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- 



