Climbing the Ladder. 41 



was to go to Paris, which was then the centre of scien- 

 tific thought, and finally he determined to make the 

 effort. His uncle came to his rescue financially, ena- 

 bling him to undertake the journey, though under cir- 

 cumstances that were not particularly encouraging. 



Agassiz arrived in Paris with his artist on the 

 i6th of December, 1831, and was more than de- 

 lighted at receiving immediate recognition from 

 some of the eminent savants of the day. Cuvier 

 invited him to his home and introduced him to 

 scientific Paris, which extended to him a warm 

 welcome. He established himself near the Jardin 

 des Plantes and plunged into scientific work with 

 his accustomed ardour. His daily life in Paris 

 is described in a letter written at this time, which 

 shows how indefatigable was his energy. In the 

 morning the clinical lectures occupied his atten- 

 tion, and in the afternoon he visited the Museum 

 of Natural History, remaining there the rest of 

 the day. After dinner he devoted himself to his 

 medical studies, as he had decided to pursue them 

 together with the scientific course. 



From this time on we find Agassiz's life influenced 

 by association with the great minds of Humboldt 

 and Cuvier. The latter recognised at once the 

 genius of the young naturalist and made every effort 

 to aid him, and it was not long before he offered 

 Agassiz and his artist a nook in his own laboratory 

 where he could watch and encourage him. Agassiz 

 was diplomatic, and it may be said had determined 

 upon the conquest of Cuvier before going to Paris. 

 He knew that the eminent scientist was contemplat- 



