FIRST YEARS IN AMERICA 15 



of bathing, when it came time for a swim, their lan- 

 guage was found inadequate to convey the idea, so the 

 invitation was given by waving a bath-towel. 



Agassiz soon imbibed the atmosphere of freedom of 

 his adopted country, and could hardly realize that it 

 ever had been possible for a small boy to be nagged and 

 punished for political opinions. In the fall of 1849 he 

 was sent to the Cambridge High School to prepare for 

 college. This was a famous school in those days ; al- 

 though one of the few schools from which one might 

 enter college, it still made its chief object the education 

 of its pupils. Louis Agassiz gave there an annual course 

 in Natural History, and special attention was paid to 

 instruction in Physics and Chemistry; the small labora- 

 tories being better than those then existing at Harvard. 



Professor Agassiz's little house on Oxford Street must 

 surely have seemed a strange home to the small for- 

 eigner. The household, besides the father, consisted of 

 a dear old artist, Mr. Burkhardt, a young Harvard stu- 

 dent, Mr. Edward King, an old Swiss minister called 

 " Papa Christinat," who was supposed to look after the 

 housekeeping, a bear, some eagles, a crocodile, a few 

 snakes, and sundry other live stock. These last enliv- 

 ened the home life in various ways. Sometimes there 

 was a wild chase to capture the eagles, or a hunt to 

 discover in what corner of the house the snakes had 

 hidden themselves. Once, when there was a large party 

 at dinner, an uncertain and heavy tread was heard upon 

 the cellar stairs, and Bruin, having broken his chain, and 

 broached a cask of wine, lurched into the room. 



This erratic household lasted until the spring of 1850, 

 when Louis Agassiz brought home his second wife, 

 Elizabeth Cary. She established order out of chaos, sent 



