LOUIS AGASSIZ 33 



travelling companion ' ' all this delight- 

 ful game at Robinson Crusoe was of no 

 avail. He solemnly obtained his par- 

 ents 7 consent, calling travel a step 

 toward a professorship. How it struck 

 his father at first we may see from part 

 of a letter : 



"My dear Louis, . . . our gratifica- 

 tion lacks something. It would be more 

 complete, had you not a mania for 

 rushing full gallop into the future. I 

 have often reproved you for this, and 

 you would fare better, did you pay more 

 attention to my reproof. If it be an in- 

 curable malady with you, at all events 

 do not force your parents to share it. 

 If it be absolutely essential to your hap- 

 piness that you should break the ice of 

 the two poles in order to find the hairs 

 of a mammoth, or that you should dry 

 your shirt in the sun of the tropics, at 

 least wait till your trunk is packed and 

 your passports are signed before you 

 talk with us about it. Begin by reach- 



