by Saussure in geology. You, too, will
reconsider all this, and will yet treat the views
of Saussure and Escher with more respect.
Everything here turns to infusoria. Ehren-
berg has just discovered that an apparently
sandy deposit, twenty feet in thickness, under
the " Luneburgerheyde," is composed entirely
of infusoria of a kind still living in the neigh-
borhood of Berlin. This layer rests upon a
brown deposit known to be ten feet in thick-
ness. The latter consists, for one fifth of the
depth, of pine pollen, which burns. The rest
is of infusoria. Thus these animals, which
the naked eye has not power to discern, have
themselves the power to build up mountain
chains.
CHAPTER IX.
1837-1839: ^T. 30-32.
Invitation to Professorships at Geneva and Lausanne. —
Death of his Father. — Establishment of Lithographic
Press at jSTeuchatel. — Researches upon Structure of Mol-
lusks. — Internal Casts of Shells.-- Glacial Explorations.
— Views of Buckland. — Relations with Arnold Guyot. —
Their Work together in the Alps. — Letter to Sir Philip
Egertoii concerning Glacial Work. — Summer of 1839. —
Publication of " Etudes sur les Glaciers."
ALTHOUGH Agassiz's daring treatment of
the glacial phenomena had excited much oppo-
sition and angry comment, it had also made a
powerful impression by its eloquence and orig-
inality. To this may be partly due the fact
that about this time he was strongly urged
from various quarters to leave Neuchatel for
some larger field. One of the most seductive
of these invitations, owing to the affectionate
spirit in which it was offered, came through
Monsieur de la Rive, in Geneva.
276 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
M. AUGUSTE DE LA RIVE TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
GENEVA, May 12, 1836.
... I have not yet received your address.
I hope you will send it to me without delay,
for I am anxious to bring it before our read-
ers. I hope also that you will not forget what
you have promised me for the " Bibliotheque
Universelle." I am exceedingly anxious to
have your cooperation ; the more so that it
will reinforce that of several distinguished
savants whose assistance I have recently se-
cured.
If I weary you with a second letter, how-
ever, it is not only to remind you of your
promise about the " Bibliotheque Universelle,"
but for another object still more important
and urgent. The matter stands thus. Our
academic courses have just opened under fa-
vorable auspices. The number of students
is much increased, and, especially, we have a
good many from Germany and England. This
circumstance makes us feel more strongly the
importance of completing our organization,
and of doing this wisely and quickly. I will
not play the diplomat with you, but will
frankly say, without circumlocution, that you
seem to me the one essential, the one indis-
LETTER FROM M. DE LA RIVE. 277
pensable man. After having talked with some
influential persons here, I feel sure that if you
say to me, " I will come," I can obtain for
you the following conditions : 1st. A regular
salary of three thousand francs, beside the
student fees, which, in view of the character
of your instruction, your reputation, and the
novelty of your course, I place too low at a
thousand francs ; of this I am convinced. 2d.
The vacant professorship is one of geology
and mineralogy, but should you wish it De la
Planche will continue to teach the mineralogy,
and you will replace it by paleontology, or
any other subject which may suit you. . . .
Add to this resource that of a popular course
for the world outside, ladies and others, which
you might give in the winter, as at Neu-
chatel. The custom here is to pay fifty francs
for the course of from twenty-five to thirty
lectures. You will easily see that for such
a course you would have at least as large an
audience here as at Neuchatel. This is the
more likely because there is a demand for
these courses, Pictet being dead, and M. Rossi
and M. de Castella having ceased to give
them. No one has come forward as their
heir, fine as the inheritance is ; some are too
busy, others have not the kind of talent
278 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
needed, and none have attempted to replace
these gentlemen in this especial line, one in
which you excel, both by your gifts and your
fortunate choice of a subject more in vogue
just now than any other. Come then, to
work in this rich vein before others present
themselves for the same purpose. Finally,
since I must make up your budget, the " Bib-
liotheque Universelle," which pays fifty francs
a sheet, would be always open to you ; there
you could bring the fruits of your produc-
tive leisure. Certainly it would be easy for
you to make in this way an additional thou-
sand francs.
Here, then, is a statement, precise and full,
of the condition of things, and of what you
may hope to find here. The moment is pro-
pitious ; there is a movement among us just
now in favor of the sciences, and this winter
the plan of a large building for our museum
and library will be presented to our common
council. The work should begin next sum-
mer; you well know how much we should
value your ideas and your advice on this sub-
ject. There may also be question of a direc-
tor for the museum, and of an apartment for
him in the new edifice ; you will not doubt to
whom such a place would be offered. But let
INVITATION TO GENEVA. 2*79
us not draw upon the future ; let us limit our-
selves to the present, and see whether what I
propose suits you. . . . Come ! let yourself be
persuaded. Sacrifice the capital to a provin-
cial town. At Berlin, no doubt, you would be
happy and honored ; at Geneva, you would
be the happiest, the most honored. Look at
, who shone as a star of the first magni-
tude at Geneva, and who is but a star of sec-
ond or third rank in Paris. This, to be sure,
would not be your case ; nevertheless, I am
satisfied that at Geneva, where you would be
a second de Saussure, your position would be
still more brilliant. I know that these motives
of scientific self-love have little weight with
o
you ; nevertheless, wishing to omit nothing, I
give them for what they are worth. But my
hope rests far more on the arguments I have
first presented ; they come from the heart, and
with you the heart responds as readily as the
genius. But enough ! I will not fatigue you
with farther considerations. I think I have
given you all the points necessary for your
decision. Be so kind as to let me know as
soon as possible what you intend to do. Have
the kindness also not to speak of the contents
of this letter, and remember that it is not the
Rector of the Academy of Geneva, but the
280 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Professor Auguste de la Bive, who writes in
his own private person. Promptitude and
silence, then, are the two recommendations
which I make to you while we await the Yes
we so greatly desire. . . .
More tempting still must have been the offi-
cial invitation received a few months later to a
professorship at Lausanne, strengthened as it
was by the affectionate entreaties of relations
and friends, urging him for the sake of fam-
ily ties and patriotism to return to the canton
where he had passed his earlier years. But he
had cast in his lot with the Neuchatelois and
was proof against all arguments. He remained
faithful to the post he had chosen until he
left it, temporarily as he then believed, to
come to America. The citizens of his adopted
town expressed their appreciation of his loy-
alty to them in a warm letter of thanks, beg-
ging, at the same time, his acceptance of the
sum of six thousand francs, payable by install-
ments during three years.
The summer of 1837 was a sad one to
Agassiz and to his whole family ; his father
died at Concise, carried off by a fever while
still a comparatively young man. The pretty
parsonage, to which they were so much at-
FOUNDING LITHOGRAPHIC PRESS. 281
tached, passed into other hands, and thence-
forward the home of Madame Agassiz was
with her children, among whom she divided
her time.
In 1838 Agassiz founded a lithographic
printing establishment in Neuchatel, which
was carried on for many years under his di-
rection. Thus far his plates had been litho-
graphed in Munich. Their execution at such
a distance involved constant annoyance, and
sometimes great waste of time and money, in
sending the proofs to and fro for correction.
The scheme of establishing a lithographic
press, to be in a great degree at his charge,
was certainly an imprudent one for a poor
man; but Agassiz hoped not only to facilitate
his own publications by this means, but also
to raise the standard of execution in works of
a purely scientific character. Supported partly
by his own exertions, partly by the generosity
of others, the establishment was almost exclu-
sively dependent upon him for its unceasing
activity. He was fortunate in securing for
its head M. Hercule Nicolet, a very able litho-
graphic artist, who had had much experience
in engraving objects of natural history, and
was specially versed in the recently invented
art of chromatic lithography.
282 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Agassiz was now driving all his steeds
abreast. Beside his duties as professor, he
was printing at the same time his " Fossil
Fishes," his " Fresh-Water Fishes/' and his in-
vestigations on fossil Echinodernis and Mol-
lusks, — the illustrations for all these various
works being under his daily supervision. The
execution of these plates, under M. Nicolet's
care, was admirable for the period. Professor
Arnold Guyot, in his memoir of Agassiz, says
of the plates for the " Fresh- Water Fishes" :
" We wonder at their beauty, and at their per-
fection of color and outline, when we remem-
ber that they were almost the first essays of
the newly - invented art of lithochromy, pro-
duced at a time when France and Belgium
were showering rewards on very inferior work
of the kind, as the foremost specimens of pro-
gress in the art."
All this work could hardly be carried on
single handed. In 1837 M. Edouard Desor
joined Agassiz in Neuchatel, and became for
many years his intimate associate in scientific
labors. A year or two later M. Charles Vogt
also united himself to the band of investiga-
tors and artists who had clustered about Agas-
siz as their central force. M. Ernest Favre
says of this period of his life : " He displayed
METHOD FOR STUDY OF MOLLUSKS. 283
during these years an incredible energy, of
which the history of science offers, perhaps,
no other example."
Among his most important zoological re-
searches at this time were those upon mol-
lusks. His method of studying this class was
too original and too characteristic to be passed
by without notice The science of conchology
had heretofore been based almost wholly upon
the study of the empty shells. To Agassiz
this seemed superficial. Longing to know
more of the relation between the animal and
its outer covering, he bethought himself that
the inner moulding of the shell would give
at least the form of its old inhabitant. For
the practical work he engaged an admirable
moulder, M. Stahl, who continued to be one
of his staff at the lithographic establishment
until he became permanently employed at the
Jardin des Plantes. With his help and that
of M. Henri Ladame, professor of physics and
chemistry at Neuchatel, who prepared the del-
icate metal alloys in which the first mould was
taken, Agassiz obtained casts in which the
form of the animals belonging to the shells
was perfectly reproduced. This method has
since passed into universal use. By its aid he
obtained a new means of ascertainino* the re-
284 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
lations between fossil and living mollusks. It
was of vast service to him in preparing his
" Etudes critiques sur les Mollusques f ossiles,"
— a quarto volume with nearly one hundred
plates.
The following letter to Sir Philip Egerton
gives some account of his undertakings at this
time, and of the difficulties entailed upon him
by their number and variety.
LOUIS AGASSIZ TO SIB PHILIP EGERTON.
NEUCHATEL, August 10, 1838.
. . . These last months have been a time
of trial to me, and I have been forced to give
up my correspondence completely in order to
meet the ever-increasing demands of my work.
You know how difficult it is to find a quiet
moment and an easy mind for writing, when
one is pursued by printing or lithographic
proofs, and forced besides to prepare unceas-
ing occupation for numerous employes. Add
to this the close research required by the work
of editing, and you surely will find an excuse
for my delay. I think I have already written
you that in order to have everything under my
own eye, I had founded a lithographic estab-
lishment at Neuchatel in the hope of avoid-
ing in future the procrastinations to which
LETTER TO SIR PHILIP EGERTON. 285
my proofs were liable when the work was done
at Munich. ... I hope that my new publica-
tions will be sufficiently well received to jus-
tify me in supporting an establishment unique
of its kind, which I have founded solely in the
interest of science and at the risk of my peace
and my health. If I give you all these details,
it is simply to explain my silence, which was
caused not by pure negligence, but by the de-
mands of an undertaking in the success of
which my very existence is involved. . . .
This week I shall forward to the Secretary of
the British Association for the Advancement
of Science all that I have been able to do
thus far, being unable to bring it myself,
as I had hoped. You would oblige me greatly
if you would give a look at these different
works, which may, I hope, have various claims
on your interest. First, there is the tenth
number of the "Fossil Fishes," though the
whole supply of publisher's copies will only
be sent a few weeks later. Then there are
the seven first plates of my sea-urchins, en-
graved with much care and with many details.
A third series of plates relates to critical stud-
ies on fossil mollusks, little or erroneously
known, and on their internal casts. This is a
quite novel side of the study of shells, and
286 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
will throw light on the organization of ani-
mals known hitherto only by the shell. I
have made a plaster collection of them for the
Geological Society. They have been packed
some time, but my late journey to Paris has
prevented me from forwarding them till now.
As soon as I have a moment, I shall make out
the catalogue and send it on. When you go
to London, do not fail to examine them ; the
result is curious enough. Finally, the plates
for the first number of my " Fresh - Water
Fishes ' are in great part finished, and also
included in my package for Newcastle. . . .
The plates are executed by a new process, and
printed in various tints on different stones, re-
sulting in a remarkable uniformity of coloring
in all the impressions. . . .
Such are the new credentials with which I
present myself, as I bring my thanks for the
honor paid to me by my nomination for the
vacancy in the Royal Society of London. If
unbounded devotion to the interests of science
constituted a sufficient title to such a distinc-
tion, I should be the less surprised at the
announcement contained in your last letter.
The action of the Royal Society, so flattering
to the candidate of your choice, has satisfied a
desire which I should hardly have dared to
GLACIAL EXPLORATIONS. 287
form for many a year, — that of becoming a
member of a body so illustrious as the Royal
Society of London. . . .
Each time I write I wish I could close with
the hope of seeing you soon ; but I must work
incessantly ; that is my lot, and the happiness
I find in it gives a charm to niy occupations
however numerous they may be. . . .
While Agassiz's various zoological works
were thus pressed with unceasing activity, the
glaciers and their attendant phenomena, which
had so captivated his imagination, were ever
present to his thought. In August of the
year 1838, a year after he had announced at
the meeting of the Helvetic Society his com-
prehensive theory respecting the action of the
ice over the whole northern hemisphere, he
made two important excursions in the Alps.
The first was to the valley of Hassli, the
second to the glaciers of Mont Blanc. In
both he was accompanied by his scientific
collaborator, M. Desor, whose intrepidity and
ardor hardly fell short of his own ; by Mr.
Dinkel as artist, and by one or two students
and friends. These excursions were a kind
of prelude to his more prolonged sojourns on
the Alps, and to the series of observations car-
288 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
ried on by him and his companions, which at-
tracted so much attention in later years. But
though Agassiz carried with him, on these
first explorations, only the simplest means of
investigation and experiment, they were no
amateur excursions. On these first Alpine
journeys he had in his mind the sketch he
meant to fill out. The significance of the
phenomena was already clear to him. What
he sought was the connection. Following
the same comparative method, he intended to
track the footsteps of the ice as he had gath-
ered and put together the fragments of his
fossil fishes, till the scattered facts should fall
into their natural order once more and tell
their story from beginning to end.
In his explorations of 1838 he found every-
where the same phenomena ; the grooved and
polished and graven surfaces and the rounded
and modeled rocks, often lying far above and
beyond the present limits of the glaciers; the
old moraines, long deserted by the ice, but de-
fining its ancient frontiers ; the erratic blocks,
transported far from their place of origin and
disposed in an order and position unexplained
by the agency of water.
These excursions, though not without their
dangers and fatigues, were full of charm for
ATTEMPT AT AN ENGLISH LETTER. 289
men who, however serious their aims, were
still young enough to enter like boys into the
spirit of adventure. Agassiz himself was but
thirty-one ; an ardent pedestrian, he delighted
in feats of walking and climbing. His friend
Dinkel relates that one day, while pausing at
Grindelwald for refreshment, they met an el-
derly traveler who asked him, after listening
awhile to their gay talk, in which appeals were
constantly made to " Agassiz," if that was
perhaps the son of the celebrated professor
of Neuchatel. The answer amazed him ; he
could hardly believe that the young man be-
fore him was the naturalist of European rep-
utation. In connection with this journey oc-
curs the first attempt at an English letter
found among Agassiz's papers. It is addressed
to Buckland, and contains this passage : " Since
I saw the glaciers I am quite of a snowy hu-
mor, and will have the whole surface of the
earth covered with ice, and the whole prior
creation dead by cold. In fact, I am quite
satisfied that ice must be taken [included] in
every complete explanation of the last changes
which occurred at the surface of Europe."
Considered in connection with their subse-
quent work together in the ancient ice-beds
and moraines of England, Scotland, Ireland,
VOL I. 19
290 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
and Wales, it is curious to find Buckland an-
swering : "I am sorry that I cannot entirely
adopt the new theory you advocate to explain
transported blocks by moraines ; for suppos-
ing it adequate to explain the phenomena of
Switzerland, it would not apply to the gran-
ite blocks and transported gravel of England,
which I can only explain by referring to cur-
rents of water." During the same summer
Mrs. Buckland writes from Interlaken, in the
course of a journey in Switzerland with her
husband. ..." We have made a good tour
of the Oberland and have seen glaciers, etc.,
but Dr. Buckland is as far as ever from agree-
ing with you." We shall see hereafter how
completely he became a convert to Agassiz's
glacial theory in its widest acceptation.
One friend, scarcely mentioned thus far in
this biography, was yet, from the beginning,
the close associate of Agassiz's glacier work.
Arnold Guyot and he had been friends from
boyhood. Their university life separated them
for a time, Guyot being at Berlin while Agas-
siz was at Munich, and they became colleagues
at Neuchatel only after Agassiz had been for
some years established there. From that time
forward there was hardly any break in their
intercourse ; they came to America at about
RELATIONS WITH ARNOLD GUYOT. 291
the same time, and finally settled as profes-
sors, the one at Harvard College, in Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, and the other at the
College of New Jersey, in Princeton. They
shared all their scientific interests ; and when
they were both old men, Guyot brought to
Agassiz's final undertaking, the establishment
of a summer school at Penikese, a coopera-
tion as active and affectionate as that he had
given in his youth to his friend's scheme for
establishing a permanent scientific summer
station in the high Alps.
