LOUIS AGASSIZ. [CHAP. vm. 



During the five weeks' sojourn of Agassiz and his 

 friends on the glacier of the Aar, from the 8th of 

 August to the loth of September, 1841, many visitors 

 were received besides Forbes. The title of " Hotel des 

 Neuchatelois ' deceived several tourists, who, hearing 

 of it at the Grimsel Hospice, came up expecting to find 

 some establishment like the " Culm Hotel ' on the 

 Rigi. Even a Scotch lady, Mrs. Covan of Edinburgh, 

 in returning from an ascent of the Finsteraarhorn, 

 stopped and was entertained as well as it was possible 

 by Agassiz. Most of these visitors were obliged to 

 return to the Grimsel to find lodging, or to be contented 

 with a corner in the guide's cabin. The hospitality of 

 the " Hotel des Neuchatelois" was reserved for savants 

 or personal friends, such as General de Pfuel, the Prus- 

 sian governor of Neuchatel, Lord Enniskillen of Ireland, 

 the two de Rougemont of Neuchatel, the geologists, 

 Studer and Escher von der Linth, the meteorologist and 

 botanist, Charles Martins, Bravais, Guyot, etc. However, 

 the solidity of the block forming the roof was begin- 

 ning to awaken suspicion ; cracks had become alarm- 

 ingly numerous, and when it rained, the interior of the 

 hotel was almost a pond, with water running in every 

 direction. It was only a question of time when the 

 enormous block would break in pieces, and it was also 

 feared that a sudden move of the glaciers might hasten 

 the catastrophe. So every evening before retiring one 

 of the party used to make the round of the cabin to 

 see that all was right. Although not in immediate 

 danger, it was resolved to abandon the " Hotel des 

 Neuchatelois " and to erect next year a new cabin ; not, 



