344 A DECADE OF WORK AT HOME.  [1846, 
and go on with us to Philadelphia that evening. We 
shall probably go together to Carlisle, where he has 
something to do with that capital naturalist, Professor 
Baird, and I have to get live Vaccinium brachycerum. 
He will soon return to make ready his lectures here. 
Agassiz is an excellent fellow, and I know you will 
be glad to make his personal acquaintance. I must 
make my stay, such as it can be, at Princeton, on 
my return... . 
9th December, 1846. 
Agassiz lectured first last evening; fine audience ; 
he had a cold; was very hoarse, so that he spoke 
with discomfort to himself, but it went off very well. 
Though he by no means did himself justice, the audi- 
ence seemed well pleased, and the persons I spoke 
with at the time, the most intelligent people, were 
quite delighted and impressed. He has — to- 
day. I expect to hear him again on Friday. 
IT have sixteen proofs of “ Getivrs Ilustrata.” “The 
engraving is clean and neat, but except a few of the 
last, they are not done so well as we expect, and do 
not do justice to the drawings, which, indeed, are 
almost matchless. Prestele has, in some, altered the 
arrangement of the analyses on the plate; conse- 
quently they must be done over again. 
I am clear that Prestele can a what I want, so I 
have given him further instructions, and have raised 
his pay to $2.50 each; increasing my own risk thereby. 
Sprague has discovered some new quiddities about the 
position of the ovule in Ranunculaces. The raphe is 
dorsal in all of them, with pendulous ovules; also in 
Nelumbium. 
He will go on very slowly ; I can’t hurry him. He 
has not yet taken up Croomia. 