In a short visit made by Agassiz to Paris in
the spring of 1838 he unfolded his whole
plan to Guyot, then residing there, and per-
suaded him to undertake a certain part of the
investigation. During this very summer of
1838, therefore, while Agassiz was tracing the
ancient limits of the ice in the Bernese Ober-
land and the Haut Valais, and later, in the
valley of Chamounix, Guyot was studying the
structure and movement of the ice during a
six weeks' tour in the central Alps. At the
conclusion of their respective journeys they
met to compare notes, at the session of the
Geological Society of France, at Porrentruy,
where Agassiz made a report upon the gen-
eral results of his summer's work; while Guyot
292 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
read a paper, the contents of which have
never been fully published, upon the move-
ment of glaciers and upon their internal fea-
tures, including the laminated structure of the
ice, the so-called blue bands, deep down in the
mass of the glacier.1 In the succeeding years
of their glacial researches together, Guyot took
for his share the more special geological prob-
lems, the distribution of erratic boulders and
of the glacial drift, as connected with the an-
cient extension of the glaciers. This led him
away from the central station of observation
to remoter valleys on the northern and south-
ern slopes of the Alps, where he followed the
descent of the glacial phenomena to the plains
of central Europe on the one side and to those
of northern Italy on the other. We therefore
seldom hear of him with the band of workers
who finally settled on the glacier of the Aar,
because his share of the undertaking became
a more isolated one. It was nevertheless an
integral part of the original scheme, which was
carried on connectedly to the end, the results
of the work in the different departments being
constantly reported and compared. So much
was this the case, that the intention of Agas-
1 See Memoir of Louis Agassiz, by Arnold Guyot, written
for the United States National Academy of Sciences, p. 38.
WORK IN THE ALPS. 293
siz had been to embody the whole in a publi-
cation, the first part of which should contain
the glacial system of Agassiz ; the second the
Alpine erratics, by Guyot; while the third
and final portion, by E. Desor, should treat of
the erratic phenomena outside of Switzerland.
The first volume alone was completed. Un-
locked for circumstances made the continuation
of the work impossible, and the five thousand
specimens of the erratic rocks of Switzerland
collected by Professor Guyot, in preparation
for his part of the publication, are now depos-
ited in the College of New Jersey, at Prince-
ton.
In the following summer of 1839 Agassiz
took the chain of Monte Rosa and Matterhorn
as the field of a larger and more systematic
observation. On this occasion, the usual party
consisting of Agassiz, Desor, M. Bettanier, an
artist, and two or three other friends, was
joined by the geologist Studer. Up to this
time he had been a powerful opponent of
Agassiz' s views, and his conversion to the gla-
cial theory during this excursion was looked
upon by them all as a victory greater than
any gained over the regions of ice and snow.
Some account of this journey occurs in the
f ollowing letter.
294 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
LOUIS AGASSIZ TO SIB PHILIP EGERTON.
NEUCHATEL, September 10, 1839.
. . . Under these circumstances, I thought
I could not do better than to pass some weeks
in the solitude of the high Alps ; I lived
about a fortnight in the region of the glaciers,
ascending some new field of ice every day, and
trying to scale the sides of our highest peaks.
I thus examined in succession all the glaciers
descending from the majestic summits of
Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn, whose nu-
merous crests form a most gigantic amphithe-
atre, which lifts itself above the everlasting
snow. Afterward I visited the sea of ice
which, under the name of the glacier of
Aletsch, flows from the Jungfrau, the Monch,
and the Eiger toward Brieg; thence I went
to the glacier of the Rhone, and from there,
establishing my headquarters at the Hospice
of the Grimsel, I followed the glacier of the
Aar to the foot of the Finsteraarhorn. There
I ascertained the most important fact that
I now know concerning the advance of gla-
ciers, namely, that the cabin constructed by
Hugi in 1827, at the foot of the Absch-
wung, is now four thousand feet lower down.
Slight as is the inclination of the glacier, this
ETUDES SUR LES GLACIERS. 295
cabin has been carried on by the ice with as-
tonishing rapidity, and still more important is
it that this rapidity has been on the increase;
for in 1830 the cabin was only some hundred
feet from the rock, in 1836 it had already
passed over a distance from [word torn away]
of two thousand feet, and in the last three
years it has again doubled that distance. Not
only have I confirmed my views upon glaciers
and their attendant phenomena, on this new
ground, but I have completed my examina-
tion of a number of details, and have had be-
sides the satisfaction of convincing one of my
most severe opponents of the exactness of my
observations, namely, M. Studer, who accom-
panied me on a part of these excursions. . . .
The winter of 1840 was fully occupied by
the preparation for the publication of the
"Etudes sur les Glaciers," which appeared
before the year was out, accompanied by an
atlas of thirty-two plates. The volume of
text consisted of an historical resume of all
that had previously been done in the study of
glaciers, followed by an account of the obser-
vations of Agassiz and his companions during
the last three or four years upon the glaciers
of the Alps. Their structure, external aspect,
296 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
needles, tables, perched blocks, gravel cones,
rifts, and crevasses, as well as their movements,
mode of formation, and internal temperature,
were treated in succession. But the most in-
teresting chapters, from the author's own
point of view, and those which were most
novel for his readers, were the concluding
ones upon the ancient extension of the Swiss
glaciers, and upon the former existence of an
immense, unbroken sheet of ice, which had
once covered the whole northern hemisphere.
No one before had drawn such vast conclu-
sions from the local phenomena of the Alpine
valleys. " The surface of Europe," says Agas-
siz, " adorned before by a tropical vegetation
and inhabited by troops of large elephants,
enormous hippopotami, and gigantic carniv-
ora, was suddenly buried under a vast mantle
of ice, covering alike plains, lakes, seas and
plateaus. Upon the life and movement of
a powerful creation fell the silence of death.
Springs paused, rivers ceased to flow, the rays
of the sun, rising upon this frozen shore (if,
indeed, it was reached by them), were met
only by the breath of the winter from the
north and the thunders of the crevasses as
they opened across the surface of this icy
sea." The author goes on to state that on
1 Etudes sur les Glaciers. Chapter xviii. p. 315.
ICE PERIOD. 297
the breaking up of this universal shroud the
ice must have lingered longest in mountainous
strongholds, and that all these fastnesses of
retreat became, as the Alps are now, centres
of distribution for the broken debris and
rocky fragments which are found scattered
with a kind of regularity along certain lines,
and over given areas in northern and central
Europe. How he followed out this idea in
his subsequent investigations will be seen here-
after.
CHAPTEE X.
1840-1842: .ET. 33-35.
Summer Station on the Glacier of the Aar. — Hotel des
Neuchatelois. — Members of the Party. — Work on the
Glacier. — Ascent of the Strahleck and the Siedelhorn. —
Visit to England. — Search for Glacial Remains in Great
Britain. — Roads of Glen Roy. — Views of English Natu-
ralists concerning Agassiz's Glacial Theory. — Letter from
Humboldt. — Winter Visit to Glacier. — Summer of 1841
on the Glacier. — Descent into the Glacier. — Ascent of the
Jungfrau.
IN the summer of 1840 Agassiz made his
first permanent station on the Alps. Hitherto
the external phenomena, the relation of the
ice to its surroundings, and its influence upon
them, had been the chief study. Now the
glacier itself was to be the main subject of in-
vestigation, and he took with him a variety of
instruments for testing temperatures : barome-
ters, thermometers, hygrometers, and psychoni-
eters ; beside a boring apparatus, by means of
which self-registering thermometers might be
lowered into the heart of the glacier. To
these were added microscopes for the study of
HOTEL DES NEUCHATELOIS. 299
such insects and plants as might be found in
these ice-bound regions. The Hospice of the
Grhnsel was selected as his base of supplies,
and as guides Jacob Leuthold and Johann
Wahren were chosen. Both of these had ac-
companied Hugi in his ascension of the Fin-
steraarhorn in 1828, and both were therefore
thoroughly familiar with all the dangers of
Alpine climbing. The lower Aar glacier was
to be the scene of their continuous work, and
the centre from which their ascents of the
neighboring summits would be made. Here,
on the great median moraine, stood a huge
boulder of micaceous schist. Its upper sur-
face projected so as to form a roof, and by
closing it in on one side with a stone wall,
leveling the floor by a judicious arrangement
of flat slabs, and rigging a blanket in front
to serve as a curtain across the entrance, the
whole was presently transformed into a rude
hut, where six persons could find sleeping-
room. A recess, sheltered by the rock out-
side, served as kitchen and dining-room ; while
an empty space under another large boulder
was utilized as a cellar for the keeping of pro-
visions. This was the abode so well known
afterward as the Hotel des Neuchatelois. Its
first occupants were Louis Agassiz, Edouard
300 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Desor, Charles Vogt, Francois de Pourtales,
Celestin Nicolet, and Henri Coulon. It af-
forded, perhaps, as good a shelter as they
could have found in the old cabin of Hugi,
where they had hoped to make their tempo-
rary home. In this they were disappointed,
for the cabin had crumbled on its last glacial
journey. The wreck was lying two hundred
feet below the spot where they had seen the
walls still standing the year before.
The work was at once distributed among:
o
the different members of the party, — Agas-
siz himself, assisted by his young friend and
favorite pupil, Francois de Pourtales, retain-
ing for his own share the meteorological ob-
servations, and especially those upon the inter-
nal temperature of the glaciers.1 To M. Vogt
fell the microscopic study of the red snow
and the organic life contained in it; to M.
Nicolet, the flora of the glaciers and the sur-
rounding rocks ; to M. Desor, the glacial phe-
nomena proper, including those of the mo-
raines. He had the companionship and assist-
1 See "Tables of Temperature, Measurements," etc., in
Agassiz's Systems Glaciaire. These results are also recorded
in a volume entitled Sejours dans les Glaciers, by Edouard
Desor, a collection of very bright and entertaining articles
upon the excursions and sojourns made in the Alps, during
successive summers, by Agassiz and his scientific staff.
WORK ON THE GLACIER. 301
ance of M. Henri Coulon in the long and
laborious excursions required for this part of
the work.
This is not the place for scientific details.
For the results of Agassiz's researches on the
Alpine glaciers, to which he devoted much of
his time and energy during ten years, from
1836 to 1846, the reader is referred to his
two larger works on this subject, the " Etudes
sur les Glaciers," and the " Systeme Glaciaire."
Of the work accomplished by him and his
companions during these years this slight sum-
mary is given by his friend Guyot.1 " The
position of eighteen of the most prominent
rocks on the glacier was determined by care-
ful triangulation by a skillful engineer, and
measured year after year to establish the rate
of motion of every part. The differences in
the rate of motion in the upper and lower
part of the glacier, as well as in different sea-
sons of the year, was ascertained ; the amount
of the annual melting was computed, and all
the phenomena connected with it studied. All
the surrounding peaks, — the Jungfrau, the
Schreckhorn, the Finsteraarhorn, most of them
1 See Biographical Sketch, published by Professor A.
Guyot, under the auspices of the United States National
Academy.
302 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
until then reputed unscalable, — were ascend-
ed, and the limit of glacial action discovered ;
in short all the physical laws of the glacier
were brought to light."
We now return to the personal narrative.
After a number of days spent in the study of
the local phenomena, the band of workers
turned their attention to the second part of
their programme, namely, the ascent of the
Strahleck, by crossing which and descending
on the other side, they intended to reach Grin-
delwald. One morning, then, toward the end
of August, their guides, according to agree-
ment, aroused them at three o'clock, — an
hour earlier than their usual roll-call. The
first glance outside spread a general chill of
disappointment over the party, for they found
themselves beleaguered by a wall of fog on
every side. But Leuthold, as he lighted the
fire and prepared breakfast, bade them not
despair, — the sun might make all right. In a
few moments, one by one, the summits of the
Schreckhorn, the Finsteraarhorn, the Ober-
aarhorn, the Altmaner, the Scheuchzerhorn,
lighted by the first rays of the sun, came out
like islands above the ocean of mist, which
softly broke away and vanished with the ad-
vancing light. In about three hours they
ASCENT OF THE STRAHLECK. 303
reached the base of the Strahleck. Their two
guides, Leuthold and Wahren, had engaged
three additional men for this excursion, so that
they now had five guides, none of whom were
superfluous, since they carried with them va-
rious barometric instruments which required
careful handling. They began the ascent in
single file, but the slopes soon became so steep
and the light snow (in which they floundered
to the knees at every step) so deep, that the
guides resorted to the usual method in such
cases of tying them all together. The two
head guides alone, Leuthold and Wahren, re-
mained detached, clearing the snow in front
of them, cutting steps in the ice, and giving
warning, by cry and gesture, of any hidden
danger in the path. At nine o'clock, after an
hour's climbing, they stepped upon the small
plateau, evenly covered with unbroken snow,
formed by the summit of the Strahleck.
The day had proved magnificent. With a
clear sky above them, they looked down upon
the valley of Grindelwald at their feet, while
around and below them gathered the Schei-
deck and the Faulhorn, the pyramidal outline
of the Niesen, and the chain of the Stock-
horn. In front lay the great masses of the
Eiger and the Monch, while to the southwest
304 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
the Jungfrau rose above the long chain of
the Viescherhorner. The first pause of silent
wonder and delight, while they released them-
selves from their cords and arranged their in-
struments, seems to have been succeeded by
an outburst of spirits ; for in the journal of
the youngest of the party, Francois de Pour-
tales, then a lad of seventeen, we read : " The
guides began to wrestle and we to dance,
when suddenly we saw a female chamois, fol-
lowed by her young, ascending a neighboring
slope, and presently four or five more stretched
their necks over a rock, as if to see what was
going on. Breathless the wrestlers and the
dancers paused, fearing to disturb by the
slightest movement creatures so shy of human
approach. They drew nearer until within easy
gunshot distance, and then galloping along the
opposite ridge disappeared over the summit."
The party passed more than an hour on
the top of the Strahleck, making observations
and taking measurements. Then having rested
and broken their fast with such provisions as
they had brought, they prepared for a descent,
which proved the more rapid, since much of it
was a long slide. Tied together once more,
they slid, wherever they found it possible
to exchange the painful and difficult walking
to
LJ
I-
<
I
o
D
LLl
CO
LU
Q
111
H
O
I
RETURN TO THE AAR GLACIER. 305
for this simpler process. " Once below these
slopes of snow/' says the journal of young
de Pourtales again, " rocks almost vertical, or
narrow ledges covered with grass, served us
as a road and brought us to the glacier of the
Grindelwald. To reach the glacier itself we
traversed a crevasse of great depth, and some
twenty feet wide, on a bridge of ice, one or
two feet in width, and broken toward the end,
where we were obliged to spring across. Once
on the glacier the rest was nothing. The race
was to the fastest, and we were soon on the
path of the tourists." Reaching the village of
Grindelwald at three o'clock in the afternoon,
they found it difficult to persuade the people
at the inn that they had left the glacier of
the Aar that morning. From Grindelwald
O
they returned by the Scheideck to the Grim-
sel, visiting on their way the upper glacier of
Grindelwald, the glacier of Schwartzwald, and
that of Rosenlaui, in order to see how far these
had advanced since their last visit to them.
After a short rest at the Hospice of the Grim-
sel, Agassiz returned with two or three of his
companions to their cabin on the Aar glacier
for the purpose of driving stakes into the
holes previously bored in the ice. He hoped
by means of these stakes to learn the f ollow-
VOL. I. 20
306 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
ing year what had been the rate of movement
of the glacier. The summer's work closed
with the ascent of the Siedelhorn. In all
these ascents, the utmost pains was taken to
ascertain how far the action of the ice might
be traced upon these mountain peaks and the
limits determined at which the polished sur-
faces ceased, giving place to the rough, an-
gular rock which had never been modeled by
the ice.
Agassiz had hardly returned from the Alps
when he started for England. He had long
believed that the Highlands of Scotland, the
hilly Lake Country of England, and the moun-
tains of Wales and Ireland, would present the
same phenomena as the valleys of the Alps.
Dr. Buckland had offered to be his guide in
this search after glacier tracks, as he had for-
merly been in the hunt after fossil fishes in
Great Britain. When, therefore, the meeting
of the British Association at Glasgow, at
which they were both present, was over, they
started together for the Highlands. In a lec-
ture delivered by Agassiz, at his summer
school at Penikese, a few months before his
death, he recurred to this journey with the
enthusiasm of a young man. Recalling the
scientific isolation in which he then stood, op-
GLACIER HUNT IN GREAT BRITAIN. 307
posed as he was to all the prominent geolo-
gists of the day, he said : " Among the older
naturalists, only one stood by me. Dr. Buck-
land, Dean of Westminster, who had come to
Switzerland at my urgent request for the ex-
press purpose of seeing my evidence, and who
had been fully convinced of the ancient ex-
tension of ice there, consented to accompany
me on my glacier hunt in Great Britain. We
went first to the Highlands of Scotland, and
it is one of the delightful recollections of my
life that as we approached the castle of the
Duke of Argyll, standing in a valley not un-
like some of the Swiss valleys, I said to Buck-
land : ' Here we shall find our first traces of
glaciers ; ' and, as the stage entered the val-
ley, we actually drove over an ancient termi-
nal moraine, which spanned the opening of
the valley." In short, Agassiz found, as he
had anticipated, that in the mountains of
Scotland, Wales, and the north of England,
the valleys were in many instances traversed
by terminal moraines and bordered by lateral
ones, as in Switzerland. Nor were any of
the accompanying phenomena wanting. The
characteristic traces left by the ice, as well
known to him now as the track of the game
to the hunter ; the peculiar lines, furrows,
308 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
and grooves ; the polished surfaces, the roches
moutonnees ; the rocks, whether hard or soft,
cut to one level, as by a rigid instrument ; the
unstratified drift and the distribution of loose
material in relation to the ancient glacier-
beds, — all agreed with what he already knew
of glacial action. He visited the famous
" roads of Glen Roy ' ' in the Grampian Hills,
where so many geologists had broken a lance
in defense of their theories of subsidence and
upheaval, of ancient ocean -levels and sea-
beaches, formed at a time when they believed
Glen Roy and the adjoining valleys to have
been so many fiords and estuaries. To Agas-
siz, these parallel terraces explained them-
selves as the shores of a glacial lake, held
back in its bed for a time by neighboring gla-
ciers descending from more sheltered valleys.
