LETTER TO M. COULON. 197 



toasts, not only for the hero of the feast and 

 for friends far and near, but for the progress 

 of science, the liberty of the people, and the 

 independence of nations. There could be no 

 meeting of ardent young Germans and Swiss 

 in those days without some mingling of pa- 

 triotic aspirations with the sentiment of the 

 hour. 



The friendly correspondence between Agas- 

 siz and M. Coulon regarding the professorship 

 at Neuchatel was now rapidly bringing the 

 matter to a happy conclusion. 



AGASSIZ TO LOUIS COULON. 



PARIS, June 4, 1832. 



I have received your kind letter with great 

 pleasure and hasten to reply. What you write 

 gives me the more satisfaction because it 

 opens to me in the near future the hope of 

 establishing myself in your neighborhood and 

 devoting to my country the fruits of my labor. 

 It is true, as you suppose, that the death of 

 M. Cuvier has sensibly changed my position ; 

 indeed, I have already been asked to continue 

 his work on fishes in connection with M. Va- 

 lenciennes, who made me this proposition the 

 day after your letter reached me. The condi- 

 tions offered me are, indeed, very tempting, 



