A GASSIZ A T PENIKESE. 1 3 3 



AGASSIZ AT PENIKESE. 



T GUIS AGASSIZ came to America in 1846, 

 -L' while in the height of his European fame. 

 He came to America partly because he wished to 

 test on this continent his theory of the action of 

 ice, partly because he desired to see for himself 

 the mighty new land where " Nature is rich, but 

 tools and workmen few, while traditions there are 

 none." " He came," it was said, " in a spirit of 

 adventure and curiosity. He stayed because he 

 liked a country where he could think and act as 

 he pleased." 



His associates here were not more wise or more 

 learned than his fellow-workers in Europe. He 

 found, as others have found in America, many 

 things which are crude or ridiculous or stupid. 

 But there were other matters for which he cared 

 more than for the advantages of European culture. 

 He found in America the spirit of progress. He 

 found a people not satisfied with present achieve- 

 ment, but continually striving for something bet- 

 ter. He found that the desire of each generation 

 was to know more and to be more than was possi- 

 ble with generations preceding. He believed that 

 as a teacher in America his influence would be 

 tenfold greater than it could possibly be in any of 

 the universities of Germany or France. He could 



