The Young Teacher. 57 



been bestowed upon him at this time, as the offer of 

 a university of the standing of Heidelberg meant 

 that the person to whom the tender was made was 

 considered second to none. 



Agassiz continued his work in Neuchatel until 

 the close application resulted in practical blindness. 

 His eyes gave out, and for weeks he feared that he 

 would become blind. While sitting in the darkened 

 room, he prepared himself for this possible fate by 

 practising daily touching fossils until he developed 

 such a delicate sense of feeling that he was confident 

 that if he lost his eyesight he could carry on his 

 scientific work by the sense of touch alone. 



It was during his recovery from this affliction that 

 Agassiz married Cecile Braun, the sister of his friend 

 and college-mate. They had long been intimate, and 

 she was thoroughly in sympathy with his work, 

 many of the illustrations of his books being from her 

 pencil. The bride was brought home to Neuchatel, 

 much to the delight of Agassiz's parents, who, espec- 

 ially his mother, approved his marriage as complet- 

 ing the full rounding out of his life. 



Honours began to pour in upon the young teacher, 

 now twenty-six years of age. His book on fossil 

 fishes attracted attention among scientists all over 

 the world, and he received many invitations from the 

 English scientists, as Murchison, Buckland, Lyell and 

 others to visit England and examine their treasures 

 in the way of fossil fishes. Especially gratifying was 

 a letter from Sir Charles Lyell, containing the in- 

 formation that he was deemed worthy the Wollaston 

 prize of about seven hundred francs. The famous 



