ii2 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. vi. 



reader who is a French scholar. First, it is astonish- 

 ing to see so great a number of words italicized. In no 

 one of his papers, before or since, did Agassiz use 

 this mode of attracting attention to special points. It 

 shows how excited he was, and how desirous to impress 

 on his listeners and readers several points, considered 

 by him of paramount importance in the glacial question. 

 As a rule, Agassiz shunned such a way of securing 

 attention. He was a good writer, and made excellent 

 use of French, which remained his favourite language 

 until the end of his life. However, it is easy to detect 

 in this address of Neuchatel a certain number of Ger- 

 manisms, due to his long residences in southern Germany. 

 Discussions of great earnestness followed, in which 

 all the naturalists present joined; and although Agassiz 

 displayed a rare talent for exposition, he succeeded 

 only in attracting attention to the practical part of his 

 address. With his keen eyes, he immediately perceived 

 the bad impression made by his theoretical views, and 

 if he did not drop them at once, it was only because it 

 was so hard for him to admit a mistake ; having once 

 proclaimed his views and opinions on any subject, he 

 was always most persistent in maintaining them. How- 

 ever, in this case he recalls his theory only once, at the 



/ 



end of his volume " Etudes sur les glaciers," p. 328, 

 1840, and never mentions it again in any of his papers 

 or addresses. 



r 



Elie de Beaumont, who arrived the day after the 

 meeting was over, joined von Btich in his opposition, 

 and the two, with their Italian friend, de Collegno, were 

 much excited and painfully affected. . Von Buch, who 



