The Young Author. 



33 



lication in justice to himself and his parents, and 

 concluded to say nothing about it to them until it 

 was completed, then giving his family the surprise 

 that their son while yet a student was a distinguished 

 author. 



It was this work that prompted him to make the 

 following proposition to his father: If during the 

 course of my studies I succeed in making myself 

 known by a work of distinction, will you not then 

 consent that I shall study, at least during one year, 

 the natural sciences alone, and then accept a pro- 

 fessorship of natural history, with the understanding 

 that in the first place, and in the time agreed upon, 

 I shall take my doctor's degree?'* 



To this his father replied : " Let the sciences be 

 the balloon in which you prepare to travel through 

 higher regions, but let medicine and surgery be 

 your parachutes/' All the young author's evenings 

 were devoted to the work on Brazilian fishes, which 

 he wrote in Latin, but the pleasant surprise he had 

 planned came to a sudden ending. Dr. Schintz, who 

 knew what Agassiz was doing, was visiting Lausanne, 

 when meeting the father and uncle of the latter he 

 delighted them with his praises of the young man, 

 who he said was sure to attain fame. Not know- 

 ing that the work was a secret he referred to it in 

 glowing terms, much to the surprise of the father 

 and uncle and to the regret of Agassiz, who soon 

 heard of the disclosure from his brother, who offered 

 congratulations and said : " In all frankness I can 

 assure you that the stoutest antagonists of your 

 natural-history schemes begin to come over to your 



3 



