62 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



should that be your wish. Having two strings 

 to your bow, you will have the greater facil- 

 ity for establishing yourself. Such is your 

 father's way of thinking as well as mine. . . . 

 Nor are you made to live alone, my child. 

 In a home only is true happiness to be found; 

 there you can settle yourself to your liking. 

 The sooner you have finished your studies, the 

 sooner you can put up your tent, catch your 

 blue butterfly, and metamorphose her into a 

 loving housewife. Of course you will not 

 gather roses without thorns; life consists of 

 pains and pleasures everywhere. To do all 

 the good you can to your fellow-beings, to 

 have a pure conscience, to gain an honorable 

 livelihood, to procure for yourself by work a 

 little ease, to make those around you happy, 

 — that is true happiness ; all the rest but 

 mere accessories and chimeras. . . . 



TO HIS MOTHER. 



Munich, February 3, 1828. 

 . . . You know well to whom you speak, 

 dear mother, and how you must bait your 

 hook in order that the fish may rise. When 

 you paint it, I see nothing above domestic 

 happiness, and am convinced that the height 

 of felicity is to be found in the bosom of your 



