90 



Louis Agassiz, 



dealer s marble slab. Agassiz says himself at this 

 time, Wishing to employ my time as usefully as 

 possible I postponed my visits to the savants of the 

 city and the delivery of my letters, till I was on the 

 eve of departure that I might avoid all invitations/' 



Agassiz made the trip up the Hudson and was 

 delighted with West Point, where with Professor 

 Bailey he renewed acquaintance with the glacial 

 moraines and polished bowlders. At Albany he 

 visited the State Museum and was deeply impressed 

 with the publications on science which were avail- 

 able to the humblest citizen. During all this trip he 

 made many accurate observations of the fauna and 

 formed good representative collections, and, further, 

 recorded many impressions regarding American 

 scientists. To those at home he wrote, The liber- 

 ality of American naturalists to me is unparalleled.'* 

 He appreciated the pluck and enterprise of the 

 American scientists and naively said, What they 

 need is leisure." Agassiz did not anticipate becom- 

 ing a citizen of the busy Republic at this time, but 

 in after years, when he became a member of the 

 body politic, he fully appreciated this lack of leisure 

 and ultimately fell a victim to the American curse 

 of overwork. The course of lectures given at the 

 Lowell Institute was so eminently successful that 

 upon its termination, another was begun upon 

 glaciers, his favourite topic. 



The associations which Agassiz made, the cus- 

 toms of the people, the manner of living, and the 

 political freedom enjoyed, all impressed him strongly, 

 and we find him becoming an enthusiast on every- 



