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Louis Agassiz. 



homes. This was the chief object of the expedition 

 which in three weeks arrived in Rio Janeiro. 



Agassiz went immediately to the Emperor, from 

 whom he had received many favours, to pay his 

 respects. His Majesty gave the visitors every atten- 

 tion and aided materially in the collection of rare 

 specimens. 



It would be impossible to follow the naturalists 

 throughout this trip. It was a zoological expedition, 

 and to this feature especial attention is called, though 

 a full description of Agassiz's South American tour 

 would take the reader through every possible field 

 of thought or natural history. 



Dom Pedro returned the call of Agassiz in the 

 Imperial yacht, and by his attention and interest 

 proved himself the enlightened and enthusiastic 

 scientist he was. The Emperor was fully in sym- 

 pathy with Agassiz, and a warm friendship sprang 

 up between the two men whose tastes were a bond 

 that broke away the barriers of ceremony and rank. 

 The Emperor promised his hearty co-operation, and 

 a few days later the actual work of the expedition 

 was begun, and the plans Agassiz had laid out put 

 in operation. 



This was Agassiz's first visit to the extreme tropics. 

 He had spent days and weeks on the glaciers, sleep- 

 ing, eating, and living on the great ice rivers, and 

 had always looked forward to the time when he 

 could enter the forests of the tropics and observe 

 the various forms that made up its fauna. Here 

 was the opportunity, and Agassiz embraced it with 

 all his old-time enthusiasm, which, it is needless to 



