Agassiz. 253 



America." A new and difficult field in Natural His- 

 tory lay open before them, demanding close investi- 

 gation and patient experiment. But such toil was 

 congenial to these ardent students of the Book of 

 Nature ; and their labors were lightened by com- 

 panionship and sympathy. Whose eye but the 

 Omniscient could see the gathering cloud, and who 

 dreamed that before the last number of the first 

 volume was published, the work-day of life for the 

 gifted Audubon would be ended. But so it was. 



The plates for the "Quadrupeds" were provided 

 for ; John Audubon painted the animals and Victor 

 the landscapes and other backgrounds, and Miss 

 Martin continued to contribute Southern flowers, 

 etc. ; but without Audubon, Bachman stood alone 

 in the letter-press, for the sons of Audubon were 

 artists, and not naturalists. Under these circum- 

 stances, Dr. Bachman hailed with delight the arrival 

 in Charleston of Professor Louis Agassiz, the dis- 

 tinguished Naturalist, at that time Professor of 

 Natural History in Harvard College. 



Bachman had followed with deep interest, the 

 laborious investigations of Agassiz among the lower 

 animals, and was under the impression that he had 

 also studied the Mammalia with equal care. Agassiz, 

 with his accustomed truthfulness and candor, unde- 

 ceived him. It was a great disappointment to him, 

 for in the publication of the Quadrupeds he sorely 

 felt the need of consultation with other scientists. 



