LIFE IX RIO CONTINUED. 97 



given after the true New England fashion. I must say that, 

 if the absolutely uninterrupted attention of an audience is 

 any test of its intelligence, no man could ask a better one 

 than that which Mr. Agassiz has had the pleasure of ad- 

 dressing in Rio de Janeiro. It has also been a great pleasure 

 to him, after teaching for nearly twenty years in English, to 

 throw off the fetters of a foreign tongue and speak again in 

 French. After all, with a few exceptions, a man's native 

 language remains for him the best ; it is the element in 

 which he always moves most at ease. 



The Emperor, with his family, has been present at all 

 these lectures, and it is worthy of note, as showing the 

 simplicity of his character, that, instead of occupying the 

 raised platform intended for them, he caused the chairs 

 to be placed on a level with the others, as if to show that 

 in science at least there is no distinction of rank.* 



June \\tli. To-day has been a festa, but one the sig- 

 nificance of which it is somewhat difficult to understand, 

 so singularly is the religious element mingled with the 

 grotesque and quaint. In the Church it is the feast of 

 Corpus Christi, but it happens to fall on the same date as 

 another festival in honor of St. George, which is kept with 

 all sorts of antique ceremonies. I went in the morning 



with our young friend, Mr. T , to the Imperial chapel, 



where high mass was celebrated, and at the close of the 

 services we had some difficulty in finding our way back 

 to the hotel, before which the procession was to pass, for 

 the street was already draped with all sorts of gay colors 



* Since it was reported in the newspapers that the proceeds of these 

 lectures were devoted to the expedition, it may be well to mention here 

 that they were free, given simply at the request of the Emperor, and open 



to all without charge. 



