THE BIOGRAPHY OF AGASSIZ 183 
Moreover, at this time she had many family cares out- 
side of her own roof, was taking German lessons, and be- 
fore the biography was completed had formed her connec- 
tion with the “Harvard Annex.” The book was therefore 
only incidental to a life of many claims. At one time she 
hired a room in a house in Felton Street, not far from her 
own, in order to have a place where she might write in abso- 
lute privacy. Her habits of early rising and of working be- 
fore breakfast gave her an advantage; in fact, not requiring 
much sleep she used often on waking in the night to read or 
write as she was disposed, and she habitually kept by her 
bedside the appliances for making tea, so that whenever 
she woke she might have a cup of tea before proceeding to 
her work, without regard to the time. Upon these hours be- 
fore the rest of the household was stirring she relied for the 
accomplishment of her task. In the summer of 1877, for 
instance, she made the following entries in her diary at Na- 
hant: — “July 10. Worked from six to eight a.m.” — “July 
11. Worked before breakfast.” — “July 12. No work after 
eight o’clock.” — “July 23. Upat five; worked till half-past 
seven o’clock. Took eight o’clock boat; various errands in 
town. Returned at ten by narrow gauge railroad. Settled at 
work by twelve o’clock. Pauline and Quin came down in the 
afternoon.” “My work is again at a stand-still,”’ she wrote 
to a friend, “but Iam ready to thank God that life is so full 
of close and tender ties that we are constantly drawn aside 
to minister to each other.” It is not strange that at least 
eight years elapsed between the commencement of the 
book and its publication, although, as is seen from a letter 
quoted below, there was additional reason in Mrs. Agas- 
siz’s judgment for a certain degree of delay. The work 
was executed with characteristic care, and the manuscript 
