58 ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 



seum, when Mrs. Agassiz, as gracious and inexhaust- 

 ible as her husband, would glide about among the 

 members and where two were studying out the scien- 

 tific drawings in utter hopelessness, would glide up be- 

 hind them and say sweetly, "Oh, I think I am lucky 

 to be able to explain that one drawing, for I happened 

 to be near by when the Professor was explaining it 

 yesterday. I think it represents, etc.," till both the 

 inquirers felt forever armed with knowledge espe- 

 cially when supplied from the lips of a lovely woman. 



It is no wonder that Agassiz once said with deep emotion 

 to his friend, Professor Burt G. Wilder of Cornell Univer- 

 sity, "Without her I could not exist." 



Immediately after the corner stone of the Museum was 

 laid, in June, 1859, Agassiz sailed with Mrs. Agassiz and his 

 younger daughter for a few weeks in Europe, where they 

 made brief visits in Ireland and England upon his scientific 

 friends, the Earl of Enniskillen and Sir Philip Egerton, 

 and at Herbesthal in Rhenish Prussia upon Maximilian 

 Braun, the brother of Cecile Braun, the first wife of 

 Agassiz. The tie that connected Agassiz with her family 

 had been created even before his marriage by his friend- 

 ship with her brother Alexander (later Director of the 

 Botanical Gardens in Berlin), which began in their stu- 

 dent days at Heidelberg, led to his meeting with Cecile, 

 and notwithstanding separation knew no diminution to 

 the end of Agassiz's life. It is significant of Mrs. Agassiz's 

 charm and her power of sympathy that during her stay 

 at Herbesthal the brothers and sister of Cecile Agassiz 

 formed an attachment for her that marked the beginning of 

 a rare and lasting relationship. For long years she regu- 



