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Louis Agassiz. 



Pierce, Asa Gray, and Jeffries Wyman as colleagues, 

 while Charming, Emerson, Whittier, Ticknor, Motley, 

 Lowell, and others of that brilliant coterie became 

 his intimates. The home in East Boston was broken 

 up, Agassiz removing to Cambridge, his new home 

 soon becoming the centre of a social and scientific 

 interest, as the strong personality, the genius of 

 the man captivated every one and imparted new 

 life and inspiration to all who surrounded him. His 

 family — wife, son, and young daughter — were still in 

 Switzerland that now (1848) was undergoing no little 

 political excitement, due to the proclamation of 

 France. The household in Boston was cared for by 

 a Swiss clergyman named Christinat, who had long 

 been an intimate friend and companion, and whose 

 devotion and love for the scientist was not only affect- 

 ing but suggestive of the strong and loyal attachment 

 Agassiz was capable of inspiring among all who came 

 in contact with him. Agassiz was especially at- 

 tached to Mr. Guyot, who followed him to America 

 and became a member of his family at a time when 

 Agassiz needed the presence of a close friend, as he 

 had recently been apprised of the death of his wife 

 who had for years been an invalid. In speaking of 

 Mrs. Agassiz Prof. Guyot, in his biographical memoir 

 of Louis Agassiz, says : She was a noble-minded 

 young woman of rare moral excellence. A dignified 

 serenity, tempered by much gentleness and simplicity 

 of manner, won for her at once respect and affection. 

 Her deeper feelings were often veiled by a natural 

 reserve Avhich, however, never assumed the appear- 

 ance of coldness. Her talent for drawing was of 