The terraces marked the successively lower
levels at which the water stood, as these bar-
riers yielded, and allowed its gradual escape.1
The glacial action in the whole neighborhood
was such as to leave no doubt in the mind of
1 For details, see a paper by Agassiz on " The Glacial The-
ory and its Recent Progress " in the Edinburgh New Philo-
sophical Journal, October, 1842, accompanied by a map of
the Glen Roy region, and also an article entitled " Parallel
Roads of Glen Roy, in Scotland," in the second volume of
Agassiz's Geological Sketches.
GLACIAL RESULTS IN GREAT BRITAIN. 309
Agassiz that Glen Roy and the adjoining
glens, or valleys, had been the drainage-bed
for the many glaciers formerly occupying the
western ranges of the Grampian Hills. He
returned from his tour satisfied that the moun-
tainous districts of Great Britain had all been
centres of glacial distribution, and that the
drift material and the erratic boulders, scat-
tered over the whole countrv, were due to ex-
«/ '
actly the same causes as the like phenomena
in Switzerland. On the 4th of November,
1840, he read a paper before the Geological
Society of London, giving a summary of the
scientific results of their excursion, followed
by one from Dr. Buckland, who had become
an ardent convert to his views. Apropos of
this meeting, Dr. Buckland writes in advance
as follows : —
TAYMOUTH CASTLE, October 15, 1840.
. . . Lyell has adopted your theory in
to to ! ! ! On my showing him a beautiful
cluster of moraines, within two miles of his
father's house, he instantly accepted it, as
solving a host of difficulties that have all his
life embarrassed him. And not these only,
but similar moraines and detritus of moraines,
that cover half of the adjoining counties are
310 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
explicable on your theory, and he has con-
sented to my proposal that he should imme-
diately lay them all down on a map of the
county and describe them in a paper to be
read the day after yours at the Geological So-
ciety. I propose to give in my adhesion by
reading, the same day with yours, as a sequel
to your paper, a list of localities where I have
observed similar glacial detritus in Scotland,
since I left you, and in various parts of Eng-
land.
There are great reefs of gravel in the lime-
stone valleys of the central bog district of
Ireland. They have a distinct name, which I
forget. No doubt they are moraines ; if you
have not, ere you get this, seen one of them,
pray do so.1 But it will not be worth while
to go out of your way to see more than one ;
all the rest must follow as a corollary. I
trust you will not fail to be at Edinboro' on
the 20th, and at Sir W. Trevelyan's on the
24th. . . .
A letter of later date in the same month
1 Agassiz was then staying at Florence Court, the seat
of the Earl of Enniskillen, in County Fermanagh, Ireland,
While there he had an opportunity of studying most interest-
ing glacial phenomena.
LETTER TO SIR PHILIP EGERTON. 311
shows that Agassiz felt his views to be slowly
gaining ground among his English friends.
LOUIS AGASSIZ TO SIR PHILIP EGERTON.
LONDON, November 24, 1840.
. . . Our meeting on Wednesday passed
off very well ; none of my facts were dis-
turbed, though Wheweh1 and Murchison at-
tempted an opposition ; but as their objec-
tions were far-fetched, they did not produce
much effect. I was, however, delighted to
have some appearance of serious opposition,
because it gave me a chance to insist upon
the exactness of my observations, and upon
the want of solidity in the objections brought
against them. Dr. Buckland was truly elo-
quent. He has now full possession of this
subject ; is, indeed, completely master of it.
I am happy to tell you that everything is
definitely arranged with Lord Francis,1 and
that I now feel within myself a courage which
doubles my strength. I have just written to
thank him. To-morrow I shall devote to the
fossils sent me by Lord Enniskillen, a list of
which I will forward to you. . . .
1 Apropos of the sale of his original drawings of fossil
fishes to Lord Francis Egerton.
312 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
We append here, a little out of the regular
course, a letter from Humboldt, which shows
that he too was beginning to look more leni-
ently upon Agassiz's glacial conclusions.
HUMBOLDT TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
BERLIN, August 15, 1840.
I am the most guilty of mortals, my dear
friend. There are not three persons in the
world whose remembrance and affection I
value more than yours, or for whom I have a
warmer love and admiration, and yet I allow
half the year to pass without giving you a sign
of life, without any expression of my warm
gratitude for the magnificent gifts I owe to
you.1
I am a little like my republican friend who
no longer answers any letters because he does
not know where to begin. I receive on an
average fifteen hundred letters a year. I
never dictate. I hold that resort in horror.
How dictate a letter to a scholar for whom
one has a real regard ? I allow myself to be
drawn into answering the persons I know
least, whose wrath is the most menacing. My
nearer friends (and none are more dear to me
1 Probably the plates of the Fresh - Water Fishes and other
illustrated publications.
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 313
than yourself) suffer from my silence. I count
with reason upon their indulgence. The tone
of your excellent letters shows that I am right.
You spoil me. Your letters continue to be
always warm and affectionate. I receive few
like them. Since two thirds of the letters ad-
dressed to me (partly copies of letters written
to the king or the ministers) remain unan-
swered, I am blamed, charged with being a
parvenu courtier, an apostate from science.
This bitterness of individual claims does not
diminish my ardent desire to be useful. I act
oftener than I answer. I know that I like
to do good, and this consciousness gives me
tranquillity in spite of my over burdened life.
You are happy, my dear Agassiz, in the more
simple and yet truly proud position which you
have created for yourself. You ought to take
satisfaction in it as the father of a family, as
an illustrious savant, as the originator and
source of so many new ideas, of so many
great and noble conceptions.
Your admirable work on the fossil fishes
draws to a close. The last number, so rich in
discoveries, and the prospectus, explaining the
true state of this vast publication, have soothed
all irritation regarding it. It is because I am
so attached to you that I rejoice in the calmer
314 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
atmosphere you have thus established about
you. The approaching completion of the
fossil fishes delivers me also from the fear
that a too great ardor might cause you irrep-
arable losses. You have shown not only what
a talent like yours can accomplish, but also
how a noble courage can triumph over seem-
ingly insurmountable obstacles.
In what words shall I tell you how greatly
our admiration is increased by this new work
of yours on the Fresh-Water Fishes ? Nothing
has appeared more admirable, more perfect
in drawing and color. This chromatic lithog-
raphy resembles nothing we have had thus
far. What taste has directed the publica-
tion ! Then the short descriptions accompany-
ing each plate add singularly to the charm and
the enjoyment of this kind of study. Accept
my warm thanks, my dear friend. I not only
delivered your letter and the copy with it to
the king, but I added a short note on the
merit of such an undertaking. The counselor
of the Royal Cabinet writes me officially that
the king has ordered the same number of
copies of the Fresh -Water Fishes as of the
Fossil Fishes ; that is to say, ten copies. M.
de Werther has already received the order.
This is, to be sure, but a slight help ; still,
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 315
it is all that I have been able to obtain, and
these few copies, with the king's name as sub-
scriber, will always be useful to you.
I cannot close this letter without asking
your pardon for some expressions, too sharp,
perhaps, in my former letters, about your vast
geological conceptions. The very exaggera-
tion of my expressions must have shown you
how little weight I attached to my objections.
. . . My desire is always to listen and to
learn. Taught from my youth to believe that
the organization of past times was somewhat
tropical in character, and startled therefore at
these glacial interruptions, I cried " Heresy ! '
at first. But should we not always listen to
a friendly voice like yours ? I am interested
in whatever is printed on these topics ; so, if
you have published anything at all complete
lately on the ensemble of your geological
ideas, have the great kindness to send it to
me through a book-seller. . . .
Shall I tell you anything of my own poor
and superannuated works ? The sixth volume
is wanting to my " Geography of the Fifteenth
Century ' (Examen Critique). It will appear
this summer. I am also printing the second
volume of a new work to be entitled " Central
Asia." It is not a second edition of " Asiatic
316 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Fragments," but a new and wholly different
work. The thirty-five sheets of the last vol-
ume are printed, but the two volumes will
only be issued together. You can judge of
the difficulty of printing at Paris and correct-
ing proofs here, — at Poretz or at Toplitz. I
am just now beginning to print the first num-
ber of my physics of the world, under the
title of " Cosmos : ' in German, " Ideen zur
einer physischen Weltbeschreibung." It is
in no sense a reproduction of the lectures I
gave here. The subject is the same, but the
presentation does not at all recall the form of
a popular course. As a book, it has a some-
what graver and more elevated style. A
" spoken book ' is always a poor book, just
as lectures read are poor however weU pre-
pared. Published courses of lectures are my
detestation. Cotta is also printing a volume
of mine in German, " Physikalische geogra-
phische Erinnerungen." Many unpublished
things concerning the volcanoes of the Andes,
about currents, etc. And all this at the age
when one begins to petrify ! It is very rash !
May this letter prove to you and to Madame
Agassiz that I am petrifying only at the ex-
tremities,— the heart is still warm. Retain
for me the affection which I hold so dear.
A. DE HUMBOLDT.
WINTER VISIT TO GLACIERS. 317
In the following winter, or, rather, in the
early days of March, 1841, Agassiz visited,
in company with M. Desor, the glacier of
the Aar and that of Rosenlaui. He wished
to examine the stakes planted the summer
before on the glacier of the Aar, and to
compare the winter and summer temperature
within as well as without the mass of ice.
But his chief object was to ascertain whether
water still flowed from beneath the glaciers
during the frosts of winter. This fact would
have a direct bearing upon the theory which
referred the melting and movement of the
glaciers chiefly to their lower surface, explain-
ing them by the central heat of the earth as
their main cause. Satisfied as he was of the
fallacy of this notion, Agassiz still wished to
have the evidence of the glacier itself. The
journey was, of course, a difficult one at such
a season, but the weather was beautiful, and
they accomplished it in safety, though not
without much suffering. They found no
water except the pure and limpid water from
springs that never freeze. The glacier lay
dead in the grasp of winter. The results of
this journey, tables of temperature, etc., are
recorded in the " Systeme Glaciaire."
j
In E. Desor 's " Se jours dans les Glaciers '
318 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
is found an interesting description of the in-
cidents of this excursion and the appearance
of the glaciers in winter. In ascending the
course of the Aar they frequently crossed the
shrunken river on natural snow bridges, and
approaching the Handeck over fearfully steep
slopes of snow they had some difficulty in
finding the thread of water which was all that
remained of the beautiful summer cascade.
On the glacier of the Aar they found the
Hotel des Neuchatelois buried in snow, while
the whole surface of the glacier as well as the
surrounding peaks, from base to summit, wore
the same spotless mantle. The Finsteraar-
horn alone stood out in bold relief, black
against a white world, its abrupt slopes afford-
ing no foothold for the snow. The scene was
far more monotonous than in summer. Cre-
vasses, with their blue depths of ice, were
closed ; the many-voiced streams were still ;
the moraines and boulders were only here and
there visible through the universal shroud.
The sky was without a cloud, the air trans-
parent, but the glitter of the uniform white
surface was exquisitely painful to the eyes
and skin, and the travelers were obliged to
wrap their heads in double veils. They found
the glacier of Rosenlaui less enveloped in
SOJOURN OF 1841 ON THE GLACIER. 319
snow than that of the Aar ; and though the
magnificent ice-cave, so well known to trav-
elers for its azure tints, was inaccessible, they
could look into the vault and see that the
habitual bed of the torrent was dry. The
journey was accomplished in a week without
any untoward accident.
In the summer of 1841 Agassiz made a
longer Alpine sojourn than ever before. The
special objects of the season's work were the
internal structure of these vast moving fields
of ice, the essential conditions of their origin
and continued existence, the action of water
within them as influencing their movement,
and their own agency in direct contact with
the beds and walls of the valleys they occu-
pied. The fact of their former extension and
their present oscillations might be considered
as established. It remained to explain these
facts with reference to the conditions prevail-
ing- within the mass itself. In short, the in-
O '
vestigation was passing from the domain of
geology to that of physics. Agassiz, who was
as he often said of himself no physicist, was
the more anxious to have the cooperation of
the ablest men in that department, and to
share with them such facilities for observation
and such results as he had thus far accumu-
320 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
lated. In addition to his usual collaborators,
M. Desor and M. Vogt, he had, therefore, in-
vited as guests, during part of the season,
the distinguished physicist, Professor James
D. Forbes, of Edinburgh, who brought with
him his friend, Mr. Heath, of Cambridge.1
M. Escher de la Linth took also an active part
in the work of the later summer. To his
working corps Agassiz had added the foreman
of M. Kahli, an engineer at Bienne, to whom
he had confided his plans for the summer, and
who furnished him with a skilled workman to
direct the boring operations, assist in measure-
ments, etc. The artist of this year was M.
Jaques Burkhardt, a personal friend of Agas-
siz, and his fellow-student at Munich, where he
had spent some time at the school of art. As
a draughtsman he was subsequently associated
with Agassiz in his work at various times, and
when they both settled in America Mr. Burk-
hardt became a permanent member of Agas-
siz's household, accompanied him on his jour-
neys, and remained with him in relations of
uninterrupted and affectionate regard till his
own death in 1867. He was a loyal friend
1 As the impressions of Mr. Forbes were only made known
in connection with his own later and independent researches
it is unnecessary to refer to them here.
WORK IN SUMMER OF 1841. 321
and a warm-hearted man, with a thread of
humor running through his dry good sense,
which made him a very amusing and attractive
companion.
As it was necessary, in view of his special
programme of work, to penetrate below the
surface of the glacier, and reach, if possible,
its point of contact with the valley bottom,
Agassiz had caused a larger boring appara-
tus than had been used before, to be trans-
ported to the old site on the Aar glacier.
The results of these experiments are incorpo-
rated in the " Systeme Glaciaire," published
in 1846, with twenty-four folio plates and
two maps. They were of the highest inter-
est with reference to the internal structure
and temperature of the ice and the penetra-
bility of its mass, pervious throughout, as it
proved, to air and water. On one occasion
the boring-rod, having been driven to a depth
of one hundred and ten feet, dropped sud-
denly two feet lower, showing that it had
passed through an open space hidden in the
depth of the ice. The release of air-bubbles
at the same time gave evidence that this gla-
cial cave, so suddenly broken in upon, was
not hermetically sealed to atmospheric influ-
ences from without.
VOL. I. 21
322 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Agassiz was not satisfied with the report
of his instruments from these unknown re-
gions. He determined to be lowered into one
of the so-called wells in the glacier, and thus
to visit its interior in person. For this pur-
pose he was obliged to turn aside the stream
which flowed into the well into a new bed
which he caused to be dug for it. This done,
he had a strong tripod erected over the open-
ing, and, seated upon a board firmly attached
by ropes, he was then let down into the well,
his friend Escher lying flat on the edge of
the precipice, to direct the descent and listen
for any warning cry. Agassiz especially de-
sired to ascertain how far the laminated or
ribboned structure of the ice (the so-called
blue bands) penetrated the mass of the gla-
cier. This feature of the glacier had been
observed and described by M. Guyot (see
p. 292), but Mr. Forbes had called especial at-
tention to it, as in his belief connected with
the internal conditions of the glacier. It was
agreed, as Agassiz bade farewell to his friends
on this curious voyage of discovery, that he
should be allowed to descend until he called
out that they were to lift him. He was low-
ered successfully and without accident to a
depth of eighty feet. There he encountered
DESCENT INTO THE GLACIER. 323
an unforeseen difficulty in a wall of ice which
divided the well into two compartments. He
tried first the larger one, but finding it split
again into several narrow tunnels, he caused
himself to be raised sufficiently to enter the
smaller, and again proceeded on his downward
course without meeting any obstacle. Wholly
engrossed in watching the blue bands, still
visible in the glittering walls of ice, he was
only aroused to the presence of approaching
danger by the sudden plunge of his feet into
water. His first shout of distress was misun-
derstood, and his friends lowered him into the
ice-cold gulf instead of raising him. The sec-
ond cry was effectual, and he was drawn up,
though not without great difficulty, from a
depth of one hundred and twenty-five feet.
The most serious peril of the ascent was
caused by the huge stalactites of ice, between
the points of which he had to steer his way.
