150 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. vn. 



Desor apostrophize the little vagabond 1 as soon as 

 he entered into the laboratory : ' But, Gressly, go out 

 directly and get washed ; after that I will make you 

 acquainted with Vogt. ' Gressly with his sympathetic 

 nature, his good temper, his many eccentricities, was 

 the constant target and object of fun for both Desor 

 and Vogt. What he suffered, during the six winters he 

 passed with them, is difficult to imagine. He accepted 

 always with a smile the most cruel practical joke, work- 

 ing quietly at his manuscripts, and cleaning his fossils 

 with his tongue. As soon as the spring was begun, 

 Gressly escaped his martyrdom in the laboratory by 

 going into the field for eight or nine months. There 

 the poor tramp was at least free from the sarcasms of 

 his two persecutors. It must in justice be said that 

 years after, when both Desor and Vogt had attained 

 reputation and social position, they were kind to Gressly. 

 Vogt took him as a companion during a journey to 

 Iceland ; and Desor gave him a room in his house at 

 Neuchatel and at his country house at Combe-Varin, 

 until he was too ill to be taken care of outside of an 

 asylum. 



But Gressly was too much absorbed in geology to be 

 made use of as a clerk. Desor soon found out that if 

 Gressly was ready to be treated as a funny man, he 

 had too much independence and was too learned to be 

 a ' saute-ruisseau," as small clerks in French notary 



J The word is most unjust and inexact, showing that Vogt is not and 

 never was a practical geologist. Gressly was a very steady and persistent 

 observer, and all his explorations were always systematically carried on. 



