COOPER 



an air of sagacity. But it was the magnificent, fas- 

 cinating eyes, young, kindly, and searching, that 

 above all gave life to that animated countenance. 

 To those eyes nothing was commonplace. 1 



Agassiz spoke French with a slight drawl 

 characteristic of the section of Switzerland in 

 which he was born. When he came to America 

 in 1846, he rapidly acquired a command of 

 English, and he eventually wrote and spoke 

 the language with great facility, though his 

 speech never ceased to betray his foreign origin. 2 



1 Compare Clara Conant Gilson, ' Agassiz at Cambridge,' 

 in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, December, 1891: 'He was 

 a man of fine figure and striking appearance, not too much 

 of the embonpoint, not too tall, but just tall enough to consti- 

 tute a finely developed physique. His head was grand, of 

 perfect intellectual shape, and commanded your admiration 

 as you gazed. He was but sh'ghtly bald, his hair was of a 

 beautiful brown, soft and fine, and fell lovingly over the 

 collar of his coat. His face was of well-rounded contour, 

 with a large, expressive mouth, and features indicative of 

 great character and decision. His eyes were the feature of 

 his face, par excellence. They were of a beautiful bright 

 brown, full of tenderness, of meaning and earnestness a 

 liquid brown eye, that would moisten with tears of emotion 

 as thoughts of his Creator came rushing to mind, while he 

 traced His footsteps in the sciences he studied. His eyes 

 mirrored his soul. I think there was never but one pair of 

 eyes such as Professor Louis Agassiz's.' 



2 See Clara Conant Gilson, in the article just cited : He had 



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