THE AGASSIZ ASSOCIATION 



283 



no unselfish interest that is broader 

 than an interest in nature. In the rev- 

 erent study of the world in which we 

 live people of all ages, of all races, of 





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all degrees of education, find common 

 ground. Here is found a tie which 

 serves not only to draw people together 

 into new associations, but which also 

 strengthens and ennobles all the pres- 

 ent relations of life. Families united 

 b»y a common interest in minerals, birds 

 or flowers need not fear the divisive ef- 

 fects of whist or football. Schools 

 whose teachers and pupils learn to- 

 gether the lessons of "Nature, the dear 

 old nurse" are free from the ruts of 

 dull routine, and churches whose pas- 

 tors and people duly consider the lilies 

 of the field are not far from the king- 

 dom of heaven. 



Such thoughts as these were in the 

 mind of Louis Agassiz when he ex- 

 pressed the earnest hope that a society 

 for the study of local natural history 

 nrght be established in every town and 

 village. The dictionary tries to con- 

 dense the life of one of the world's 

 great men into two lines: "Agassiz, 

 Jean Louis Rudolph, (1807-73), Swiss 

 naturalist; prof, at Cambridge, Mass." 

 The attempt is a failure. Life cannot 



be expressed in words. If it could be 

 it would have been done by Agassiz's 

 loving and accomplished wife in the 

 two volumes that she wrote in his 

 memory. There is nothing better, and 

 through them we almost see the eager 

 boy, the dutiful son, the patient stu 

 dent, the adventurous explorer, the gen- 

 erous friend, the wise teacher, the pro- 

 found thinker, the prophetic founder of 

 a great museum, the out-wearied la- 

 borer and the folded hands ; but the 

 flash of his kindling eye, the radiant 

 smile, the reverent gesture of his bowed 

 head, the indomitable courage, the 

 keen perception and the loving kind- 

 ness of his noble heart, transcend lan- 

 guage. Every teacher and student 

 should read the book, and every one 

 that can should listen to the words of 

 those yet living who had the privilege 

 of sitting at his feet to learn. 



Prompted by the suggestion of Agas- 

 siz, as recorded by his friend, M. Pour- 

 tales, The Agassiz Association was 

 founded in 1875, in a country school 

 in Lenox, Massachusetts. The use of 

 the name, as symbolic of the origin 

 and purpose of the society, was gen- 

 erously granted by Mrs. Agassiz and 

 her son, Alexander. Branch societies, 

 called "Chapters," were organized rap- 

 idly throughout the United States and 

 foreign countries, until in 1890 more 

 than a thousand little clubs had been 

 formed with a total membership of 

 more than thirty thousand. These 

 clubs varied in number of members 

 from four to two hundred each. The 

 age of members ranged from four to 

 eighty, but the great majority of mem- 

 bers were boys and girls. A large num- 

 ber of competent scientists volunteered 

 to aid the local workers by suggestion 

 and advice. Courses of study by cor- 

 respondence were opened, and com- 

 pleted by about two thousand eager 

 students. 



Agassiz's birthday, May 28, is joy- 

 ously kept by thousands of children 

 as a holiday. They are the boys and 

 girls for a picnic and a tramp! The 

 gleaming hair of the girls, tightly 

 braided and knotted with bright rib- 

 bons, flashes over rocks and rivulets 

 and up the steepest cliffs. At the sound 



