AGASSIZ AT PENIKESE. 133 
AGASSIZ AT PENIKESE. 
OUIS AGASSIZ came to America in 1846, 
while in the height of his European fame. 
He came to America partly because he wished to 
test on this continent his theory of the action of 
ice, partly because he desired to see for himself 
the mighty new land where “ Nature is rich, but 
tools and workmen few, while traditions there are 
none.” ‘He came,” it was said, “in a spirit of 
adventure and curiosity. He stayed because he 
liked a country where he could think ane act as 
he pleased.” 
His associates here were not more wise or more 
learned than his fellow-workers in Europe. He 
found, as others have found in America, many 
things which are crude or ridiculous or stupid. 
But there were other matters for which he cared 
more than for the advantages of European culture. 
He found in America the spirit of progress. He 
found a people not satisfied with present achieve- 
ment, but continually striving for something bet- 
ter. He found that the desire of each generation 
was to know more and to be more than was possi- 
ble with generations preceding. He believed that 
as a teacher in America his influence would be 
tenfold greater than it could possibly be in any of 
the universities of Germany or France. He could 
