234 LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. ix. 





 touching some points, and that all that he says about 



Agassiz's life in America is absolutely erroneous. He 

 disliked Neuchatel and the Neuchatelois, and most of 

 his indignation was hurled against them through and to 

 the detriment of Agassiz. 



Although Agassiz spent a few days in 1843 on the 

 Aar glacier, his interest in the work going on there 

 was manifestly lessening, and in 1844 he failed to make 

 his usual summer visit. 



In July, 1844, Desor, with the permission of Agassiz, 

 published a very interesting and well written volume, 

 entitled, " Excursions et Sejours dans les Glaciers et 

 les hautes Regions des Alpes, de M. Agassiz et de ses 

 Compagnons de Voyage " (Neuchatel, I2mo). The vol- 

 ume begins with an excellent " Notice sur les Glaciers," 

 by Agassiz, a masterly paper, which gives a scientific 

 turn to the whole work ; the rest is written in a pictur- 

 esque style, and in imitation of the celebrated and popu- 

 lar works of Rudolph Topffer, the artistic and "spiritual* 

 author of the " Nouvelles Genevoises " and the " Voy- 

 ages en zig-zag." 



It was certainly very generous in Agassiz to allow 

 his secretary to publish at this time all his researches 

 on the glaciers and among the Alps ; for it affected the 



/ 



sale of his own " Etudes sur les Glaciers ' (1840) and 



r 



Nouvelles Etudes sur les glaciers actuels ' (1847). 

 The last one, more especially, found no sale at all, 

 everything in it having been anticipated by Desor's 

 publication, which, though not so fully developed, ren- 

 dered Agassiz's work almost superfluous. Desor had 

 taken the lead in the glacial question, and was strug- 



