554 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



taken here, and the confidence shown in me 

 by those who have at heart the intellectual de- 

 velopment of this country, make my return to 

 Europe impossible for the present ; and, as you 

 have well understood, I prefer to build anew 

 here rather than to fight my way in the midst 

 of the coteries of Paris. Were I offered ab- 

 solute power for the reorganization of the 

 Jardin des Plantes, with a revenue of fifty 

 thousand francs, I should not accept it. I 

 like my independence better." 



The fact that Agassiz had received and 

 declined this offer from the French govern- 

 ment seemed to arouse anew the public inter- 

 est in his projects and prospects here. It was 

 felt that a man who was ready to make an 

 alliance so uncompromising with the interests 

 of science in the United States should not be 

 left in a precarious and difficult position. 

 His collections were still heaped together in 

 a slight wooden building. The fact that a 

 great part of them were preserved in alcohol 

 made them especially in danger from fire. A 

 spark, a match carelessly thrown down, might 

 destroy them all in half an hour, for with 

 material so combustible, help would be un- 

 availing. This fear was never out of his 

 mind. It disturbed his peace by day and his 



