HOUSEHOLD ARRANGEMENTS. 461 



always delicate in health, had died, and al- 

 though his children were most affectionately 

 provided for in her family and his own, they 

 were separated from each other, as well as 

 from him ; nor did he think it wise to bring 

 them while so young, to America. The pres- 

 ence, therefore, of one who was almost like a 

 brother in sympathy and companionship, was 

 now more than welcome. .His original staff 

 of co-workers and assistants still continued 

 with him, and there were frequent guests be- 

 sides, chiefly foreigners, who, on arriving in a 

 new country, found their first anchorage and 

 point of departure in this little European set- 

 tlement. 



The house stood in a small plot of ground, 

 the cultivation of which was the delight of 

 papa Christinat. It soon became a miniature 

 zoological garden, where all sorts of experi- 

 ments in breeding and observations on the 

 habits of animals, were carried on. A tank 

 for turtles and a small alligator in one corner, 

 a large hutch for rabbits in another, a cage 

 for eagles against the wall, a tame bear and a 

 family of opossums, made up the menagerie, 

 varied from time to time by new arrivals. 



But Agassiz could not be long in any place 

 without beginning to form a museum. When 



