40 ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 
also built on a little later. Here in large and small glass re- 
ceptacles he kept his marine specimens, generally medusae 
whose soft yet brilliant colors and delicate structure made 
them an ornamental acquisition in the eyes of Mrs. Agassiz. 
The doors of the cottage were never shut to guests, old or 
young, famous or obscure, and the same intimate family 
intercourse that formed so large an element in the winter’s 
pleasure knew scarcely a break in the summer. 
An agreeable interlude came in Mrs. Agassiz’s life a little 
more than a year after her marriage. In 1851 Agassiz was 
called to a professorship in the Medical School at Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, which demanded lectures only during 
the three winter months, and since in those days the winter 
vacation of Harvard extended over six weeks, thus per- 
mitted him to give his autumn and spring courses at the 
Lawrence Scientific School. He held this position for two 
years, when he was obliged to resign it on account of ill 
health. Mrs. Agassiz was with him during both winters, 
which, since they brought her lasting friendships, were by 
no means unimportant in her experience. Southern hospi- 
tality and attractive surroundings combined to make the 
conditions congenial. A part of the time was spent on Sul- 
livan’s Island, where a friend, Mrs. Rutledge, had given 
Agassiz the use of her cottage, which he turned into a labor- 
atory. He and Mrs. Agassiz were also received with the 
utmost cordiality by Dr. John E. Holbrook, a well-known 
scientist, and his gifted wife, who opened to them their 
country-place, of which Mrs. Agassiz has left a delightful 
picture in her memoir of Agassiz. “The woods were yellow 
with jessamine, and the low, deep piazza was shut in by 
vines and roses; the open windows and the soft air full of 
