8 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. i. 



took naturally to water, like a young duck. All the 

 fishermen became at once very fond of the little fellow, 

 and there was a friendly rivalry among them to get him 

 into their boats and show him how to catch fish. In a 

 relatively short time he became a great favourite, and 

 every one wanted to show the parson's son those neigh- 

 bourly attentions which are of daily occurrence, and form 

 a part, and an important part, of life, among all the 

 country people residing in such isolated places as the 

 Vuly. 



A part of the duty of a minister in Switzerland is to 

 look after the schools and even to take a part, and often 

 not a small one, in the teaching. Parson Agassiz was 

 a very successful and excellent teacher ; indeed, in all 

 his parishes, both at St. Imier and at Metier, and after- 

 ward at Orbe and Concise, his reputation as a teacher 

 was far superior to his reputation as a preacher. 



Louis was by far the best pupil of his father ; for not 

 only did he learn from him the elements, and lay an 

 excellent foundation for his future education, but he 

 caught from him his method of teaching, which was 

 based entirely on the interest he always tried to awaken 

 among his pupils in the subject of study. There is 

 no doubt this was a family inheritance, and that it 

 developed and attained its maximum with Louis. It 

 may be said that Louis Agassiz was born with a true 

 passion for teaching, as truly as that he was born a 

 naturalist. As we shall see, he remained a teacher 

 until the end of his life, changing his subjects of studies 

 quite often, and showing a rather capricious character in 

 many ways, except in his unalterable love of teaching. 



