The Life and Writings of Agassiz. 5 



Agassiz, as we have already said, though only a student, 

 ranked, at this time, among the scientific men of Munich. A 

 few young men of like spirit gathered round him, forming a 

 small but select circle, who met to discuss scientific subjects. 

 This society soon attracted attention ; it was called the Little 

 Academy ; even the professors gladly took part in it ; and those 

 of the students who had the good fortune to be members of 

 it, remember the lectures read there, as not the least instruc- 

 tive and interesting part of their scientific course. 



Martins was then occupied in publishing his great work 

 on the Natural History of Brazil. He confined himself to the 

 part relating to Botany. His companion, Spix, who was to 

 edit the Zoological portion, had just died, leaving many por- 

 tions of his work unfinished. That relating to Ichthyology 

 in particular, was barely sketched out. An able zoologist 

 was needed to reduce to order the chaos of new species and 

 genera, and to assign to them their true places in the system. 

 Martins cast his eyes upon his young friend Agassiz, to whom 

 he confided the honourable task of elaborating this important 

 part of the work. It appeared in a folio volume in Latin, 

 with numerous plates, making part of the "Travels in Bra- 

 zil." From the time of its appearance, it gained for its au- 

 thor the rank of an eminent naturalist. 



Such occupations necessarily resulted in detaching the 

 young naturalist more and more from his medical studies. 

 His parents, who had already often protested against this too 

 exclusive passion of their son for Natural History, now had 

 recourse to an extreme measure ; they withdrew the moderate 

 allowance which they had hitherto granted him. This was a 

 terrible blow for the young man, who found himself thus at 

 once deprived of all means of subsistence, and obliged to re- 

 nounce what was dearer than all to him, his portfolios ; for 

 his allowance had not only supplied his daily wants, but had 

 also been applied to paying for the services of a young artist 

 named Dinkel, whom he had remarked among the crowd of 

 draughtsmen who fill the streets of Munich, and who, under 

 his guidance, became one of the most skilful painters in this 

 department. 



But, like other passions, the love of science is ingenious in 



