TURTLE EGGS FOR AGASSIZ 95 



turtles, as if turtles were the one and only thing of 

 real importance in all the world. 



Turtles are important interesting; so is the late 

 Rev. Zadoc Thompson of Burlington. Indeed any 

 reverend gentleman who would catch turtles for 

 Agassiz must have been interesting. If Agassiz had 

 only put a chapter into his turtle book about him! 

 and as for the Mr. Jenks of Middleboro' (at the end 

 of the quotation) I know that he was interesting; for 

 years later, he was an old college professor of mine. 

 He told me some of the particulars of his turtle contri- 

 butions, particulars which Agassiz should have found 

 a place for in his big book. The preface says merely 

 that this gentleman sent turtles to Cambridge by the 

 thousands brief and scanty recognition. For that 

 is not the only thing this gentleman did. On one 

 occasion he sent, not turtles, but turtle eggs to Cam- 

 bridge broiight them, I should say ; and all there 

 is to show for it, so far as I could discover, is a 

 small drawing of a bit of one of the eggs ! 



Of course, Agassiz wanted to make that drawing, 

 and had to have afresh turtle egg to draw it from. 

 He had to have it, and he got it. A great man, when 

 he wants a certain turtle egg, at a certain time, al- 

 ways gets it, for he gets some one else to get it for 

 him. I am glad he got it. But what makes me sad 

 and impatient is that he did not think it worth while 

 to tell us about the getting of it. 



It would seem, naturally, that there could be noth- 



