PROFESSOR WILDER 



both his kindly spirit and his self-restraint. 

 At one of the lectures he had handed down 

 for inspection a very rare and costly fossil, 

 from the coal-measures, I think; including the 

 matrix, it had about the size and shape of the 

 palm of the hand. He cautioned us not to 

 drop it. When it had reached about the middle 

 of the audience a crash was heard. The precious 

 thing had been dropped by a new and somewhat 

 uncouth assistant whom we will call Dr. X. 

 He hastily gathered up the pieces and rushed 

 out of the room. For a few seconds Agassiz 

 stood as if himself petrified; then, without even 

 an 'Excuse me,' he vanished by the same door. 

 Presently he returned, flushed, gazing ruefully 

 at the fragments in his hand, covered with 

 mucilage or liquid glue. After a pause, during 

 which those who knew him not awaited an 

 explosive denunciation of gaucherie, Agassiz 

 said quietly: 'In Natural History it is not 

 enough to know how to study specimens; it is 

 also necessary to know how to handle them' 

 — and then proceeded with his lecture. ' 



His helpful attitude toward prospective teach- 

 ers was exhibited in the following incidents. 



[38] 



