34 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. n. 



Christinat, who had always been very fond of Louis 

 since his childhood, came one day and simply put in 

 his hand a sum of money sufficient for a journey to 

 Paris. Helped also by his uncle Mayor of Neuchatel, 

 and his publisher Cotta, he was able to start on his 

 much-desired journey to see Cuvier and enlarge his 

 field of study of " poissons fossiles " in the great collec- 

 tions of Paris. Agassiz never forgot the generosity of 

 Christinat, and after the death of his father he always 

 considered Christinat a second father, feeling for him a 

 true filial love. 



He took "le chemin des ecoliers " for Paris, passing 

 by Stuttgart, Carlsruhe, Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, " to 

 collect," as he says, " for my fossil fishes all the ma- 

 terial I still desired, and to extend my knowledge of 

 geology sufficiently to join, without embarrassment at 

 least, in conversation upon the more recent researches 

 in that department." To be sure, he took with him 

 his draughtsman Dinkel ; but the " zigzag ' journey 

 was made mainly in order to see the Braun family, 

 and more especially Miss Cecilia and his dear classmate 

 and friend, Alexander Braun, the best companion of his 

 student life. Braun was the most reasonable by far 

 .of the trio, Agassiz, Braun, and Schimper ; he was also 

 the most steady and persevering as a student. His 

 knowledge of geology was far superior to the knowl- 

 edge of Agassiz in that branch of natural history; and 

 Agassiz's avowed desire, as it were, to interview Alex- 

 ander Braun on recent researches shows the method 

 constantly used afterward by him for learning and keep- 

 ing himself informed as to the progress and condition 



