30 LOUIS AGASSIZ 



in Carlsruhe was given up to laborato- 

 ries and other rooms for his sons and their 

 university friends. The situation of the 

 house was beautiful; and the domestic 

 life within it was affectionate, cheerful, 

 and pious. A pleasanter place to pass 

 a vacation could hardly be imagined; 

 and, as Switzerland was too far for 

 Agassiz's finances, he used to go to 

 Carlsruhe as a matter of course. There, 

 when the rush of term time was over, he 

 could work in comparative leisure. 



A letter from another of the student 

 guests says : ' ( Braun' s sisters are simple, 

 quiet girls, without any airs. Both are 

 much interested in natural history, es- 

 pecially as is proper for young ladies 

 in botany; the youngest also in but- 

 terflies." This ladylike curriculum 

 must afterward have been somewhat en- 

 larged. The elder sister, Cecile, was a 

 skilful artist 5 and both before and after 

 her marriage with Agassiz she gave him 

 valuable help in preparing sketches for 



