40 ELIZABETH GARY AGASSIZ 



also built on a little later. Here in large and small glass re- 

 ceptacles he kept his marine specimens, generally medusae 

 whose soft yet brilliant colors and delicate structure made 

 them an ornamental acquisition in the eyes of Mrs. Agassiz. 

 The doors of the cottage were never shut to guests, old or 

 young, famous or obscure, and the same intimate family 

 intercourse that formed so large an element in the winter'3 

 pleasure knew scarcely a break in the summer. 



An agreeable interlude came in Mrs. Agassiz's life a little 

 more than a year after her marriage. In 1851 Agassiz was 

 called to a professorship in the Medical School at Charles- 

 ton, South Carolina, which demanded lectures only during 

 the three winter months, and since in those days the winter 

 vacation of Harvard extended over six weeks, thus per- 

 mitted him to give his autumn and spring courses at the 

 Lawrence Scientific School. He held this position for two 

 years, when he was obliged to resign it on account of ill 

 health. Mrs. Agassiz was with him during both winters, 

 which, since they brought her lasting friendships, were by 

 no means unimportant in her experience. Southern hospi- 

 tality and attractive surroundings combined to make the 

 conditions congenial. A part of the time was spent on Sul- 

 livan's Island, where a friend, Mrs. Rutledge, had given 

 Agassiz the use of her cottage, which he turned into a labor- 

 atory. He and Mrs. Agassiz were also received with the 

 utmost cordiality by Dr. John E. Holbrook, a well-known 

 scientist, and his gifted wife, who opened to them their 

 country-place, of which Mrs. Agassiz has left a delightful 

 picture in her memoir of Agassiz. "The woods were yellow 

 with jessamine, and the low, deep piazza was shut in by 

 vines and roses; the open windows and the soft air full of 



