The Young Author. 



35 



To his artist companion he said when commenting 

 upon young men who wasted their time, I will be 

 a leader of others ; and to his father : Here is my 

 aim and the means by which I propose to carry it 

 out. I wish it may be said of Louis Agassiz that he 

 was the first naturalist of his time, a good citizen, 

 and a good son beloved of those who knew him." 



Agassiz now longed to graduate and embark upon 

 some exploring expedition which would give him a 

 wide field. The work on fishes had attracted the at- 

 tention of naturalists, and, fortified with the commen- 

 dation of his instructors, he appealed to his father to 

 allow him to turn all his energies to natural science 

 and to make his profession that of a scientist. His 

 letter to his father, presenting the various arguments, 

 shows the energy and ambition which animated 

 him. He referred to various expeditions which were 

 about starting, notably that under Humboldt, and 

 expressed a wish to join one. So completely had 

 the idea seized him that for months he had been 

 literally in training for the proposed trip to foreign 

 lands. He even went so far as to train a friend and 

 comrade, William Schimper, as an assistant and 

 hunter, and the two youths passed many happy 

 hours in their imaginary adventures in the cause of 

 science. A skilled taxidermist, he practised in all 

 the other arts that would be required. He frequent- 

 ed a blacksmith's shop to familiarise himself with 

 tools ; practised with the sabre and other weapons, 

 being already a fine fencer. Long walks were taken 

 until he could travel for thirteen leagues a day for 

 a week in summer, carrying a heavy load, all to 



