PROFESSOR SHALER 



related to this field, and the more than fair 

 beginning of our relations then made was due 

 to the fact that I had some enlargement on that 

 side. So, too, he was pleased to find that I had 

 managed a lot of Latin, Greek, and German 

 poetry, and had been trained with the sword. 

 He completed this inquiry by requiring that I 

 bring my foils and masks for a bout. In this 

 test he did not fare well, for, though not un- 

 trained, he evidently knew more of the Schldger 

 than of the rapier. He was heavy-handed, and 

 lacked finesse. This, with my previous experi- 

 ence, led me to the conclusion that I had struck 

 upon a kind of tutor in Cambridge not known 

 in Kentucky. 



While Agassiz questioned me carefully as to 

 what I had read and what I had seen, he seemed 

 in this preliminary going over in no wise con- 

 cerned to find what I knew about fossils, rocks, 

 animals, and plants; he put aside the offerings 

 of my scanty lore. This ofi'ended me a bit, 

 as I recall, for the reason that I thought I 

 knew, and for a self-taught lad really did know, 

 a good deal about such matters, especially as 

 to the habits of insects, particularly spiders. 



[20] 



