The American Trip. 



89 



classes of Europe and America and their several 

 chances of advancement. 



At an early day he availed himself of an oppor- 

 tunity to meet Professor Silliman of Yale, with 

 whom he had corresponded for a number of years. 

 Asa Gray of Boston, Redfield, Professor Torrey, of 

 Princeton, Henry Lea, the Le Contes, Dana, and 

 others he now met, and in a trip taken to Washing- 

 ton he was overwhelmed with attention. He avoided 

 social entertainments as such, almost invariably, 

 having a good excuse in the fact that as the King 

 of Prussia paid him for his time, his services belonged 

 to him. For this,'' he says, no one can quarrel 

 with me, and so far as I am concerned it is much 

 better." On this tour Agassiz met the late Professor 

 Spencer F. Baird, then a professor in Dickinson 

 College in Carlisle. While visiting the larger cities 

 he was constantly in demand and invited to recep- 

 tions and entertainments ; but he avoided all he 

 could. A gentleman who called upon him at the 

 Mayor's in New York, at this time, failed to gain an 

 audience, and at last obtained the startling informa- 

 tion that Mr. Agassiz was a very queer man and 

 evidently in the fish business as he spent most of his 

 time around the docks, especially at the fish-market, 

 bringing home all sorts of fish, crabs, and turtles, 

 and," said the informant, the more worthless the 

 fish is the more he likes it. He 's daft, I 'm thinking." 

 The listener took the hint and paid his respects to 

 Agassiz at the fish-market, finding him just about to 

 start home, loaded down with " new species," which 

 he had discovered temptingly arrayed on the fish- 



