114 “ELIZABETH CARY AGASSIZ 
scheme was well laid, but I met Ida who told me she 
was coming to pass the day with them here. Of course 
Ishall feign profound astonishment, but it’s perhaps 
as well that I knew, for I was in town today and put a 
few appropriate tributes to the occasion into my bag. 
Pauline came with the children and they were per- 
fectly satisfied with the effect of the surprise and 
never dreamed that it was not complete. Even the 
sponge drops and the plums and the little horn of 
candy did not enlighten them, and Louis said, ‘‘ Well, 
Grandma always does have such good things.” 
A notable event of the next year, 1869, for Mrs. Agassiz 
as well as for Agassiz himself was the Humboldt Celebra- 
tion held in Boston in September under the auspices of the 
Boston Society of Natural History, at which Agassiz was 
invited to deliver the address. 
TO MRS. QUINCY A. SHAW 
Ir your father delivers the address at all as he has 
prepared it, it will be really interesting, I think, and 
from the nature of the subject wholly different from 
anything you have heard him give before. He means 
to have it ready for reading in case of necessity. Still 
I think the whole thing is now so completely in his 
mind that if he is in good mood he will be able to 
throw aside his notes and trust memory and impulse. 
T hope he will, for he speaks with so much passion and 
power, and he does not read well. For the last week, 
we have lived Humboldt together night and day. Hav- 
ing collected all the materials, he has given the whole 