Any one of them, if detached by the friction
of the rope, might have caused his death. He
afterward said : " Had I known all its dangers,
perhaps I should not have started on such an
adventure. Certainly, unless induced by some
powerful scientific motive, I should not advise
any one to follow my example." On this per-
ilous journey he traced the laminated structure
324 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
to a depth of eighty feet, and even beyond,
though with less distinctness.
o
The summer closed with their famous as-
cent of the Jungfrau. The party consisted
of twelve persons : Agassiz, Desor, Forbes,
Heath, and two travelers who had begged to
join them, — M. de Chatelier, of Nantes, and
M. de Pury, of Neuchatel, a former pupil of
Agassiz. The other six were guides ; four
beside their old and tried friends, Jacob Leu-
thold and Johann Wahren. They left the hos-
pice of the Grimsel on the 27th of August,
at four o'clock in the morning. Crossing the
Col of the Oberaar they descended to the
snowy plateau which feeds the Viescher gla-
cier. In this grand amphitheatre, walled in
by the peaks of the Viescherhorner, they
rested for their midday meal. In crossing
these fields of snow, while walking with per-
fect security upon what seemed a solid mass,
they observed certain window-like openings in
the snow. Stooping to examine one of them,
they looked into an immense open space,
filled with soft blue light. They were, in fact,
walking on a hollow crust, and the small win-
dow was, as they afterward found, opposite a
large crevasse on the other side of this ice-
cavern, through which the light entered, flood-
DELAY AT THE START. 325
ing the whole vault and receiving from its icy
walls its exquisite reflected color.1
Once across the fields of snow and neve, a
fatiguing walk of five hours brought them to
the chalets of Meril,2 where they expected to
sleep. The night which should have prepared
them for the fatigue of the next day was,
however, disturbed by an untoward accident.
The ladder left by Jacob Leuthold when last
here with Hugi in 1832, nine years before,
and upon which he depended, had been taken
away by a peasant of Viesch. Two messen-
gers were sent in the course of the night to
the village to demand its restoration. The
first returned unsuccessful ; the second was
the bearer of such threats of summary pun-
ishment from the whole party that he carried
his point, and appeared at last with the re-
covered treasure on his back. They had, in
the mean while, lost two hours. They should
have been on their road at three o'clock; it
was now five. Jacob warned them therefore
that they must make all speed, and that any
one who felt himself unequal to a forced
1 The effect is admirably described by M. Desor in his
account of this excursion, Sejours dans les Glaciers, p. 367.
2 Sometimes Moril, but I have retained the spelling of M.
Desor. — E. C. A.
326 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
march should stay behind. No one responded
to his suggestion, and they were presently on
the road.
Passing Lake Meril, with its miniature ice-
bergs, they reached the glacier of the Aletsch
and its snow-fields, where the real difficulties
and dangers of the ascent were to begin. In
this great semicircular space, inclosed by the
Jungfrau, the Monch, and the lesser peaks of
this mountain group, lies the Aletsch reser-
voir of snow or neve*. As this spot presented
a natural pause between the laborious ascent
already accomplished and the immense decliv-
ities which lay before them yet to be climbed,
they named it Le Repos, and halted there for
a short rest. Here they left also every need-
less incumbrance, taking only a little bread
and wine, in case of exhaustion, some meteor-
ological instruments, and the inevitable lad-
der, axe, and ropes of the Alpine climber.
On their left, to the west of the amphitheatre,
a vast passage opened between the Jungfrau
and the Kranzberg, and in this could be dis-
tinguished a series of terraces, one above the
other. The story is the usual one, of more
or less steep slopes, where they sank in the
softer snow or cut their steps in the icy sur-
faces ; of open crevasses, crossed by the lad-
ASCENT OF THE JUNGFRAU. 327
der, or the more dangerous ones, masked by
snow, over which they trod cautiously, tied
together by the rope. But there was nothing
to appall the experienced mountaineer with
firm foot and a steady head, until they reached
a height where the summit of the Jungfrau
detached itself in apparently inaccessible iso-
lation from all beneath or around it. To all
but the guides their farther advance seemed
blocked by a chaos of precipices, either of
snow and ice or of rock. Leuthold remained
however quietly confident, telling them he
clearly saw the course he meant to follow.
It began by an open gulf of unknown depth,
though not too wide to be spanned by their
ladder twenty-three feet in length. On the
other side of this crevasse, and immediately
above it, rose an abrupt wall of icy snow.
Up this wall Leuthold and another guide led
the way, cutting steps as they went. When
half way up they lowered the rope, holding
one end, while their companions fastened the
other to the ladder, so that it served them as
a kind or hand-rail, by which to follow. At
the top they found themselves on a terrace,
beyond which a far more moderate slope led to
the Col of Roththal, overlooking the Aletsch
valley on one side, the Roththal on the other.
328 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
From this point the ascent was more and
more steep and very slow, as every step had
to be cut. Their difficulties were increased,
also, by a mist which gathered around them,
and by the intense cold. Leuthold kept the
party near the border of the ridge, because
there the ice yielded more readily to the
stroke of the axe ; but it put their steadiness
of nerve to the greatest test, by keeping the
precipice constantly in view, except when hid-
den by the fog. Indeed, they could drive
their alpenstocks through the overhanging
rim of frozen snow, and look sheer down
through the hole thus made to the amphithe-
atre below. One of the guides left them, un-
able longer to endure the sight of these prec-
ipices so close at hand. As they neared their
goal they feared lest the mist might, at the
last, deprive them of the culminating moment
for which they had braved such dangers. But
suddenly, as if touched by their perseverance,
says M. Desor, the veil of fog lifted, and the
summit of the Jungfrau, in its final solitude,
rose before them. There was still a certain
distance to be passed before they actually
reached the base of the extreme peak. Here
they paused, not without a certain hesitation,
for though the summit lay but a few feet
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PORTRAIT OF JACOB LEUTHOLD.
From c* portrait by J. Burkhardi.
ON THE SUMMIT. 329
above them, they were separated from it by a
sharp and seemingly inaccessible ridge. Even
Agassiz, who was not easily discouraged, said,
as he looked up at this highest point of the
fortress they had scaled : " We can never
reach it." For all answer, Jacob Leuthold,
their intrepid guide, flinging down every-
thing which could embarrass his movements,
stretched his alpenstock over the ridge as a
grappling pole, and, trampling the snow as he
went, so as to flatten his giddy path for those
who were to follow, was in a moment on the
top. To so steep an apex does this famous
peak narrow, that but one person can stand
on the summit at a time, nor was even this
possible till the snow was beaten down. Re-
turning on his steps, Leuthold, whose quiet,
unflinching audacity of success was conta-
gious, assisted each one to stand for a few
moments where he had stood. The fog, the
effect of which they had so much feared, now
lent something to the beauty of the view from
this sublime foothold. Masses of vapor rolled
up from the Roththal on the southwest, but,
instead of advancing to envelop them, paused
at a little distance arrested by some current
from the plain. The temperature being be-
low freezing point, the drops of moisture in
330 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
this wall of vapor were congealed into ice-
crystals, which glittered like gold in the sun-
light and gave back all the colors of the rain-
bow.
When all the party were once more assem-
bled at the base of the peak, Jacob, whose
resources never failed, served to each one a
little wine, and they rested on the snow before
beginning their perilous descent. Of living
things they saw only a hawk, poised in the
air above their heads ; of plants, a few li-
chens, where the surface of the rock was ex-
posed. It was four o'clock in the afternoon
before they started on their downward path,
turning their faces to the icy slope, and feel-
ing for the steps behind them, some seven
hundred in all, which had been cut in ascend-
ing. In about an hour they reached the
Col of the Roththal, where the greatest diffi-
culties of the ascent had begun and the
greatest dangers of the descent were over.
So elated were they by the success of the day,
and so regardless of lesser perils after those
they had passed through, that they were now
inclined to hurry forward incautiously. Ja-
cob, prudent when others were rash, as he
was bold when others were intimidated, con-
stantly called them to order with his : " Htib-
RETURN TO THE HOSPICE. 331
schle ! nur immer hiibschle ! ' (" Gently ! al-
ways gently ! ")
At six o'clock they were once more at Le
Repos, having retraced their steps in two
hours over a distance which had cost them
six in going. Evening was now falling, but
daylight was replaced by moonlight, and when
they reached the glacier its whole surface
shone with a soft silvery lustre, broken here
and there by the gigantic shadow of some
neighboring mountain thrown black across
it. At about nine o'clock, just as they had
passed that part of the glacier which was, on
account of the frequent crevasses, the most
dangerous, they were cheered by the sound
of a distant jo del. It was the call of a peas-
ant who had been charged to meet them with
provisions, at a certain distance above Lake
Meril, in case they should be overcome by
hunger and fatigue. The most acceptable
thing he brought was his great wooden
bucket, filled with fresh milk. The picture
of the party, as they stood around him in the
moonlight, dipping eagerly into his bucket,
and drinking in turn until they had exhausted
the supply, is so vivid, that one shares their
good spirits and their enjoyment. Thus re-
freshed, they started on the last stage of
332 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
their journey, three leagues of which yet lay
before them, and at half-past eleven arrived
at the chalets of Meril, which they had left at
dawn.
On the morrow the party broke up, and
Agassiz and Desor, accompanied by their
friend, M. Escher de la Linth, returned to
the Grimsel, and after a day's rest there re-
paired once more to the Hotel des Neuchate-
lois. They remained on the glacier until the
5th of September, spending these few last
days in completing their measurements, and in
planting the lines of stakes across the glacier,
to serve as a means of determining its rate
of movement during the year, and the com-
parative rapidity of that movement at certain
fixed points. Thus concluded one of the most
eventful seasons Agassiz and his companions
had yet passed upon the Alps.1
1 Though quoting his exact language only in certain in-
stances, the account of this and other Alpine ascensions de-
scribed above has been based upon M. E. Desor's Sejours
dans les Glaciers. His very spirited narratives, added to my
own recollections of what I had heard from Mr. Agassiz
himself on the same subject, have given me my material. —
E. C. A.
CHAPTER XI.
1842-1843: JET. 35-36.
Zoological Work uninterrupted by Glacial Researches. —
Various Publications. — " Nomenclator Zoologicus." —
" Bibliographia Zoologise et Geologise." — Correspondence
with English Naturalists. — Correspondence with Hum-
boldt. — Glacial Campaign of 1842. — Correspondence
with Prince de Canino concerning Journey to United States.
— Fossil Fishes from the Old Red Sandstone. — Glacial
Campaign of 1843. — Death of Leuthold, the Guide.
ALTHOUGH his glacier work was now so
prominent a feature of Agassiz's scientific
life, his zoological studies, especially his ich-
thyological researches, and more especially his
work on fossil fishes, went on with little inter-
ruption. His publications upon Fossil Mol-
lusks,1 upon Tertiary Shells,2 upon Living and
Fossil Echinoderms,3 with many smaller mon-
ographs on special subjects, were undertaken
1 Etudes Critiques sur les Mollusques Fossiles, 4 nos., 4°, with
100 plates.
2 Iconographie des Coquilles Tertiaires repute'es identiques
sur les vivans, 1 no., 4°, 14 plates.
3 Monographic d'Echinodermes vivans et fossiles, 4 nos., 4°,
with 37 plates.
334 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
and completed during the most active period
of his glacial investigations. More surprising
is it to find him, while pursuing new lines of
investigation with passionate enthusiasm, en-
gaged at the same time upon works seemingly
so dry and tedious as his " Nomenclator Zo-
ologicus," and his " Bibliographia Zoologia3
et Geologic."
The former work, a large quarto volume
with an Index,1 comprised an enumeration of
all the genera of the animal kingdom, with
the etymology of their names, the names of
those who had first proposed them, and the
date of their publication. He obtained the
cooperation of other naturalists, submitting
each class as far as possible for revision to the
leaders in their respective departments.
In his letter of presentation to the library
of the Neuchatel Academy, addressed to
M. le Baron de Charnbrier, President of the
Academic Council, Agassiz thus describes the
Nomenclator.
..." Have the kindness to accept for the
library of the Academy the fifth number of
a work upon the sources of zoological criti-
cism, the publication of which I have just
begun. It is a work of patience, demanding
1 The Index was also published separately as an octavo.
NOMENCLATOR AND BIBLIOGRAPHIA. 335
long and laborious researches. I had con-
ceived the plan in the first years of my stud-
ies, and since then have never lost sight of it.
I venture to believe it will be a barrier against
the Babel of confusion which tends to over-
whelm the domain of zoological synonymy.
My book will be called ' Nomenclator Zoolog-
• 5 ?>
1CUS.
The Bibliographia (4 volumes, 8°) was in
some measure a complement of the Nomen-
clator, and contained a list of all the authors
named in the latter, with notices of their
works. It appeared somewhat later, and was
published by the Ray Society in England, in
1848, after Agassiz had left Europe for the
United States. The material for this work
also had been growing upon his hands for
years. Feeling more and more the impor-
tance of such a register as a guide for stu-
dents, he appealed to naturalists in all parts
of Europe for information upon the scientific
bibliography of their respective countries, and
at last succeeded in cataloguing, with such
completeness as was possible, all known works
and all scattered memoirs on zoology and
geology. Unable to publish this costly but
unremunerative material, he was delighted to
336 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
give it up to the Ray Society. The first
three volumes were edited with corrections
and additions by Mr. H. E. Strickland, who
died before the appearance of the fourth vol-
ume, which was finally completed under the
care of his father-in-law, Sir William Jar-
dine.
The ability, so eminently possessed by Agas-
siz of dealing with a number of subjects at
once, was due to no superficial versatility.
To him his work had but one meaning. It
was never disconnected in his thought, and
therefore he turned from his glaciers to his
fossils, and from the fossil to the living world,
with the feeling that he was always dealing
with kindred problems, bound together by the
same laws. Nowhere is this better seen than
in the records of the scientific society of Neu-
chatel, the society he helped to found in the
first months of his professorship, and to which
he always remained strongly attached, being
a constant attendant at its sessions from 1833
to 1846. Here we find him from month to
month, with philosophic breadth of thought,
treating of animals in their widest relations, or
describing minute structural details with the
skill of a specialist. He presents organized
beings in their geological succession, in their
VARIETY OF RESEARCH. 337
geographical distribution, in their embryonic
development. He reviews and remodels laws
of classification. Sometimes he illustrates the
fossil by the living world, sometimes he finds
the key to present phenomena in the remote
past. He reconstructs the history of the gla-
cial period, and points to its final chapter in
the nearest Alpine valleys, connecting these
facts again with like phenomena in distant
parts of the globe. But however wide his
range and however various his topics, under
his touch they are all akin, all coordinate
parts of a whole which he strives to under-
stand in its entirety. A few extracts from
his correspondence will show him in his dif-
ferent lines of research at this time.
The following letter is from Edward Forbes,
one of the earliest explorers of the deep-sea
fauna. Agassiz had asked him for some help
in his work upon echinoderms.
EDWARD FORBES TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
21 LOTHIAN ST., EDINBURGH, February 13, 1841.
... A letter from vou was to me one of
t/
the greatest of pleasures, and with great de-
light (though, I fear, imperfectly) I have exe-
cuted the commission you gave me. It should
have been done much sooner had not the
VOL. i. 22
338 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
storms been so bad in the sea near this that,
until three clays ago, I was not able to procure
a living sea-urchin from which to make the
o
drawings required. . . . You have made all
the geologists glacier-mad here, and they are
turning Great Britain into an ice-house. Some
amusing and very absurd attempts at opposi-
tion to your views have been made by one or
two pseudo - geologists ; among others, poor
, who has read a paper at the Eoyal So-
ciety here, maintaining that all the appear-
ances you refer to glaciers were caused by
blocks of ice which floated this way in the Del-
uge ! and that the fossils of the pleistocene
strata were mollusks, etc., which, climbing
upon the ice-blocks, were carried to warmer
seas against their will ! ! To my mind, one of
the best proofs of the truth of your views lies
in the decidedly arctic character of the pleis-
tocene fauna, which must be referred to the
glacier time, and by such reference is easily
understood. I mean during the summer to
collect data on that point, in order to present
a mass of geological proofs of your theory.
Dr. Traill tells me you are proposing to
visit England again during the coming sum-
mer. If you do, I hope we shall meet, when
I shall have many things to show you, which
LETTER FROM SIR R. MURCHISON. 339
time did not permit when you were here. I
look anxiously for the forth-coming number
of your history of the Echinodermata. . . .
FROM SIR RODERICK MURCHISON.
June 13, 1842.
. . . Your letters have given me great pleas-
ure : first, in assuring me that your zeal in
ichthyology is undiminished, and that you are
about to give such striking proofs of it to the
British Association ; and next that you still
pursue with enthusiasm your admirable re-
searches upon the glaciers. I should be
charmed to put myself under your guidance
for a walk on the glaciers of the Aar, but I
hardly dare promise it yet. . . . Even were I
to make every haste, I doubt if it be possible
to reach your Swiss meeting in time. It is
just possible that I may find you in your gla-
cial cantonment after your return, but even
this will depend upon circumstances over which
I have no control.
I send this letter to you by my friend, Ad-
miral Sir Charles Malcolm, who passes through
Neuchatel on his way to Geneva. Accom-
panying it is a copy of my last discourse,
which I request you to accept and to read all
parts of it. You will see that I have grappled
340 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
honestly and according to my own faith with
your ice, but have never lost sight of your
great merit. My concluding paragraph will
convince you and all your friends that if I am
wrong it is not from any preconceived no-
tions, but only because I judge from what you
will call incomplete evidence. Your " Venez
voir ! ' ' still sounds in my ears. . . .
