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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-
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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
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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
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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-
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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-