LOUIS AGASSIZ. 309 



I have a free hour, as sometimes happens from ten 

 to eleven, I occupy it in making anatomical prepa- 

 rations. . . . From twelve to one I practise fencing. 

 We dine at about one o'clock, after which I walk 

 till two, when I return to the house and to my 

 studies till five o'clock. From five to six we have 

 a lecture from the renowned Tiedemann. After 

 that, I either take a bath in the Neckar, or another 

 walk. From eight to nine I resume my special 

 work, and then, according to my inclination, go to 

 the Swiss Club, or, if I am tired, to bed. I have 

 my evening service and talk silently with you, 

 believing that at that hour you also do not forget 

 your Louis, who thinks always of you." 



At Heidelberg, like Humboldt, Agassiz needed a 

 congenial friend, and found one in Alexander 

 Braun, of Carlsruhe, an ardent lover of botany, 

 afterward Director of the Botanical Gardens in 

 Berlin. He wrote to his parents concerning Agas- 

 siz, " a rare comet on the Heidelberg horizon. . . . 

 Not only do we collect and learn to observe all 

 manner of things, but we have also an opportunity 

 of exchanging our views on scientific matters in 

 general. I learn a great deal from him, for he is 

 much more at home in zoology than I am. He is 

 familiar with almost all the known mammalia, 

 recognizes the birds from far off by their song, and 

 can give a name to every fish in the water. 



" In the morning we often stroll together thro, * 

 the fish market, where he explains to 

 different species. He is going to 



