56 



Louis Agassi z. 



they gathered flowers, and while standing among 

 them he explained their secrets to his young pupils, 

 who caught the infection from his beaming eyes and 

 expressive face. Sometimes they had an object 

 lesson on the fruits of the tropics, each child holding 

 a banana, an orange, a lime or some product of 

 foreign soil, after which the objects were eaten, — a 

 convincing and telling ending to the lesson and one, 

 doubtless, eminently satisfactory to the pupils. 



No one thought of Agassiz as an instructor ; he 

 was always the delightful companion, and the end of 

 his talks always came too soon. In speaking of this. 

 Professor Louis Favre once said : They were fete 

 days for the young people, who found in their pro- 

 fessor an active companion, full of spirits, vigour, 

 and gayety, whose enthusiasm kindled in them the 

 sacred fire of science.'' 



The reputation of so successful a teacher could 

 not be confined to Neuchatel, and it was not long 

 before the young instructor began to receive calls 

 from other institutions. Professor Leuckart, who 

 had held the chair of zoology at Heidelberg, was 

 called to Freiburg, and the position was tendered 

 Agassiz, who sent the letter to his friend Humboldt, 

 whose advice he always sought, telling him that his 

 inclination was for various reasons to remain in Neu^ 

 chatel. He hoped to sell his collections to the local 

 society and thus realise money enough to enable him 

 to remain a while in the town where he had received 

 so warm a welcome. Humboldt agreed with him 

 in this decision ; and we find the young teacher de^ 

 dining one of the greatest honours that could have 



