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Louis Agassiz. 



new surroundings and associations which he enjoyed 

 at this time, and undoubtedly the friends he made 

 during this visit had no httle effect upon his career 

 and methods of work. The two men who perhaps 

 aided him the most, and whose warm friendship he 

 enjoyed through Hfe were Lord Cole and Sir Philip 

 Egerton, both owners of fine collections of fossil 

 fishes which were placed at his disposal. 



During this trip to England Agassiz was put to a 

 severe test which demonstrated how perfect was his 

 knowledge of the structure of fishes and how accur- 

 ate were his deductions. His fame had spread over 

 all England, and naturally there were many who 

 doubted his powers. A few weeks before, a fossil fish 

 had been discovered in a lower strata than previously 

 known ; so low, in fact, that up to that time no or- 

 ganic remains had been found there, the rocks 

 having been considered azoic. During a discussion 

 at a scientific meeting which Agassiz attended, a natur- 

 alist propounded a question to Agassiz, who was 

 ignorant of the discovery, which required a description 

 of a possible fish from such rocks. The situation was 

 dramatic. Agassiz in complete ignorance that he 

 was the victim of so crucial a test ; the eager listeners 

 — some doubting, others hoping, perhaps, that they 

 could trip the distinguished foreigner — all expectant. 

 There was a moment's silence, then Agassiz pro- 

 ceeded modestly to the blackboard, and after a short 

 prelude in which he referred to his views of creation 

 and its order, he drew with the crayon the outlines 

 of the possible fish. As it took form under his skil- 

 ful hand, a murmur of amazement broke from the 



