LIFE IN RIO CONTINUED. 97 
given after the true New England fashion. I must say that, 
if the absolutely uninterrupted attention of an audience is 
any test of its intelligence, no man could ask a better one 
than that which Mr. Agassiz has had the pleasure of ad- 
dressing in Rio de Janeiro. It has also been a great pleasure 
to him, after teaching for nearly twenty years in English, to 
throw off the* fetters of a foreign tongue and speak again in 
French. After all, with a few exceptions, a man's native 
language remains for him the best ; it is the element in 
which he always moves most at ease. 
The Emperor, with his family, has been present at all 
these lectures, and it is worthy of note, as showing the 
simplicity of his character, that, instead of occupying the 
raised platform intended for them, he caused the chairs 
to be placed on a level with the others, as if to show that 
in science at least there is no distinction of rank.* 
June l~Lth. To-day has been a festa, but one the sig- 
nificance of which it is somewhat difficult to understand, 
so singularly is the religious element mingled with the 
grotesque and quaint. In the Church it is the feast of 
Corpus Christi, but it happens to fall on the same date as 
another festival in honor of St. George, which is kept with 
all sorts of antique ceremonies. I went in the morning 
with our young friend, Mr. T , to the Imperial chapel, 
where high mass was celebrated, and at the close of the 
services we had some difficulty in finding our way back 
to the hotel, before which the procession was to pass, for 
the street was already draped with all sorts of gay colors 
"* Since it was reported in the newspapers that the proceeds of these 
lectures were devoted to the expedition, it may be well to mention here 
that they were free, given simply at the request of the Emperor, and open 
to all without charge. 
