Life in Cambridge. 115 



saying that they should be equal to other men be- 

 fore the law/' 



While Agassiz took an active interest in all ques- 

 tions his greatest thought at this time was the mu- 

 seum, which ever grew under his guidance. Hardly 

 a day passed but some new idea or scheme took 

 form in his fertile mind ; now the aid of consuls in 

 foreign lands was involved ; now the fishing fleet 

 was asked to collect for the museum ; even the 

 smacks which ran down the coast to Cuba carried 

 the copper cans of alcohol of the Agassiz Museum, 

 while the captain of every whaler bore in mind the 

 circular, letter, or personal request of the ardent and 

 indefatigable naturalist. In October, 1863, Agassiz 

 conceived the daring plan of collecting the fishes of 

 the rivers of the world — a work requiring a long 

 time and endless labour and research, and the well 

 conceived plan was put into execution and to a 

 marked degree was successful. 



Agassiz was not alone the naturalist at Harvard. 

 His advice on all matters was requested and taken, 

 and his influence felt in the university life. It was 

 partly at his suggestion that the Academic Council 

 was founded, which was a monthly meeting of the 

 professors, at which the various topics of interest 

 were discussed. It was Agassiz who introduced the 

 college lecture system. He was the father of a lib- 

 eral elective system and made himself felt in almost 

 every branch of the college life. Besides this, he 

 founded many societies and kept them alive and 

 active by the part he took in their work. He founded 

 the National Academy of Sciences, which is now the 



