LECTURING TOUR. 581 



had ever undertaken, even in his busiest lec- 

 turing days. He visited all the large cities 

 and some of the smaller towns from Buffalo 

 to St. Louis. While very remunerative, and 

 in many respects delightful, since he was re- 

 ceived with the greatest cordiality, and lec- 

 tured everywhere to enthusiastic crowds, this 

 enterprise was, nevertheless, of doubtful econ- 

 omy even for his scientific aims. Agassiz 

 was but fifty-six, yet his fine constitution be- 

 gan to show a fatigue hardly justified by his 

 years, and the state of his health was already 

 a source of serious anxiety to his friends. 

 He returned much exhausted, and passed the 

 summer at Nahant, where the climate always 

 benefited him, while his laboratory afforded 

 the best conditions for work. If this summer 

 home had a fault, it was its want of remote- 

 ness. He was almost as much beset there, 

 by the interruptions to which a man in his 

 position is liable, as in Cambridge. 



His letters show how constantly during this 

 nominal vacation his Museum and its interests 

 occupied his thoughts. One is to his brother- 

 in-law, Thomas G. Gary, whose residence was 

 in San Francisco, and who had been for years 

 his most efficient aid in obtaining collections 

 from the Pacific Coast. 



