CHAPTER XX. 



1863-1864 : ^ET. 56-57. 



Correspondence with Dr. S. G. Howe. Bearing of the War 

 on the Position of the Negro Race. Affection for Har- 

 vard College. Interest in her General Progress. Cor- 

 respondence with Emerson concerning Harvard. Glacial 

 Phenomena in Maine. 



AGASSIZ'S letters give little idea of the deep 

 interest he felt in the war between North and 

 South, and its probable issue with reference to 

 the general policy of the nation, and especially 

 to the relation between the black and white 

 races. Although any judgment upon the ac- 

 curacy of its conclusions would now be prema- 

 ture, the following correspondence between 

 Agassiz and Dr. S. G. Howe is nevertheless 

 worth considering, as showing how the prob- 

 lem presented itself to the philanthropist and 

 the naturalist from their different stand-points. 



FROM DR. S. G. HOWE. 



PORTSMOUTH, August 3, 1863. 



MY DEAR AGASSIZ, You will learn by a 

 glance at the inclosed circular the object of 

 the commission of which I am a member. 