Murchison remained for many years an op-
ponent of the glacial theory in its larger appli-
cation. In the discourse to which the above
letter makes allusion (Address at the Anni-
versary Meeting of the Geological Society of
London, 1842 *) is this passage : " Once grant
to Agassiz that his deepest valleys of Switzer-
land, such as the enormous Lake of Geneva,
were formerly filled with snow and ice, and I
see no stopping place. From that hypothesis
you may proceed to fill the Baltic and the
northern seas, cover southern England and half
of Germany and Russia with similar icy sheets,
on the surfaces of which all the northern boul-
ders might have been shot off. So long as the
greater number of the practical geologists of
Europe are opposed to the wide extension of
1 Extract from Report in vol. 33 of the Edinburgh New
Philosophical Journal.
MURCHISON ON THE GLACIAL THEORY. 341
a terrestrial glacial theory, there can be little
risk that such a doctrine should take too deep
a hold of the mind. . . . The existence of
glaciers in Scotland and England (I mean in
the Alpine sense) is not, at all events, estab-
lished to the satisfaction of what I believe to
be by far the greater number of British geolo-
gists."
Twenty years later, with rare candor, Mur-
chison wrote to Agassiz as follows ; by its con-
nection, though not by its date, the extract is
in place here : " I send you my last anniver-
sary address, which I wrote entirely myself;
and I beg you to believe that in the part of it
that refers to the glacial period, and to Europe
as it was geographically, I have had the sin-
cerest pleasure in avowing that I was wrong
in opposing as I did your grand and original
idea of ray native mountains. Yes ! I am now
convinced that glaciers did descend from the
mountains to the plains as they do now in
Greenland."
During the summer of 1842, at about the
O 7
same date with Murchison's letter disclaiming
the glacial theory, Agassiz received, on the
other hand, a new evidence, and one which
must have given him especial pleasure, of the
favorable impression his views were making in
some quarters in England.
342 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
FROM DR. BUCKLAND.
OXFORD, July 22, 1842.
. . . You will, I am sure, rejoice with me
at the adhesion of C. Darwin to the doctrine
of ancient glaciers in North Wales, of which I
send you a copy, and which was communicated
to me by Dr. Tritten, during the late meeting
at Manchester, in time to be quoted by me
versus Murchison, when he was proclaiming
the exclusive agency of floating icebergs in
drifting erratic blocks and making scratched
and polished surfaces. It has raised the gla-
cial theory fifty per cent., as far as relates to
glaciers descending inclined valleys ; but Hop-
kins and the Cantabrigians are still as obsti-
nate as ever against allowing the power of ex-
pansion to move ice along great distances on
horizontal surfaces. . . .
The following is the letter referred to above.
C. DARWIN TO DR. TRITTEN.
Yesterday (and the previous days) I had
some most interesting work in examining the
marks left by extinct glaciers. I assure you,
an extinct volcano could hardly leave more
evident traces of its activity and vast powers.
DARWIN ON ANCIENT GLACIERS. 343
I found one with the lateral moraine quite
perfect, which Dr. Buckland did not see. Pray
if you have any communication with Dr. Buck-
land give him my warmest thanks for having
guided me, through the published abstract of
his memoir, to scenes, and made me under-
stand them, which have given me more de-
light than I almost remember to have experi-
enced since I first saw an extinct crater. The
valley about here and the site of the inn at
which I am now writing must once have been
covered by at least 800 or 1,000 feet in thick-
ness of solid ice ! Eleven years ago I spent a
whole day in the valley where yesterday every-
thing but the ice of the glaciers was palpably
clear to me, and I then saw nothing but plain
water and bare rock. These glaciers have
been grand agencies. I am the more pleased
with what I have seen in North Wales, as it
convinces me that my view of the distribution
of the boulders on the South American plains,
as effected by floating ice, is correct. I am
also more convinced that the valleys of Glen
Roy and the neighboring parts of Scotland
have been occupied by arms of the sea, and
very likely (for in that point I cannot, of
course, doubt Agassiz and Buckland) by gla-
ciers also.
344 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
It continued to be a grief to Agassiz that
Humboldt, the oldest of all his scientific
friends, and the one whose opinion he most
reverenced, still remained incredulous. Hum-
boldt's letters show that Agassiz did not will-
ingly renounce the hope of making him a con-
vert. Agassiz's own letters to Humboldt are
missing from this time onward. Overwhelmed
with occupation, and more at his ease in his
relations with the older scientific men, he had
ceased to make the rough drafts in which his
earlier correspondence is recorded.
HUMBOLDT TO AGASSIZ.
BERLIN, March 2, 1842.
. . . When one has been so long separated,
even accidentally, from a friend as I have
been from you, my dear Agassiz, it is dif-
ficult to find beginning or end to a letter.
The kindly remembrance which you send me
is evidence that my long silence has not
seemed strange to you. ... It would be
wasting words to tell you how I have been
prevented, by the distractions of my life, al-
ways increasing with old age, from acknowl-
edging the admirable things received from
you, — upon living and fossil fishes, echino-
derms, and glaciers. My admiration of your
HUMBOLDTS VIEWS ON ICE PERIOD. 345
boundless activity, of your beautiful intellect-
ual life, increases with every year. This ad-
miration for your work and your bold excur-
sions is based upon the most careful reading
of all the views and investigations, for which
I have to thank you. This very week I have
read with great satisfaction your truly philo-
sophical address, and your long treatise in
Cotta's fourth " Jahresschrift." Even L. von
Buch confessed that the first half of your
treatise, the living presentation of the succes-
sion of organized beings, was full of truth,
sagacity, and novelty.
I in no way reproach you, my dear friend,
for the urgent desire expressed in all your
letters, that your oldest friends should accept
your comprehensive geological view of your
ice-period. It is very noble and natural to
wish that what has impressed us as true
should also be recognized by those we love.
... I believe I have read and compared all
that has been written for and against the ice-
period, and also upon the transportation of
boulders, whether pushed along or carried by
floods or gliding over slopes. My own opin-
ion, as you know, can have no weight or au-
thority, since I have not myself seen the
most decisive points. Indeed I am, perhaps
346 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
wrongly, inclined to look upon all geological
theories as having their being in a mythical
region, in which, with the progress of phys-
ics, the phantasms are modified century by
century. But the " elephants caught in the
ice," and Cuvier's " instantaneous change of
climate," seem to me no more intelligible to-
day than when I wrote my Asiatic fragments.
According to all that we know of the de-
crease of heat in the earth, I cannot under-
stand such a change of temperature in a
space of time which does not also allow for
the decaying of flesh. I understand much
better how wolves, hares, and dogs, should
they fall to-day into clefts of the frozen re-
gions of Northern Siberia (and the so-called
" elephant-ice " is in plain prose only porphy-
ritic drift mixed with ice-crystals, true drift
material), might retain their flesh and mus-
cles. . . . But I am only a grumbling re-
bellious subject in your kingdom. . . . Do
not be vexed with a friend who is more than
ever impressed with your services to geology,
your philosophical views of nature, your pro-
found knowledge of organized beings. . . .
With old attachment and the warmest
friendship, your
A. DE HUMBOLDT.
AGASSIZ TO SIR PHILIP EGERTON. 347
In the same strain is this extract from an-
other letter of Humboldt's, written two or
three months later.
. . . " ' Grace from on high/ says Madame
de Sevigne, ' comes slowly.' I especially de-
sire it for the glacial period and for that fatal
cap of ice which frightens me, child of the
equator that I am. My heresy, of little im-
portance, since I have seen nothing, does not,
I assure you, my dear Agassiz, diminish my
ardent desire that all your observations should
be published. ... I rejoice in the good news
you give me of the fishes. I should pain
you did I add that this work of yours, by the
light it has shed on the organic development
of animals, makes the true foundation of your
glory." . . .
LOUIS AGASSIZ TO SIR PHILIP EGERTON.
NEUCH!TEL, June, 1842.
... I am hard at work on the fishes of the
" Old Red," and will send you at Manchester a
part at least of the plates, with a general sum-
mary of the species of that formation. I aim
to finish the work with such care that it shall
mark a sensible advance in ichthyology. I
hope it will satisfy you. . . . You ask me how
I intend to finish my Fossil Fishes ? As f ol-
348 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
lows : As soon as the number on the species
of the " Old Red ' ' is finished, I shall complete
the general outline of the work as I did with
volume 4, in order that the arrangement and
character of ah1 the families in the four orders
may be studied in their zoological affinities,
with their genera and principal species. But
as this outline can no longer contain the in-
numerable species now known to me, I take
up monographically the species from the dif-
ferent geological formations in the order of
the deposits, and publish as many supple-
ments as there are great formations rich in
fossil fishes. I shall limit myself to the species
described in the body of the work, merely
adding the description of the new species
in each deposit, and such additions as I may
have to make for those already known. In
this way, those who wish to study fossil fishes
from the zoological stand-point can turn to
the work in the original form, while those
who wish to study them in their geological
relations can confine themselves to the sup-
plements. By means of double registers at
the end of each volume, these two distinct
parts of the work will be again united as a
complete whole. This is the only plan I have
been able to devise by which I could publish
NEW HOME ON THE GLACIER. 349
in succession all my materials without burden-
ing my first subscribers, who will thus be free
to accept the supplements or not, as they pre-
fer. Should you have occasion to mention
this arrangement to the friends of fossil ich-
thyology, pray do so ; it seems to me for the
interest of the matter that it should be known.
... I propose to resume with new zeal my
researches upon the fossil fishes as soon as I
return from an excursion I wish to make in
July and August to the glacier of the Aar,
where I hope, by a last visit this year, to con-
clude my labors on this subject. You will be
glad to learn that the beautiful barometer you
gave me has been my faithful companion in
the Alps. ... I have the pleasure to tell you
that the King of Prussia has made me a hand-
some gift of nearly £200 for the continuance
of my glacial work. I feel, therefore, the
greater certainty of completing what remains
for me to do. . . .
The campaign of 1842 opened on the 4th
of July. The boulder had ceased to be a
safe shelter, and was replaced by a rough
frame cabin covered with canvas. If the
party had some regrets in leaving their pic-
turesque hut beneath the rock, the greater
350 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
comfort of the new abode consoled them. It
had several divisions. A sleeping - place for
the guides and workmen was partitioned off
from a middle room occupied by Agassiz and
his friends, while the front space served as
dining-room, sitting-room, and laboratory.
This outer apartment boasted a table and one
or two benches ; even a couple of chairs were
kept as seats of honor for occasional guests.
A shelf against the wall and a few pegs ac-
commodated books, instruments, coats, etc.,
and a plank floor, on which to spread their
blankets at night, was a good exchange for
the frozen surface of the glacier.1
1 In bidding farewell to the boulder which had been the
first " Hotel des Neuchatelois " we may add a word of its
farther fortunes. It had begun to split in 1841, and was
completely rent asunder in 1844, after which frost and rain
completed its dismemberment. Strange to say, during the
last summer (1884) certain fragments of the mass have been
found, inscribed with the names of some of the party; one of
the blocks bearing beside names, the mark No. 2. The ac-
count says : " The middle stone, the one numbered 2, was at
the intersecting point of two lines drawn from the Pavilion
Dollfuss to the Scheuchzerhorn on the one part, and from
the Rothhorn to the Thierberg on the other." According to
the measurements taken by Agassiz, the Hotel des Neuchate-
lois in 1840 stood at 797 metres from the promontory of
Abschwung. We are thus enabled, by referring to the large
glacier map of Wild and Stengel, to compare the present
with the then position of the stone, and thereby ascertain the
progress of the glacier since the time in question. Thus the
SUMMER OF 1842 ON THE GLACIER. 351
Mr. Wild, an engineer of known ability,
was now a member of their party, as a topo-
graphical survey was to be one of the chief
objects of the summer's work. The results of
this survey, which was continued during two
summers, are embodied in the map accom-
panying Agassiz's " Systenie Glaciaire." Ex-
periments upon the extent and connection of
the net-work of capillary fissures that admit-
ted water into the interior of the glaciers, oc-
cupied Agassiz's own attention during a great
part of the summer. In order to ascertain
this, colored liquids were introduced into the
glacier by means of boring, and it was found
that they threaded their way through the mass
of the ice and reappeared at lower points with
astonishing rapidity. A gallery was cut at a
depth of ten metres below the surface, through
a wall of ice intervening between two cre-
vasses. The colored liquid poured into a hole
above soon appeared on the ceiling of the
gallery. The experimenters were surprised to
find that at night the same result was obtained,
and that the liquid penetrated from the surface
to the roof of the gallery even more quickly
boulder still contributes something toward the sequel of the
work begun by those who once found shelter beneath it. —
E. C. A.
352 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
than during the day. This was explained by
the fact that the fissures were then free from
any moisture arising from surface melting, so
that the passage through them was unim-
peded.1
The comparative rate of advance in the
different parts of the glacier was ascertained
this summer with greater precision than before.
The rows of stakes planted in a straight line
across the glacier by Agassiz and Escher de
la Linth, in the previous September, now de-
scribed a crescent with the curve turned to-
ward the terminus of the glacier, showing,
contrary to the expectation of Agassiz, that
the centre moved faster than the sides. The
1 Distrust has been thrown upon these results by the fail-
ure of more recent attempts to repeat the same experiments.
In reference to this, Agassiz himself says : " The infiltra-
tion has been denied in consequence of the failure of some
experiments in which an attempt was made to introduce
colored fluids into the glacier. To this I can only answer
that I succeeded completely myself in the self-same experi-
ment which a later investigator found impracticable, and that
I see no reason why the failure of the latter attempt should
cast a doubt upon the success of the former. The explana-
tion of the difference in the result may perhaps be found in
the fact that as a sponge gorged with water can admit no
more fluid than it already contains, so the glacier, under cer-
tain circumstances, and especially at noonday in summer, may
be so soaked with water that all attempts to pour colored
fluids into it would necessarily fail." — See Geological Sketches,
by L. Agassiz, p. 236.
•
,
I s S . >
SECOND STATION ON THE AAR GLACIER.
MODE OF FORMATION OF CREVASSES. 353
correspondence of the curve in the stratifica-
tion with that of the line of stakes confirmed
this result. The study of the stratification
of the snow was a marked feature of the sea-
son's work, and Agassiz believed, as will be
seen by a later letter, that he had established
this fact of glacial structure beyond a doubt.
The origin and mode of formation of the
crevasses also especially occupied the observ-
ers. On the 7th of August, Agassiz had an
opportunity of watching this phenomenon in
its initiation. Attracted to a certain spot on
the glacier by a commotion among his work-
men, he found them alarmed at the singu-
lar noises and movements in the ice. "I
heard," he says, " at a little distance a sound
like the simultaneous discharge of fire-arms ;
hurrying in the direction of the noise, it was
repeated under my feet with a movement like
that of a slight earthquake ; the ground
seemed to shift and give way under me, but
now the sound differed from the preceding,
and resembled a crumbling of rocks, without,
however, any perceptible sinking of the sur-
face. The glacier actually trembled, never-
theless ; for a block of granite three feet in
diameter, perched on a pedestal two feet high,
suddenly fell down. At the same instant a
VOL. I. 23
354 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
crack opened between my feet and ran rap-
idly across the glacier in a straight line."
On this occasion Agassiz saw three crevasses
formed in an hour and a half, and heard oth-
ers opening at a greater distance from him.
He counted eight new fissures in a space of
one hundred and twenty-five feet. The phe-
nomenon continued throughout the evening,
and recurred, though with less frequency, dur-
ing the night. The cracks were narrow, the
largest an inch and a half in width, and their
great depth was proved by the rapidity with
which they drained any standing water in
their immediate vicinity. "A boring-hole,"
says Agassiz, " one hundred and thirty feet
deep and six inches in diameter, full of water,
was completely emptied in a few minutes,
showing that these narrow cracks penetrated
to great depths."
The summer's work included observations
also on the comparative movement of the gla-
cier during the day and night, on the surface
waste of the mass, its reparation, on the neVe*
and snow of the upper regions, on the merid-
ian holes, the sun-dials of the glaciers, as they
1 Extract from a letter of Louis Agassiz to M. Arago dated
from the Hotel des Neuchatelois, Glacier of the Aar, August
7, 1842.
CONTEMPLATES GOING TO AMERICA. 355
have been called.1 On the whole, the most
important result of the campaign was the
topographical survey of the glacier, recorded
in the map published in Agassiz's second
work on the glacier.
At about this time there begin to be occa-
sional references in his correspondence to a
journey of exploration in the United States.
Especially was this plan in frequent discus-
sion between him and Charles Bonaparte,
Prince of Canino, a naturalist almost as ardent
as himself, with whom he had long been in
intimate scientific correspondence. In April,
1842, the prince writes him : " I indulge my-
self in dreaming of the journey to America in
which you have promised to accompany me.
1 " Here and there on the glacier there are patches of loose
material, dust, sand, or gravel, accumulated by diminutive
water-rills and small enough to become heated during the
day. They will, of course, be warmed first on their eastern
side, then still more powerfully on their southern side, and,
in the afternoon, with less force again, on their western side,
while the northern side will remain comparatively cool.
Thus around more than half of their circumference they
melt the ice in a semicircle, and the glacier is covered with
little crescent-shaped troughs of this description, with a
steep wall on one side and a shallow one on the other, and a
little heap of loose materials in the bottom. They are the
sun-dials of the glacier, recording the hour by the advance
of the sun's rays upon them." — Geological Sketches, by L.
Agassiz, p. 293.
