32 LOUIS AGASSIZ 



him, but longed in vain. There was one 

 pet plan of the Cloverleaf which re- 

 mained a mere castle in the air. All 

 three of the young men wanted to travel 

 in distant countries. Was not the world 

 the greatest of all museums, in which as 

 yet they knew only one room f 



Humboldt's travels had fired all the 

 young naturalists of the day. Charles 

 Darwin as well as Agassiz speaks of read- 

 ing and re-reading Humboldt's Narra- 

 tive, and of the longings it aroused. But 

 Agassiz was not so fortunate as to find 

 any Beagle which would have him at a 

 gift, though he tried for at least three of 

 the scientific expeditions which were fit- 

 ting out while he was a student. His 

 preparations for the chance that never 

 came, skinning and pickling animals, 

 "even very large ones/' practising with 

 axe, hammer, and sabre, swimming, 

 making forced marches, keeping himself 

 always ready to start at a day's notice, 

 and finally "training a young friend as 



