HOW AGASSIZ TAUGHT 



he was then fifty-two years old, and had passed 

 his constructive period, he still had the look 

 of a young man. His face was the most genial 

 and engaging that I had ever seen, and his 

 manner captivated me altogether. But as I 

 had been among men who had a free swing, 

 and for a year among people who seemed to 

 me to be cold and super-rational, hungry as I 

 doubtless was for human sympathy, Agassiz's 

 welcome went to my heart I was at once his 

 captive. It has been my good chance to see 

 many men of engaging presence and ways, 

 but I have never known his equal. 



As the personal quality of Agassiz was the 

 greatest of his powers, and as my life was 

 greatly influenced by my immediate and endur- 

 ing affection for him, I am tempted to set forth 

 some incidents which show that my swift 

 devotion to my new-found master was not due 

 to the accidents of the situation, or to any 

 boyish fancy. I will content myself with one 

 of those stories, which will of itself show how 

 easily he captivated men, even those of the 

 ruder sort. Some years after we came together, 

 when indeed I was formally his assistant, 



[15] 