356 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
What a relaxation ! and at the same time
what an amount of useful work ! ' Again, a
few months later, " You must keep me well
advised of your plans, and I, in my turn, will
try so to arrange my affairs as to find my-
self free in the spring of 1844 for a voyage,
the chief object of which will be to show my
oldest son the country where he was born,
and where man may develop free of shackles.
The mere anticipation of this journey is de-
lightful to me, since I shall have you at my
side, and may thus feel sure that it will make
an epoch in science." This letter is answered
from the glacier ; the first part refers to the
Nomenclator, in regard to which he often con-
sulted the prince.
LOUIS AGASSIZ TO THE PRINCE OF CANITSTO.
GLACIER OF THE AAR, September 1, 1842.
... I thank you most sincerely for the
pains you have so kindly taken with my proof,
and for pointing out the faults and omissions
you have noticed in my register of birds. I
made the corrections at once, and have taken
the liberty of mentioning on the cover of this
number the share you have consented to take
in my Nomenclator. I shall try to do better
and better in the successive classes, but you
AGASSIZ TO THE PRINCE OF CANINO. 357
well know the impossibility of avoiding grave
errors in such a work, and that they can be
wholly weeded out only in a second and third
edition. I should have written sooner in an-
swer to your last, had not your letter reached
me on the Glacier of the Aar, where I have
been since the beginning of July, following
up observations, the results of which become
every day more important and more convincing.
The most striking fact, one which I think I
have placed beyond the reach of doubt, is the
primitive stratification of the neVe, or fields
of snow, — stratified from the higher regions
across the whole course of the glacier to its
lower extremity. I have prepared a general
map, with transverse sections, showing how
the layers lift themselves on the borders of
the glacier and also at their junction, where
two glaciers meet at the outlet of adjoining
valleys ; and how, also, the waving lines formed
by the layers on the surface change to sharper
concentric curves with a marked axis, as the
glacier descends to lower levels. For a full
demonstration of the matter, I ought to send
you my map and plans, of which I have, as
yet, no duplicates ; but the fact is incontest-
able, and you will oblige me by announcing
it in the geological section at Padua. M.
358 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Charpentier, who is going to your meeting,
will contest it,, but you can tell him from me
that it is as evident as the stratification of the
Neptunic rocks. To see and understand it
fully, however, one must stand well above the
glacier, so as to command the surface as a
whole in one view. I would add that I am
not now alluding to the blue and white bands
in the ice of which I spoke to you last year ;
this is a quite distinct phenomenon.
I wish I could accept your kind invitation,
but until I have gone to the bottom of the
glacier question and terminated my " Fossil
Fishes," I do not venture to move. It is no
light task to finish all this before our long
journey, to which I look forward, as it draws
nearer, with a constantly increasing interest.
I am very sorry not to join you at Florence.
It would have been a great pleasure for me to
visit the collections of northern Italy in your
company. ... I write you on a snowy day,
which keeps me a prisoner in my tent ; it is
so cold that I can hardly hold my pen, and
the water froze at my bedside last night.
The greatest privation is, however, the lack of
fruit and vegetables. Hardly a potato once
a fortnight, but always and every day, morn-
ing and night, mutton, everlasting mutton,
FOSSIL FISHES AGAIN. 359
and rice soup. As early as the end of July
we were caught for three days by the snow ; I
fear I shall be forced to break up our encamp-
ment next week without having finished my
work. What a contrast between this life and
that of the plain ! I am afraid my letter may
be long on the road before reaching the mail,
and I pause here that I may not miss the
chance of forwarding it by a man who has
just arrived with provisions and is about to
return to the hospice of the Grimsel, where
some trustworthy guide will undertake to de-
liver it at the first post-office.
No sooner is Agassiz returned from the
glacier than we meet him again in the do-
main of his fossil fishes.
LOUIS AGASSIZ TO SIR PHILIP EGERTON.
NEUCHATEL, December 15, 1842.
... In the last few months I have made
an important step in the identification of fos-
sil fishes. The happy idea occurred to me of
applying the microscope to the study of frag-
ments of their bones, especially those of the
head, and I have found in their structure
modifications as remarkable and as numerous
as those which Mr. Owen discovered in the
360 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
structure of teeth. Here there is a vast new
field to explore. I have already applied it to
the identification of the fossil fishes in the
Old Red of Russia sent me for that purpose
by Mr. Murchison. You will find more ample
details about it in my report to him. I con-
gratulate myself doubly on the results ; first,
because of their great importance in paleon-
tology, and also because they will draw more
closely my relations with Mr. Owen, whom I
always rejoice to meet on the same path with
myself, and whom I believe incapable of jeal-
ousy in such matters. . . . The only point
indeed, on which I think I may have a little
friendly difference with him, is concerning the
genus Labyrinthodon, which I am firmly re-
solved, on proofs that seem to me conclusive, to
claim for the class of fishes.1 As soon as I have
time I will write to Mr. Owen, but this need
not prevent you from speaking to him on the
subject if you have an early opportunity to do
so. I am now exclusively occupied with the
fossil fishes, which at any cost I wish to finish
this winter. . . . Before even returning to
my glacier work, I will finish my monograph
of the Old Red, so that you may present it at
1 On seeing Owen's evidence some years later, Agassiz at
once acknowledged himself mistaken on this point.
VARIOUS PUBLICATIONS COMPLETED. 361
the Cork meeting, which it will be impossible
for me to attend. ... I am infinitely grate-
ful to you and Lord Enniskillen for your will-
ingness to trust your Sheppy fishes to me ; I
shall thus be prepared in advance for a strict
determination of these fossils. Having them
for some time before my eyes, I shall be-
come familiar with all the details. When I
know them thoroughly, and have compared
them with the collections of skeletons in the
Museums of Paris, of Leyden, of Berlin, and
of Halle, I will then come to England to see
what there may be in other collections which
I cannot have at my disposal here.
The winter of 1843, apart from his duties
as professor, was devoted to the completion of
the various zoological works on which he was
engaged, and to the revision of materials he
had brought back from the glacier. His hab-
its with reference to physical exercise were
very irregular. He passed at once from the
life of the mountaineer to that of the closet
student. After weeks spent on the snow and
ice of the glacier, constantly on foot and in
the open air, he would shut himself up for a
still longer time in his laboratory, motionless
for hours at his microscope by day, and writ-
362 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
ing far into the night, rarely leaving his
work till long after midnight. He was also
forced at this time to press forward his pub-
lications in the hope that he might have some
return for the sums he had expended upon
them. This was indeed a very anxious pe-
riod of his life. He could never be brought
to believe that purely intellectual aims were
not also financially sound, and his lithographic
establishment, his glacier work, and his costly
researches in zoology had proved far beyond
his means. The prophecies of his old friend
Humboldt were coming true. He was entan-
gled in obligations, and crushed under the
weight of his own undertakings. He began
to doubt the possibility of carrying out his
plan of a scientific journey to the United
States.
AGASSIZ TO THE PRINCE OF CANINO.
NEUCHATEL, April, 1843.
... I have worked like a slave all winter
to finish my fossil fishes ; you will presently
receive my fifteenth and sixteenth numbers,
forwarded two days since, with more than
forty pages of text, containing many new ob-
servations. I shall allow myself no interrup-
tion until this work is finished, hoping there-
AMERICAN JOURNEY IMPOSSIBLE. 363
by to obtain a little freedom, for if my posi-
tion here is not changed I shall be forced to
seek the means of existence elsewhere. Mean-
time, extravagant projects present themselves,
as is apt to be the case when one is in diffi-
culties. That of accompanying you to the
United States was so tempting, that I am bit-
terly disappointed to think that its execution
becomes impossible in my present circum-
stances. All my projects for further publi-
cations must also be adjourned, or perhaps
renounced. . . . Possibly, when my work on
the fossil fishes is completed, the sale of some
additional copies may help me to rise again.
And yet I have not much hope of this, since
all the attempts of my friends to obtain sub-
scriptions for me in France and Russia have
failed : because the French government takes
no interest in what is done out of Paris ; and
in Russia such researches, having little direct
utility, are looked upon with indifference. Do
you think any position would be open to me
in the United States, where I might earn
enough to enable me to continue the publica-
tion of my unhappy books, which never pay
their way because they do not meet the wants
of the world ?
364 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
In the following July we find him again
upon the glacier. But the campaign of 1843
opened sadly for the glacial party. Arriving
at Meiringen they heard that Jacob Leuthold
was ill and would probably be unable to ac-
company them. They went to his house, and
found him, indeed, the ghost of his former
self, apparently in a rapid decline. Neverthe-
less, he welcomed them gladly to his humble
home, and would have kept them for some re-
freshment. Fearing to fatigue him, however,
they stayed but a few moments. As they
left, one of the party pointed to the moun-
tains, adding a hope that he might soon join
them. His eyes filled with tears ; it was his
only answer, and he died three days later. He
was but thirty-seven years of age, and at that
time the most intrepid and the most intelli-
gent of the Oberland guides. His death was
felt as a personal grief by the band of work-
ers whose steps he had for years guided over
the most difficult Alpine passes.
The summer's work continued and com-
pleted that of the last season. On leaving
the glacier the year before they had marked
a net-work of loose boulders, such as travel
with the ice, and also a number of fixed points
in the valley walls, comparing and registering
GLACIAL WORK FOR 18^. 365
their distance from each other. They had
also sunk a line of stakes across the glacier.
The change in the relative position of the two
sets of signals and the curve in their line of
stakes gave them, self-recorded, as it were,
the rate of advance of the glacier as a whole,
and also the comparative rate of progression
in its different parts. Great pains was also
taken durino; the summer to measure the ad-
o
vance in every twenty-four hours, as well as
to compare the diurnal with the nocturnal
movement, and to ascertain the amount of
surface waste. The season was an unfavor-
able one, beginning so late and continuing so
cold that the period of work was shortened.
CHAPTER XII.
1843-1846 : -ET. 36-39.
Completion of Fossil Fishes. — Followed by Fossil Fishes of
the Old Red Sandstone. — Review of the Later Work. —
Identification of Fishes by the Skull. — Renewed Corre-
spondence with Prince Canino about Journey to the United
States. — Change of Plan owing to the Interest of the
King of Prussia in the Expedition. — Correspondence be-
tween Professor Sedgwick and Agassiz on Development
Theory. — Final Scientific Work in Neuchatel and Paris.
— Publication of "Systeme Glaciaire." — Short Stay in
England. — Sails for United States.
IN 1843 the " Recherches sur les Poissons
Fossiles " was completed, and fast upon its foot-
steps, in 1844, followed the author's " Mon-
ograph on the Fossil Fishes of the Old Red
Sandstone, or the Devonian System of Great
Britain and Russia," a large quarto volume of
text, accompanied by forty-one plates. Noth-
ing in his paleontological studies ever inter-
ested Agassiz more than this curious fauna
of the Old Red, so strange in its combinations
that even well-informed naturalists had attrib-
uted its fossil remains to various classes of
the animal kingdom in turn, and, indeed, long
FISHES OF OLD RED SANDSTONE. 367
remained in doubt as to their true nature.
Agassiz says himself in his Preface : " I can
never forget the impression produced upon me
by the sight of these creatures, furnished with
appendages resembling wings, yet belonging,
as I had satisfied myself, to the class of fishes.
Here was a type entirely new to us, about to
reenter (for the first time since it had ceased
to exist) the series of beings ; nor could any-
thing, thus far revealed from extinct creations,
have led us to anticipate its existence. So
true is it that observation alone is a safe guide
to the laws of development of organized be-
ings, and that we must be on our guard against
all those systems of transformation of species
so lightly invented by the imagination."
The author goes on to state that the discov-
ery of these fossils was mainly due to Hugh
Miller, and that his own work had been con-
fined to the identification of their character
and the determination of their relations to the
already known fossil fishes. This work, upon
a type so extraordinary, implied, however, in-
numerable and reiterated comparisons, and a
minute study of the least fragments of the re-
mains which could be procured. The materials
were chiefly obtained in Scotland ; but Sir
Eoderick Murchison also contributed his own
368 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
collection from the Old Red of Russia, and
various other specimens from the same local-
ity. Not only on account of their peculiar
structure were the fishes of the Old Red in-
teresting to Agassiz, but also because, with
this fauna, the vertebrate type took its place
for the first time in what were then supposed
to be the most ancient fossiliferous beds.
When Agassiz first began his researches on
fossil fishes, no vertebrate form had been dis-
covered below the coal. The occurrence of
fishes in the Devonian and Silurian beds
threw the vertebrate type back, as he believed,
into line with all the invertebrate classes, and
seemed to him to show that the four great
types of the animal kingdom, Radiates, Mol-
lusks, Articulates, and Vertebrates, had ap-
peared together.1 "It is henceforth demon-
strated," says Agassiz, "that the fishes were
included in the plan of the first organic com-
binations which made the point of departure
for all the living inhabitants of our globe in
the series of time."
In his opinion this simultaneity of appear-
ance, as well as the richness and variety dis-
played by invertebrate classes from the begin-
1 Introduction to the Poissons Fossiles du Vieux Ores Rouge,
p. 22.
LIVING AND FOSSIL FISHES. 369
ning, made it l " impossible to refer the first
inhabitants of the earth to a few stocks, sub-
sequently differentiated under the influence
of external conditions of existence." . . . He
adds : 2 " I have elsewhere presented my views
upon the development through which the suc-
cessive creations have passed during the his-
tory of our planet. But what I wish to prove
here, by a careful discussion of the facts re-
ported in the following pages, is the truth of
the law now so clearly demonstrated in the
series of vertebrates, that the successive crea-
tions have undergone phases of development
analogous to those of the embryo in its growth
and similar to the gradations shown by the
present creation in the ascending series, which
it presents as a whole. One may consider it
as henceforth proved that the embryo of the
fish during its development, the class of fishes
as it at present exists in its numerous families,
and the type of fish in its planetary history,
exhibit analogous phases through which one
may follow the same creative thought like a
guiding thread in the study of the connection
1 Introduction to the Poissons Fossiles du Vieux Gres Rouge,
p. 21.
2 Introduction to the Poissons Fossiles du Vieux Gres Rouge,
p. 24.
VOL I. 24
370 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
between organized beings." Following this
comparison closely, he shows how the early
embryonic condition of the present fishes is
recalled by the general disposition of the fins
in the fishes of the Old Red Sandstone, and
especially by the caudal fin, making the un-
evenly lobed tail, so characteristic of these
ancient forms. This so called heterocercal
tail is only known to exist, as a permanent
adult feature, in the sturgeons of to-day. The
form of the head and the position of the
mouth and eyes in the fishes of the Old Red
were also shown to be analogous with embry-
onic phases of our present fishes. From these
analogies, and also from the ascendency of
fishes as the only known vertebrate, and there-
fore as the highest type in those ancient de-
posits, Agassiz considered this fauna as repre-
senting " the embryonic age of the reign of
fishes ; ' ' and he sums up his results in conclu-
sion in the following words : " The facts, taken
as a whole, seem to me to show, not only that
the fishes of the Old Red constitute an inde-
pendent fauna, distinct from those of other
deposits, but that they also represent in their
organization the most remarkable analogy with
the first phases of embryonic development in
the bony fishes of our epoch, and a no less
VIEWS OF AGASSIZ ON EVOLUTION. 371
marked parallelism with the lower degrees of
certain types of the class as it now exists on
the surface of the earth."
It has been said by one of the biographers
of Agassiz,1 in reference to this work upon the
fishes of the Old Red Sandstone : " It is dif-
ficult to understand why the results of these
admirable researches, and of later ones made
by him, did not in themselves lead him to sup-
port the theory of transformation, of which
they seem the natural consequence." It is
true that except for the frequent allusion to a
creative thought or plan, this introduction to
the Fishes of the Old Red might seem to be
written by an advocate of the development
theory rather than by its most determined
opponent, so much does it deal with laws of
the organic world, now used in support of
evolution. These comprehensive laws, an-
nounced by Agassiz in his " Poissons Fos-
siles," and afterward constantly reiterated by
him, have indeed been adopted by the writers
on evolution, though with a wholly different
interpretation. No one saw more clearly than
Agassiz the relation which he first pointed
out, between the succession of animals of the
same type in time and the phases of their em-
1 Louis Agassiz : Notice biographique, par Ernest Favre.
372 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
bryonic growth to-day, and he often said, in
his lectures, " the history of the individual is
the history of the type." But the coincidence
between the geological succession, the embry-
onic development, the zoological gradation,
and the geographical distribution of annuals
in the past and the present, rested, according
to his belief, upon an intellectual coherence
and not upon a material connection. So, also,
the variability, as well as the constancy, of
organized beings, at once so plastic and so
inflexible, seemed to him controlled by some-
thing more than the mechanism of self-adjust-
ing forces. In this conviction he remained
unshaken all his life, although the develop-
ment theory came up for discussion under so
many various aspects during that time. His
views are now in the descending scale ; but to
give them less than their real prominence here
would be to deprive his scientific career of its
true basis. Belief in a Creator was the key-
note of his study of nature.
