680 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



sympathy and support were of the greatest 

 value to Agassiz during the rest of his life. 

 A later new-comer, and a very important one 

 at the Museum, was Dr. Franz Steindachner, 

 of Vienna, who arrived in the spring of 

 1870 to put in final order the collection of 

 Brazilian fishes, and passed two years in this 

 country. Thus Agassiz's hands were doubly 

 strengthened. Beside having the service of 

 the salaried assistants and professors, the Mu- 

 seum received much gratuitous aid. Among 

 the scientific volunteers were numbered for 

 years FranQois de Pourtales, Theodore Ly- 

 man, James M. Barnard, and Alexander Ag- 

 assiz, while the business affairs of the insti- 

 tution were undertaken by Thomas G. Gary, 

 Agassiz's brother-in-law. The latter had long 

 been of great service to the Museum as col- 

 lector on the Pacific coast, where he had 

 made this work his recreation in the leisure 

 hours of a merchant's life. 1 



Broken as he was in health, it is amazing 

 to see the amount of work done or directed 

 by Agassiz during this convalescent summer 

 of 1870. The letters written by him in this 



1 For the history of the Museum in later times reference 

 is made to the regular reports and publications of the insti- 

 tution. 



