MORE WANDERINGS AND WORK 237 



(Titanideum), but there is not a single person who 

 knows the Alcyonarians enough to pick out anything, 

 and I am out of the question for any such work. Sorry 

 to treat you so shabbily." 



With all his varied interests he had found time to 

 devote himself to his Alma Mater in many ways 

 besides looking after the Museum. When Professor 

 Pickering was appointed Director of the Observatory, 

 Agassiz raised a fund which served as the basis of es- 

 tablishing the department of Astronomy on its present 

 footing. And it was through his influence that the 

 generosity of Mr. T. J. Coolidge took the form of found- 

 ing the Jefferson Physical Laboratory. 



From 1878 to 1884, Agassiz had been a member 

 of the Corporation, a body that controls the affairs of 

 the University. He resigned on the plea of not being 

 able to devote sufficient time to its duties, but in 1886 

 he again accepted the position, feeling he could not re- 

 sist the pressing invitation to serve once more. Of his 

 appointment he writes : " I hope you will not pitch into 

 me for having rejoined the Corporation. The fact is, 

 I could not say no. I have got through my Blake — 

 Calumet responsibility is well off my hands through 



Mr. ; I am getting too old to do much more work 



of my own, and this is the simplest way of helping 

 others and doing my share of public work in something 

 I know all about." 



. It will be noticed that the man who accepted the 

 position on the Corporation because he was too old to do 

 much more work of his own had still most of his scien- 

 tific expeditions ahead of him ; and as for Calumet re- 

 sponsibility being well off his hands, he writes from 