In summing up the comprehensive results
of Agassiz's paleontological researches, and
especially of his " Fossil Fishes," Arnold
Guyot says : l —
" Whatever be the opinions which many
1 See Biographical Memoir of Louis Agassiz, p. 28.
AGASS1Z ON PALEONTOLOGY. 373
may entertain as to the interpretation of some
of these generalizations, the vast importance
of these results of Agassiz's studies may be
appreciated by the incontestable fact, that
nearly all the questions which modern pale-
ontology has treated are here raised and in
great measure solved. They already form a
code of general laws which has become a
foundation for the geological history of the
life-system, and which the subsequent investi-
gations of science have only modified and ex-
tended, not destroyed. Nowhere did the mind
of Agassiz show more power of generalization,
more vigor, or more originality. The discov-
ery of these great truths is truly his work ;
he derived them immediately from nature by
his own observations. Hence it is that all his
later zoological investigations tend to a com-
mon aim, namely, to give by farther studies,
equally conscientious but more extensive, a
broader and more solid basis to those laws
which he had read in nature and which he
had proclaimed at that early date in his im-
mortal work, ' Poissons Fossiles.' Let us not
be astonished that he should have remained
faithful to these views to the end of his life.
It is because he had seen that he believed,
and such a faith is not easily shaken by new
hypotheses."
374 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
LOUIS AGASSIZ TO SIR PHILIP EGERTON.
NEUCHATEL, September 7, 1844.
... I write in all haste to ask for any ad-
dress to which I can safely forward my report
on the Slieppy fishes, so that they may arrive
without fail in time for the meeting at York.
Since my last letter I have made progress in
this kind of research. I have sacrificed all
my duplicates of our present fishes to furnish
skeletons. I have prepared more than a hun-
dred since I last wrote you, and I can now
determine the family, and even the genus, sim-
ply by seeing the skull. There remains noth-
ing impossible now in the determination of
fishes, and if I can obtain certain exotic gen-
era, which I have not as yet, I can make an
osteology of fishes as complete as that which
we possess for the other classes of vertebrates.
Every family has its special type of skull.
All this is extremely interesting. I have al-
ready corrected a mass of inaccurate identifi-
cations established upon external characters ;
and as for fossils, I have recognized and char-
acterized seventeen new genera among the less
perfect undetermined specimens you have sent
me. Several families appear now for the first
time among the fossils. I have been able to
FOSSIL FISHES OF SHEPPY. 375
determine to what family all the doubtful
genera belong ; indeed Sheppy will prove as
rich in species as Mont Bolca. When you
see your specimens again you will hardly
recognize them, they are so changed ; I have
chiseled and cleaned them, until they are al-
most like anatomical preparations. Try to
procure as many more specimens as possible
and send them to me. I cannot stir from
Neuchatel, now that I am so fully in the
spirit of work, and besides it would be a use-
less expense. . . . You will receive with my
report the three numbers which complete my
monograph of the Fishes of the Old Red. I
feel sure, in advance, that you will be satis-
fied with them. . . .
SIR PHILIP EGERTON TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
TOLLY HOUSE, ALNESS, ROSS-SHIRE. ")
September 15, 1844. ]"
... I have only this day received your
letter of the 6th, and I fear much you will
scarcely receive this in time to make it avail-
able. I shall not be able to reach York for
the commencement of the meeting, but hope
to be there on Saturday, September 28th. A
parcel will reach me in the shortest possible
time addressed Sir P. Egerton, Donnington
376 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
Kectory, York. I am delighted with the
bright results of your comparison of the
Sheppy fossils with recent forms. You ap-
pear to have opened out an entirely new
field of investigation, likely to be productive
of most brilliant results. Should any acci-
dent delay the arrival of your monograph for
the York meeting, I shall make a point of
communicating to our scientific friends the
contents of your letter, as I know they will
rejoice to hear of the progress of fossil ich-
thyology in your masterly hands. When
next you come, I wish you could spend a few
days here. We are surrounded on all sides
by the debris of the moraines of the ancient
glaciers that descended the flank of Ben
Wyvis, and I think you would find much to
interest you in tracing their relations. We
have also the Cromarty Fish-beds within a
few miles, and many other objects of geolog-
ical interest. ... I shall see Lord Enniskillen
at York, and will tell him of your success. We
shall, of course, procure all the Sheppy fish
we can either by purchase or exchange. . . .
The pressure of work upon his various pub-
lications detained Agassiz at home during the
summer of 1844. For the first time he was
RENEWED PLANS FOR UNITED STATES. 377
unable to make one of the glacial party this
year, but the work was carried on uninterrupt-
edly, and the results reported to him. Mean-
time his contemplated journey to the United
States flitted constantly before him.
AGASSIZ TO THE PRINCE OF CANIISTO.
NEUCHATEL, November 19, 1844.
. . . Your idea of an illustrated American
ichthyology is admirable. But for that we
ought to have with us an artist clever enough
to paint fishes rapidly from the life. Work
but half done is no longer permissible in
our days. ... In this matter I think there
is a justice due to Rafinesque. However
poor his descriptions, he nevertheless first rec-
ognized the necessity of multiplying genera
in ichthyology, and that at a time when the
thing was far more difficult than now. Sev-
eral of his genera have even the priority over
those now accepted, and I think in the United
States it would be easier than elsewhere to
find again a part of the materials on which
he worked. We must not neglect from this
o
time forth to ask Americans to put us in the
way of extending this work throughout North
America. If you accept me for your collabo-
rator, I will at once do all that I can on my
378 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
side to bring together notes and specimens.
I will write to several naturalists in the United
States, and tell them that as I am to accom-
pany you on your voyage I should be glad to
know in advance what they have done in ich-
thyology, so that we may be the better pre-
pared to profit by our short sojourn in their
country. However, I will do nothing before
having your directions, which, for the sake of
the matter in hand, I should be glad to re-
ceive as early as possible. . . .
The next letter announces a new aspect
of the projected journey. In explanation, it
should be said that finding Agassiz might
be prevented by his poverty from going, the
prince had invited him to be his guest for a
summer in the United States.
AGASSIZ TO THE PRINCE OF CANINO.
NEUCHATEL, January 7, 1845.
... I have received an excellent piece of
news from Humboldt, which I hasten to share
with you. I venture to believe that it will
please you also. ... I had written to Hum-
boldt of our plans, and of your kind offer to
take me with you to the United States, tell-
ing him at the same time how much I regret-
CHANGE OF PLANS FOR UNITED STATES. 379
ted that I should be unable to visit the regions
which attracted me the most from a geolog-
ical point of view, and asking him if it would
be possible to interest the king in this jour-
ney and obtain means from his majesty for a
longer stay on the other side of the Atlantic.
I have just received a delightful and most
unexpected reply. The king will grant me
15,000 francs for this object, so that I shall,
in any event, be able to make the journey.
All the more do I desire to make it in your
society, and I think by combining our forces
we shall obtain more important results ; but I
am glad that I can do it without being a bur-
den to you. Before answering Humboldt, I
am anxious to know whether your plans are
definitely decided upon for this summer, and
whether this arrangement suits you. . . .
The pleasant plan so long meditated was
not to be fulfilled. The prince was obliged
to defer the journey and never accomplished
it. This was a great disappointment to Agas-
siz.
" Am I then to go without you," he writes •
" is this irrevocable ? If I were to defer my
departure till September would it then be pos-
sible for you to leave Home ? It would be
380 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
too delightful if we could make this journey
together. I wish also, before starting, to re-
view everything that has been done of late in
paleontology, zoology, and comparative anat-
omy, that I may, in behalf of all these sciences,
take advantage of the circumstances in which
I shall be placed. . . . Whatever befalls me,
I feel that I shall never cease to consecrate
my whole energy to the study of nature ; its
all powerful charm has taken such possession
of me that I shall always sacrifice everything
to it ; even the things which men usually
value most."
Agassiz had determined, before starting on
his journey, to complete all his unfinished
works, and to put in order his correspondence
and collections, including the vast amount of
specimens sent him for identification or for
his own researches. The task of " setting his
house in order ' ' for a change which, perhaps,
he dimly felt to be more momentous than it
seemed, proved long and laborious. From all
accounts, he performed prodigies of work, but
the winter and spring passed, and the summer
of 1845 found him still at his post.
Humboldt writes him not without anxiety
lest his determination to complete all the tasks
he had undertaken, including the Nornenclator,
LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT. 381
should involve him in endless delays and per-
plexities.
HUMBOLDT TO AGASSIZ.
BERLIN, September 16, 1845.
. . . Your Nomenclator frightens me with
its double entries. The Milky Way must have
crossed your path, for you seem to be dealing
with nebulas which you are trying to resolve
into stars. For pity's sake husband your
strength. You treat this journey as if it
were for life. As to finishing, — alas ! my
friend, one does not finish. Considering all
that you have in your well-furnished brain
beside your accumulated papers, half the con-
tents of which you do not yourself know,
your expression " aufraumen," — to put in
final order, is singularly inappropriate. There
will always remain some burdensome residue,
— last things not yet accounted for. I beg
you, then, not to abuse your strength. Be
content to finish only what seems to you near-
est completion, — the most advanced of your
work.
Your letter reached me, unaccompanied,
however, by the books it announces. They
are to come, no doubt, in some other way.
Spite of the demands made upon me by the
continuation of my " Cosmos," I shall find
382 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
time to read and profit by your introduction to
the Old Red. I am inclined to sing hymns of
praise to the Hyperboreans who have helped
you in this admirable work. What you say
of the specific difference in vertical line and
of the increased number of biological epochs
is full of interest and wisdom. No wonder
you rebel against the idea that the Baltic con-
tains microscopic animals identical with those
of the chalk ! I foresee, however, a new battle
of Waterloo between you and my friend Eh-
renberg, who accompanied me lately, just after
the Victoria festivals, to the volcanoes of the
Eifel with Dechen. Not an inch of ground
without infusoria in those regions ! For Heav-
en's sake do not meddle with the infusoria
before you have seen the Canada Lakes and
completed your journey. Defer them till
some more tranquil period of your life. . . .
I must close my letter with the hope that you
will never doubt my warm affection. Assur-
edly I shall find no fault with any course of
lectures you may give in the new world, nor
do I see the least objection to giving them for
money. You can thus propagate your favor-
ite views and spread useful knowledge, while
at the same time you will, by most honorable
and praiseworthy means, provide additional
funds for your traveling expenses. . . .
LETTER FROM PROFESSOR SEDGWICK. 383
The following correspondence with Profes-
sor Adam Sedgwick is of interest, as showing
his attitude and that of Agassiz toward ques-
tions which have since acquired a still greater
scientific importance.
PROFESSOR ADAM SEDGWICK TO LOUIS AGASSIZ.
TRINITY COLL., CAMBRIDGE, )
April 10, 1845. >
MY DEAR PROFESSOR, — The British Asso-
ciation is to meet here about the middle of
June, and I trust that the occasion will again
bring you to England and give me the great
happiness of entertaining you in Trinity Col-
lege. Indeed, I wish very much to see you ;
for many years have now elapsed since I last
had that pleasure. May God long preserve
your life, which has been spent in promoting
the great ends of truth and knowledge ! Your
great work on fossil fishes is now before me,
and I also possess the first number of your
monograph upon the fishes of the Old Red
Sandstone. I trust the new numbers will fol-
low the first in rapid succession. I love now
and then to find a resting - place ; and your
works always give me one. The opinions of
Geoffrey St. Hilaire and his dark school seem
to be gaining some ground in England. I
384 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
detest them, because I think them untrue.
They shut out all argument from design and
all notion of a Creative Providence, and in so
doing they appear to me to deprive physiology
of its life and strength, and language of its
beauty and meaning. I am as much offended
in taste by the turgid mystical bombast of
Geoffroy as I am disgusted by his cold and
irrational materialism. When men of his
school talk of the elective affinity of organic
types, I hear a jargon I cannot comprehend,
and I turn from it in disgust ; and when they
talk of spontaneous generation and transmuta-
tion of species, they seem to me to try nature
by an hypothesis, and not to try their hypoth-
esis by nature. Where are their facts on
which to form an inductive truth ? I deny
their starting condition. " Oh ! but ' they re-
ply, " we have progressive development in ge-
ology." Now, I allow (as all geologists must
do) a kind of progressive development. For
example, the first fish are below the reptiles ;
and the first reptiles older than man. I say,
we have successive forms of animal life
adapted to successive conditions (so far, prov-
ing design), and not derived in natural suc-
cession in the ordinary way of generation.
But if no single fact in actual nature allows
LETTER FROM PROFESSOR SEDGWICK. 385
us to suppose that the new species and orders
were produced successively in the natural way,
how did they begin ? I reply, by a way out
of and above common known, material nature,
and this way I call creation. Generation and
creation are two distinct ideas, and must be
described by two distinct words, unless we
wish to introduce utter confusion of thought
o
and language. In this view I think you agree
with me ; for I spoke to you on the subject
when we met (alas, ten years since !) at Dub-
lin. Would you have the great kindness to
give me your most valuable opinion on one or
two points ?
(1.) Is it possible, according to the known
laws of actual nature, or is it probable, on
any analogies of nature, that the vast series
of fish, from those of the Ludlow rock and
the Old Red Sandstone to those of our ac-
tual seas, lakes, and rivers, are derived from
one common original low type, in the way of
development and by propagation or natural
breeding ? I should say, no. But my knowl'
edge is feeble and at second-hand. Yours is
strong and from the fountain-head.
(2.) Is the organic type of fish higher now
than it was during the carboniferous period,
when the Sauroids so much abounded? If
VOL. I. 25
386 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
the progressive theory of Geoffroy be true, in
his sense, each class of animals ought to be
progressive in its organic type. It appears to
me that this is not true. Pray tell me your
own views on this point.
(3.) There are " odd fish ' (as we say in
jest) in the Old Red Sandstone. Do these so
graduate into crustaceans as to form anything
like such an organic link that one could, by
generation, come naturally from the other ?
I should say, no, being instructed by your
labors. Again, allowing this, for the sake of
argument, are there not much higher types of
fish which are contemporaneous with the lower
types (if, indeed, they be lower), and do not
these nobler fish of the Old Red Sandstone
stultify the hypothesis of natural generative
development ?
(4.) Will you give me, in a few general
words, your views of the scale occupied by
the fish of the Old Red, considered as a nat-
ural group ? Are they so rudimentary as to
look like abortions or creatures derived from
some inferior class, which have not yet by de-
velopment reached the higher type of fish ?
Again, I should say, no ; but I long for an
answer from a great authority like yours,
am most anxious for a good general concep-
LETTER TO PROFESSOR SEDGWICK. 387
tion of the fish of the Old Red, with reference
to some intelligible scale.
(5.) Lastly, is there the shadow of ground
for supposing that by any natural generative
development the Ichthyosaurians and other
kindred forms of reptile have come from Sau-
roid, or any other type of fish? I believe
you will say, no. At any rate, the facts of
geology lend no support to such a view, for
the nobler forms of Reptile appear in strata
below those in which the Ichthyosaurians, etc.,
are first seen. But I must not trouble you
with more questions. Professor Whewell is
now Master of Trinity College. We shall all
rejoice to see you.
Ever, my dear Professor, your most faithful
and most grateful friend,
A. SEDGWICK.
FROM LOUIS AGASSIZ TO A. SEDGWICK.
NEUCHATEL, June, 1845.
... I reproach myself for not acknowledg-
ing at once your most interesting letter of
April 10th. But you will easily understand
that in the midst of the rush of work conse-
quent upon my preparation for a journey of
several vears' duration I have not noticed the
t/
flight of time since I received it, until to-day,
388 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
when the si^ht of the date fills rae with con-
o
fusion. And yet, for years, I have not re-
ceived a letter which has given me greater
pleasure or moved me more deeply. I have
felt in it and have received from it that vigor
of conviction which gives to all you say or
write a virile energy, captivating alike to the
listener or the reader. Like you, I am pained
by the progress of certain tendencies in the
domain of the natural sciences ; it is not only
the arid character of this philosophy of nature
(and by this I mean, not natural philosophy,
but the " Natur-philosophie " of the Germans
and French) which alarms me. I dread quite
as much the exaggeration of religious fanati-
cism, borrowing fragments from science, im-
perfectly or not at all understood, and then
making use of them to prescribe to scientific
men what they are allowed to see or to find
in Nature. Between these two extremes it is
difficult to follow a safe road. The reason
is, perhaps, that the domain of facts has not
yet received a sufficiently general recognition,
while traditional beliefs still have too much
influence upon the study of the sciences.
Wishing to review such ideas as I had
formed upon these questions, I gave a public
course this winter upon the plan of creation
PLAN IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 389
as shown in the development of the animal
kingdom. I wish I could send it to you, for I
think it might please you. Unhappily, I had
no time to write it out, and have not even
an outline of it. But I intend to work fur-
ther upon this subject and make a book upon
it one of these days. If I speak of it to-day
it is because in this course I have treated all
the questions upon which you ask my opinion.
Let me answer them here after a somewhat
aphoristic fashion.
I find it impossible to attribute the biolog-
ical phenomena, which have been and still are
going on upon the surface of our globe, to the
simple action of physical forces. I believe
they are due, in their entirety, as well as in-
dividually, to the direct intervention of a crea-
tive power, acting freely and in an autonomic
way. ... I have tried to make this intentional
plan in the organization of the animal king-
dom evident, by showing that the differences
between animals do not constitute a material
chain, analogous to a series of physical phe-
nomena, bound together by the same law, but
present themselves rather as the phases of a
thought, formulated according to a definite
aim. I think we know enough of compara-
tive anatomy to abandon forever the idea of
390 LOUIS AGASSI Z.
the transformation of the organs of one type
into those of another. The metamorphoses of
certain animals, and especially of insects, so
often cited in support of this idea, prove, by
the fixity with which they repeat themselves
in innumerable species, exactly the contrary.
