322 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



as his sympathetic mother urged him to do. Just 

 when the sky was darkest, a letter came from 

 Humboldt, enclosing a check for one thousand 

 francs ! " Consider it," he said, " an advance which 

 need not be paid for years, and which I will gladly 

 increase when I go away or even earlier. It would 

 pain me deeply should the urgency of my request, 

 made in the closest confidence, in short, a trans- 

 action as between two friends of unequal age, 

 be disagreeable to you. I should wish to be pleas- 

 antly remembered by a young man of your charac- 

 ter. Yours, with the most affectionate respect, 

 Alexander Humboldt." 



How delicately offered was this charity in the 

 guise of a loan ! To give is blessed ; to give with- 

 out wounding the recipient is more blessed still ! 



The tender heart of Agassiz was deeply moved. 

 He wrote his mother : " Oh ! if my mother would 

 forget for one moment that this is the celebrated 

 M. de Humboldt, and find courage to write him 

 only a few lines, how grateful I should be to her. 

 I think it would come better from her than from 

 papa, who would do it more correctly, no doubt, 

 but perhaps not quite as I should like." 



She wrote a thankful letter, and the great man 

 replied : " I should scold your son, madame, for 

 having spoken to you of the slight mark of interest 

 I have been able to show him ; and yet, how can I 

 complain of a letter so touching, so noble in senti- 

 ment, as the one I have just received from your 

 hand ? Accept my warmest thanks for it. ... 



