94 



Louis Agassiz. 



especially in the buds. He listened with the most 

 captivating attention, and expressed surprise at my 

 dwelHng upon the peculiarities of the buds. * I have 

 never known the buds to be spoken of as character- 

 istic/ said he ; ' that is new to me.' He admitted the 

 distinct peculiarities of structure in the buds ; and, I 

 have no doubt, remembered every word I said, for, 

 a few months afterwards, I saw, in a newspaper, that 

 Mr. Agassiz would give a lecture, in Roxbury, on 

 the buds of trees. We drove on to Chelsea Beach, 

 which stretches off several miles, — apparently with- 

 out end, — and, as the tide was very low, was then at 

 least a quarter of a mile wide. He was charmed with 

 everything, expressing his pleasure with all the earnest- 

 ness of a happy child, hardly able to restrain himself 

 in his admiration and delight. He told me that he 

 had never before been on a sea-beach, but that he 

 was familiar with the undulations and wave marks on 

 the old beaches laid open in the Jura Mountains. 



I need not say what a pleasant drive this was. I 

 had long felt great interest in various departments 

 of Natural History, but had been so fully occupied 

 with my own duties, as a teacher, that I had been 

 unable to indulge myself fully, and that for a small 

 part of the year, in one only. Here was a companion 

 who was intimately acquainted with all, and with 

 the most distinguished men who had been advancing 

 them, and who was ready and happy to communicate 

 wealth of information upon every point I could ask 

 about. 



Some days after, I invited all the members of this 

 Society (Boston Society of Natural History) to meet 