In the persistency of these metamorphoses,
distinct for each species and known to repeat
themselves annually in a hundred thousand
species, and to have done so ever since the
present order of things was established on the
earth, have we not the most direct proof that
the diversity of types is not due to external
natural influences ? I have f oUowed this idea
in all the types of the animal kingdom. I
have also tried to show the direct intervention
of a creative power in the geographical dis-
tribution of organized beings on the surface
of the globe when the species are definitely
circumscribed. As evidence of the fixity of
generic types and the existence of a higher
and free causal power, I have made use of a
method which appears to me new as a process
of reasoning. The series of reptiles, for in-
stance, in the family of lizards, shows apodal
forms, forms with rudimentary feet, then with
a successively larger number of fingers until
we reach, by seemingly insensible gradations,
DISTINCT SPECIES. 391
the genera Anguis, Ophisaurus, and Pseudo-
pus, the Chamosauria, Chirotes, Bipes, Sepo,
Seine us, and at last the true lizards. It would
seem to any reasonable man that these types
are the transformations of a single primitive
type, so closely do the modifications approach
each other ; and yet I now reject any such
supposition, and after having studied the facts
most thoroughly, I find in them a direct proof
of the creation of all these species. It must
not be forgotten that the genus Anguis be-
longs to Europe, the Ophisaurus to North
America, the Pseudopus to Dalmatia and the
Caspian steppe, the Sepo to Italy, etc. Now,
I ask how portions of the earth so absolutely
distinct could have combined to form a con-
tinuous zoological series, now so strikingly dis-
tributed, and whether the idea of this develop-
ment could have started from any other source
than a creative purpose manifested in space ?
These same purposes, this same constancy in
the employment of means toward a final end,
may be read still more clearly in the study of
the fossils of the different creations. The
species of all the creations are materially and
genealogically as distinct from each other as
those of the different points on the surface of
the globe. I have compared hundreds of spe-
392 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
cies reputed identical in various successive de-
posits,— species which are always quoted in
favor of a transition, however indirect, from
one group of species to another, — and I have
always found marked specific differences be-
tween them. In a few weeks I will send you
a paper which I have just printed on this sub-
ject, where it seems to me this view is very
satisfactorily proved. The idea of a procrea-
tion of new species by preceding ones is a gra-
tuitous supposition opposed to all sound phys-
iological notions. And yet it is true that,
taken as a whole, there is a gradation in the
organized beings of successive geological for-
mations, and that the end and aim of this
development is the appearance of man. But
this serial connection of all successive creat-
ures is not material ; taken singly these groups
of species show no relation through interme-
diate forms genetically derived one from the
other. The connection between them becomes
evident only when they are considered as a
whole emanating from a creative power, the
author of them all. To your special questions
I may now very briefly reply.
Have fishes descended from a primitive
type? So far am I from thinking this pos-
sible, that I do not believe there is a single
SUCCESSION OF FISHES. 393
specimen of fossil or living fish, whether ma-
rine or fresh-water, that has not been created
with reference to a special intention and a
definite aim, even though we may be able to
detect but a portion of these numerous rela-
tions and of the essential purpose.
Are the present fishes superior to the older
ones ? As a general proposition, I would say,
no ; it seems to me even that the fishes which
preceded the appearance of reptiles in the
plan of creation were higher in certain char-
acters than those which succeeded them ; and
it is a strange fact that these ancient fishes
have something analogous with reptiles, which
had not then made their appearance. One
would say that they already existed in the
creative thought, and that their coming, not
far removed, was actually anticipated.
Can the fishes of the Old Red be considered
the embryos of those of later epochs? Of
course they are the first types of the verte-
brate series, including the most ancient of the
Silurian system ; but they each constitute an
independent fauna, as numerous in the places
where these earlier fishes are found, as the
present fishes in any area of similar extent
on our sea-shore to-day. ^ I now know one
hundred and four species of fossil fish from
394 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
the Old Red, belonging to forty-four genera,
comprised under seven families, between sev-
eral of which there is but little analogy as
to organization. It is therefore impossible to
look upon them as coming from one primitive
stock. The primitive diversity of these types
is quite as remarkable as that of those be-
longing to later epochs. It is nevertheless
true that, regarded as part of the general
plan of creation, this fauna presents itself as
an inferior type of the vertebrate series, con-
necting itself directly in the creative thought
with the realization of later forms, the last of
which (and this seems to me to have been the
general end of creation) was to place man at
the head of organized beings as the key-stone
and term of the whole series, the final point
in the premeditated intention of the primitive
plan which has been carried out progressively
in the course of time. I would even say that I
believe the creation of man has closed creation
on this earth, and I draw this conclusion from
the fact that the human genus is the first
cosmopolite type in Nature. One may even
affirm that man is clearly announced in the
phases of organic development of the animal
kingdom as the final term of this series.
Lastly: Is there any reason to believe that
POPULAR LECTURES IN NEUCHATEL. 395
the Ichthyosaurians are descendants of the
Sauroid fishes which preceded the appearance
of these reptiles ? Not the least. I should
consider any naturalist who would seriously
present the question in this light as incapable
of discussing it or judging it. He would place
himself outside of the facts and would reason
from a basis of his own creating. . . .
In the " Revue Suisse " of April, 1845,
there is a notice of the course of lectures to
which reference is made in the above letter.
" A numerous audience assembled on the
26th of March for the opening of a course by
Professor Agassiz on the ' Plan of Creation.'
It is with an ever new pleasure that our pub-
lic come together to listen to this savant, still
so young and already so celebrated. Not con-
tent with pursuing in seclusion his laborious
scientific investigations, he makes a habit of
communicating, almost annually, to an audi-
ence less restricted than that of the Academy
the general result of some of his researches.
All the qualities to which Mr. Agassiz has
accustomed his listeners were found in the
opening prelude ; the fullness and freedom of
expression which give to his lectures the char-
acter of a scientific causerie ; the dignified
396 LOUIS AGASS1Z.
ease of bearing, joined with the simplicity and
candor of a savant who teaches neither by
aphorisms nor oracles, but who frankly admits
the public to the results of his researches ;
the power of generalization always based upon
a patient study of facts, which he knows how
to present with remarkable clearness in a lan-
guage that all can understand. We will not
follow the professor in tracing the outlines
of his course. Suffice it to say that he in-
tends to show in the general development of
the animal kingdom the existence of a definite
preconceived plan, successively carried out ; in
other words, the manifestation of a higher
thought, — the thought of God. This crea-
tive thought may be studied under three
points of view : as shown in the relations
which, spite of their manifold diversity, con-
nect all the species now living on the surface
of the globe ; in their geographical distribu-
tion ; and in the succession of beings from
primitive epochs until the present condition
of things."
The summer of 1845 was the last which
Agassiz passed at home. It was broken by
a short and hurried visit to the glacier of
the Aar, respecting which no details have
been preserved. He did not then know that
DEPARTURE FROM NEUCHATEL. 397
he was taking a final leave of his cabin among
the rocks and ice. Affairs connected with the
welfare of the institution in Neuchatel, with
which he had been so long connected, still
detained him for a part of the winter, and he
did not leave for Paris until the first week in
March, 1846. His wife and daughters had
already preceded him to Germany, where he
was to join them again on his way to Paris,
and where they were to pass the period of his
absence, under the care of his brother-in-law,
Mr. Alexander Braun, then living at Carls-
ruhe. His son was to remain at school at
Neuchatel.
It was two o'clock at night when he left
his home of so many years. There had been
a general sadness at the thought of his depar-
ture, and every testimony of affection and
respect accompanied him. The students came
in procession with torchlights to give him a
parting serenade, and many of his friends
and colleagues were also present to bid him
farewell. Mr. Louis Favre says in his Me-
moir, " Great was the emotion at Neuchatel
when the report was spread abroad that Agas-
siz was about to leave for a long journey. It
is true he promised to come back, but the New
World might shower upon him such marvels
398 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
that his return could hardly be counted upon.
The young people, the students, regretted
their beloved professor not only for his scien-
tific attainments, but for his kindly disposi-
tion, the charm of his eloquence, the inspira-
tion of his teaching ; they regretted also the
gay, animated, untiring companion of their
excursions, who made them acquainted with
nature, and knew so well how to encourage
and interest them in their studies."
Pausing at Carlsruhe on his journey, he
proceeded thence to Paris, where he was wel-
comed with the greatest cordiality by scien-
tific men. In recognition of his work on the
" Fossil Fishes " the Mouthy on Prize of Phys-
iology was awarded him by the Academy.
He felt this distinction the more because the
bearing of such investigations upon experi-
mental physiology had never before been
pointed out, and it showed that he had suc-
ceeded in giving a new direction and a more
comprehensive character to paleontological
research. He passed some months in Paris,
busily occupied with the publication of the
" Systerne Glaciaire," his second work on the
glacial phenomena. The "Etudes sur les
Glaciers' had simply contained a resume of
all the researches undertaken upon the Al-
SYSTEME GLACIAIRE. 399
pine fields of ice and the results obtained up
to 1840, inclusive of the author's own work
and his wider interpretation of the facts. The
" Systeme Glaciaire ' was, on the contrary, an
account of a connected plan of investigation
during a succession of years, upon a single
glacier, with its geodetic and topographic fea-
tures, its hydrography, its internal structure, its
atmospheric conditions, its rate of annual and
diurnal progress, and its relations to surround-
ing glaciers. All the local phenomena, so far
as they could be observed, were subjected to
a strict scrutiny, and the results corrected by
careful comparison, during five seasons. As
we have seen, and as Agassiz himself says in
his Preface, this band of workers had " lived
in the intimacy of the glacier, striving to draw
from it the secret of its formation and its an-
nual advance." The work was accompanied
by three maps and nine plates. In such a
volume of detail there is no room for pictur-
esque description, and little is told of the
wonderful scenes they witnessed by day and
night, nothing of personal peril and adven-
ture.
This task concluded, he went to England,
where he was to spend the few remaining
days previous to his departure. Among the
400 LOUIS AGASSIZ.
last words of farewell which reached him
just as he was leaving the Old World, little
thinking then that he was to make a perma-
nent home in America, were these lines from
Humboldt, written at Sans Souci : " Be
happy in this new undertaking, and preserve
for me the first place under the head of
friendship in your heart. When you return
I shall be here no more, but the king and
queen will receive you on this ' historic hill '
with the affection which, for so many reasons,
you merit. . . .
" Your illegible but much attached friend,
" A. HUMBOLDT."
So closed this period of Agassiz's life.
The next was to open in new scenes, under
wholly different conditions. He sailed for
America in September, 1846.
BOOKS BY LOUIS AGASSIZ,
Published by
HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN AND COMPANY,
4 PARK STREET, BOSTON;
ii EAST lyTH STREET, NEW YORK.
METHODS OF STUDY IN NATURAL HISTORY.
By Louis AGASSIZ. With Illustrations.
i6mo, $1.50.
CONTENTS:
I. General Sketch of the Early Progress in Natural History.
II. Nomenclature and Classification.
III. Categories of Classification.
IV. Classification and Creation.
V. Different Views respecting Orders.
VI. Gradation among Animals.
VII. Analogous Types.
VIII. Family Characteristics.
IX. The Character of Genera.
X. Species and Breeds.
XI. Formation of Coral Reefs.
XII. Age of Coral Reefs as showing Permanence of Species.
XIII. Homologies.
XIV. Alternate Generations.
XV. The Ovarian Egg.
XVI. Embryology and Classification.
Skillfully planned, and tersely written ; and while embodying
many general hints as to the method by which scientific truth has
been reached, it sketches the history of science in past times.
The knowledge which it imparts so gracefully is of the most
interesting character, and is enforced by apposite and practical
illustration. A more delightful scientific work we have never
chanced to encounter ; and we therefore cordially commend it to
all classes of readers. — New York Albion.
Never before has science been so completely popularized. —
Philadelphia Press.
GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES.
By Louis AGASSIZ. First Series. With Illustrations.
i6mo, $1.50.
CONTENTS:
I. America the Old World.
II. The Silurian Beach.
III. The Fern Forests of the Carboniferous Period.
IV. Mountains and their Origin.
V. The Growth of Continents.
VI. The Geological Middle Age.
VII. The Tertiary Age, and its Characteristic Animals.
VIII. The Formation of Glaciers.
IX. Internal Structure and Progression of Glaciers.
X. External Appearance of Glaciers.
This work has been extensively read and admired for the sim-
plicity and beauty of its style, the vividness of its descriptions of
Nature, and the grandeur of its views of the world's progress.
Professor Agassiz reviews the prominent events of the successive
eras in a manner that cannot fail to charm and instruct the most
unscientific reader. — American Journal of Science.
The style of these essays is clear ; the information such as to
stimulate, as well as enlighten, the mind ; and the illustrations
serve as good aids to the thorough comprehension of the text. —
Boston Transcript.
GEOLOGICAL SKETCHES.
By Louis AGASSIZ. Second Series. i6mo, $1.50.
CONTENTS:
I. Glacial Period.
II. The Parallel Roads of Glen Roy, in Scotland.
III. Ice-Period in America.
IV. Glacial Phenomena in Maine.
V. Physical History of the Valley of the Amazon.
This volume, taken in connection with the first series of " Geo-
logical Sketches," presents in a permanent form, and in their
proper order, all the essays Professor Agassiz wrote in his ma-
turer years on geological and glacial phenomena.
These papers, rich with accumulated stores of scientific lore,
and seeming, in their simple but animated and engaging style, to
be genuine outgrowths of their author's temperament, as well as
of his wisdom, need no recommendation. — Boston Advertiser.
We commend them as giving in popular form the general out-
line and many local details of the glacial theory which Agassiz
elaborated to cosmic proportions from Charpentier's more limited
groundwork, and for which he labored and battled against potent
adversaries during many years, until from a hypothesis he reduced
it to a demonstration. — New York World.
The simple grace of style, the pure and idiomatic English, itself
a model for the student, the clearness of illustration, the certainty
of the author's grasp of his subject, give them a wonderful charm,
even to those who neither know nor care for their subject. Some
men can make any subject interesting to any one. Among these
Professor Agassiz was prominent. — Portland Press.
A JOURNEY IN BRAZIL
By Professor and Mrs. Louis AGASSIZ. With eight
full-page Illustrations and many smaller ones, from
photographs and sketches. 8vo, $5.00.
CONTENTS
I. Voyage from New York to Rio de Janeiro.
II. Rio de Janeiro and its Environs — Juiz de Fora.
III. Life in Rio — Fazenda Life.
IV. Voyage up the Coast to Para.
V. From Para to Manaos.
VI. Life at Manaos — Voyage from Manaos to Tabatinga.
VII. Life in Tefee.
VIII. Return to Manaos — Amazonian Picnic.
IX. Manaos and its Neighborhood.
X. Excursion to Mauhes and its Neighborhood.
XI. Return to Manaos — Excursion on the Rio Negro.
XII. Down the River to Para — Excursions on the Coast.
XIII. Physical History of the Amazons.
XIV. Ceara.
XV. Public Institutions of Rio — Organ Mountains.
XVI. General Impressions of Brazil.
Appendix.
The volume possesses a high degree of interest in the richness
of its details concerning the manners and customs, social life, and
natural scenery, of Brazil, its animated and often picturesque nar-
rative, and the graceful freedom and simplicity of its style. — New
York Tribune.
The narrative is interwoven with some of the more general re-
sults of Prof. Agassiz's scientific observations, especially his in-
quiries into the distribution of the fishes in the greatest hydro-
graphic basin in the world, and the proof of the former existence
of glaciers throughout its extent. The vegetation of the tropics,
seen by Prof. Agassiz from a paleontological point of view, is
drawn in charming pictures by Mrs. Agassiz's pen- — Journal of
Travel and Natural History (London).
A most charming and instructive volume. It will be an indis-
pensable companion for every traveller in Brazil ; and its intrinsic
merits assure for it general favor and circulation. — Pall Mall Ga-
zette.
A more charming volume of travels we have seldom met with.
— Springfield Republican.
It is impossible to give the reader an idea of the wealth in the
volume. — Boston Transcript.
SEASIDE STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY.
By ELIZABETH C. AGASSIZ and ALEXANDER AGASSIZ.
With one hundred and eighty-five Illustrations.
8vo, $3.00.
This beautiful volume is an admirable companion for the sea-
side resident or tourist, especially for all who are capable of pleas-
ure from looking at or studying the life of the sea. Professor
Alexander Agassiz gives the results of his own extended observa-
tions and profound researches, relating to the structure, habits,
growth, development from the embryo, and other characteristics
of New England polyps, jelly-fishes or medusae, and star-fishes,
illustrating his descriptions with numerous artistic figures ; and
Mrs. Agassiz adds to the volume the charm of her graceful pen.
" Seaside Studies in Natural History" is a work for the learned
as well as unlearned, fitted to give all delight and instruction. —
Professor JAMES D. DANA, in American Journal of Science.
LOUIS AGASSIZ:
HIS LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE.
Edited by ELIZABETH C. AGASSIZ. With Portraits and
Illustrations. 2 vols. crown Svo.
This volume gives a full account of Professor _ Agassiz, his
work and writings, and also contains copious selections from his
correspondence. It is the most extended biography of him which
has ever been published.
B. CLARKE & CARRUTH,
Booksellers
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