1 832-35-] SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND. 63 



with the atlas of plates, which at the time rendered rather 

 difficult and confusing the task of those who wanted 

 to follow him. His two friends of Berlin, Leopold von 

 Buch and Alexander von Humboldt, complained of this, 

 and von Buch went so far as to call his method of issu- 

 ing text in fragments from different volumes diabolical. 

 Humboldt, although calling Agassiz, in his letter of the 

 loth of May, 1835, " a great and profound naturalist," 

 and speaking of his "admiration of your eminent 

 works," adds : " I also complain a little, though in all 

 humility ; but I suppose it to be due to the difficulty of 

 concluding any one family of (fossil fishes), when new 

 materials are daily accumulating on your hands. Con- 

 tinue then as before. In my judgment, M. Agassiz 

 never does wrong." To any one who knows how 

 sarcastic and sharp Humboldt was, it is surprising 

 to see him treating Agassiz so tenderly, using circum- 

 locution in admonishing him, and placing the burden 

 of sharpest criticism on his friend von Buch. 



The isolation of Agassiz in a small town, beyond 

 direct intercourse with other naturalists and savants in 

 general, had already begun to tell. If he had been 

 exposed to daily friction with his fellow-naturalists, he 

 would have avoided many mistakes and false steps. 



In July, 1835, Agassiz took his young wife on a visit 

 to her parents at Carlsruhe, and left her there while he 

 went a second time to England, where he remained until 

 the end of October, working hard at descriptions of all 

 the fossil fishes he had collected the previous year, and 

 revising and directing the work of his two artists ; for 



