Agassiz aud His Works. 215 



Professor and Mrs. Agassiz, the book being chiefly the 

 work of the latter, and suggestive of the dehghtful 

 companionship that existed between the scientist and 

 his wife. We have seen that Agassiz received much 

 counsel and advice from his mother, and it may be 

 said that his wife, who survives him, was his collabor- 

 ator in every sense. She was his constant and appre- 

 ciative companion, herself no less an enthusiast than 

 her distinguished husband ; living the same life, enter- 

 ing into all his joys, hopes, and ambitions, she was 

 at once his counsellor, companion, friend, and worthy 

 co-labourer. In the Preface of the Brazilian volume, 

 Agassiz thus refers to the aid his wife gave : One 

 word as to the manner in which this volume has 

 grown into its present shape, for it has been rather 

 the natural growth of circumstances than the result 

 of any preconceived design. Partly for the enter- 

 tainment of her friends, partly with the idea that I 

 might make use of it in knitting together the scien- 

 tific reports of my journey by a thread of narrative, 

 Mrs. Agassiz began this diary. I soon fell into the 

 habit of giving her daily the more general results of 

 my scientific observations, knowing that she would 

 allow nothing to be lost which was worth preserv- 

 ing. In consequence of this mode of working, our 

 separate contributions have become so closely inter- 

 woven that we should hardly know how to discon- 

 nect them, and our common journal is therefore 

 published, with the exception of a few unimportant 

 changes, almost as it was originally written.'' 



It is the commingling of the expressions of these 

 two earnest characters that adds greatly to the 



