304 LOUIS AGASSIZ. 



urchins coming down the village street, she learned 

 on what errand they had gone. Her anxiety may 

 be imagined. The lake was not less than two 

 miles across, and she was by no means sure that 

 the ice was safe. 



" She hurried to an upper window with a spy- 

 glass, to see if she could descry them anywhere. 

 At the moment she caught sight of them, already 

 far on their journey, Louis had laid himself down 

 across a fissure in the ice, thus making a bridge 

 for his little brother, who was creeping over his 

 back. Their mother directed a workman, an ex- 

 cellent skater, to follow them as swiftly as possi- 

 ble. He overtook them just as they had gained 

 the shore, but it did not occur to him that they 

 could return otherwise than they had come, and he 

 skated back with them across the lake. Weary, 

 hungry, and disappointed, the boys reached the 

 house without having seen the fair or enjoyed the 

 drive home with their father in the afternoon.' 7 



At ten, Louis was sent to a school for boys at 

 Bienne, where, though the children studied nine 

 hours a day, the time was wisely divided between 

 work and play, so that they were kept well and 

 happy. The lad always remembered affectionately 

 his teacher at this school, Mr. Eickly. When the 

 vacations came, Louis and Auguste walked twenty 

 miles home to Motier, and did not find the journey 

 long or tedious. 



At fourteen, Louis left Bienne, having finished 

 his education, as he supposed, prior to entering the 



