234 



Louis Agassiz. 



fish, or the farmer who sent him a nest of turtle's 

 eggs, or the woodsman who favoured him with a 

 family of little rattlesnakes, was as sure of his hearty 

 acknowledgments as the millionaire of Boston who 

 endowed his museum, or the tobacconist of New 

 York who bought for him Penikese Island, or the 

 officers of the Government who placed at his 

 command the resources of the Coast Survey. No 

 emperor or king ever received such homage, volun- 

 tarily bestowed by high and low alike, or such trib- 

 utes from the united realms of earth, and air, and 

 sea ; none returned such gratitude. This gratitude 

 was marked by unmistakable sincerity. His looks, 

 and tones, and the pressure of his hand, all confirmed 

 the utterance of his lips. No one need fear that 

 when the private letters of Agassiz are made public 

 there will be anything to regret, as there was in the 

 posthumous revelations of one of his most illustrious 

 contemporaries. 



There was, moreover, a hearty co-operation with 

 other workers, and in other spheres — a friendly 

 indorsement of their efforts which was free from the 

 tone of patronage or of interference. The members 

 of this Academy must well remember the generous 

 words which he uttered on the evening when he first 

 set foot in San Francisco — his congratulations at 

 the success of the Academy, his words of encourage- 

 ment for the University, and his eulogy of the 

 Geological Survey, the pride of all the science of the 

 State. 



Still more remarkable in Agassiz was his readiness 

 to aid in the diffusion of knowledge. Devoted as he 



