LOUIS AGASSIZ. 31 1 



feared he would not recover. As soon as possible 

 he was removed to Braun's home, and most tenderly 

 cared for. When he became able, he went to his 

 own home, at Orbe. From there he writes to Braun : 

 " I had the good fortune to find at least thirty 

 specimens of Bombinator obstetricans, with the 

 eggs. Tell Dr. Leuckart that I will bring him 

 some, and some for you also. I kept several 

 alive, laid in damp moss ; after fourteen days the 

 eggs were almost as large as peas, and the little 

 tadpoles moved about inside in all directions. The 

 mother stripped the eggs from her legs, and one of 

 the little tadpoles came out, but died for want of 

 water. Then I placed the whole mass of eggs in a 

 vessel filled with water, and behold ! in about an 

 hour some twenty young ones were swimming freely 

 about. I shall spare no pains to raise them, and I 

 hope, if I begin aright, to make fine toads of them 

 in the end. My oldest sister is busy every day in 

 making drawings for me to illustrate their gradual 

 development." 



In the fall of 1827, Agassiz and Braun, after spend- 

 ing a little more than a year at Heidelberg, went to 

 the University of Munich, there meeting Schimper. 

 He wrote home, that from one of his windows he 

 could see " the whole chain of the Tyrolean Alps, 

 as far as Appenzell. ... It is a great pleasure to 

 have at least a part of our Swiss mountains always 

 in sight. To enjoy it the more, I have placed my 

 table opposite the window, so that every time I lift 

 iny head my eyes rest on our dear country." 



