128 



NATURAL SCIENCE NEWS. 



PENIKESE — A Reminiscence. 



By One of its Pupils. 



Copyright secured 1895. 



them the more easily to remember them. It is as 

 follows: 



"Naushon, Nonainessett, 

 Uncatina, Weepecket; 

 Nashawena, Pesqninese, 

 Cutty Hunk, and Penikese." 



Of course we cannot see all of these islands from 

 our school; for, unless the day is unusually fine, we 

 see very little excepting old ocean, — calm and glassy 

 as a mirror, or tossing, tossing, tossing, all the day. 

 Yet the air is always delightful, we have no smother- 

 ing hot days, there are no mosquitos to keep one 

 within doors of an evening, and, after a steady day's 

 and evening's work — perfect rest! 



Penikese, itself, is an hourglass-shaped little islet, 

 and, in general appearance, though evidently not in 

 size, "Gosnold's Flat" indeed, — with all its pokes 

 and crinkles, and just as its owners, having grasped 

 it in his hand, had tossed it into the broad, placid 

 bossom of the bay. When I said that it was four- 

 teen miles from land, I should have said, that it was 

 fourteen miles from New Bedford, — for it is much 

 nearer the little village of Quansett, directly north- 

 west of it; and when I said, that it resembled a hat, I 

 should rather have likened it to two hats placed side 

 by side, the one smaller than the other, the smaller 

 one lying nearest to the mouth of Buzzard Bay, and 

 both running parallel to the shore. Little Gull Is- 

 land is a minute near neighbor. Thus are we 

 situated. 



The beauty and attractions of Penikese Island are 

 not, at first, apparent; yet no lover of nature can 

 look upon green slopes, browned and whitened rocks, 

 plains and hillocks, or the variety in contour upon 

 our sea-girt, rocky island, without seeing in every- 

 thing both beauty and attractions. To us, it is a 

 Morgana's fairy isle, — with always something new to 

 engage our attention, and wherein we would willingly 

 remain our hundred years or more, and never grow 

 old. We wandered about it. On every crag the 

 sea swallows build their nests and in every bank the 

 bank swallows dig their holes; wherein they lay their 

 eggs and rear their young. The turnstone and the 

 plover linger all day among their dear pebbles, and 

 the sandpiper brings forth its nestlings amidst the 

 sparce vegetation of the sanded beach above. Birds, 

 birds, birds everywhere! The ground, the air, and 

 the waters, abound with them; and the sound of 

 their notes is incessant. The cricket and the grass- 

 hopper sing from their grassy coverts, and all nature 

 smiles. These are some of the beauties and attrac- 

 tions of Penikese. Thus did we: I, all of us, find it 

 on that first night, as we strolled here, there, every- 

 where, about our little pleasure-garden, until the 

 darkness closed about us and the sea sang of rest. 



Well do I remember that first night's stroll about 

 the island. I was alone. No, not alone, for all 

 Nature was with me, and I communed with her as 

 with a fellow being, ever by my side listening to my 

 youthful fancies, and sage like, propounding, at 

 every step questions which I might never fully an- 

 swer: Questions of the birds of the air or of their 

 nest, eggs or young, close by; of the plants, lichens, 

 and mosses of the rocks and ground about me; of the 

 very sand, earth, rocks, boulders and ledges, at my 

 feet; or of the fishes and marine life of great ocean — 

 so bounteous, so mysterious — before me. There was 



no need for us to search long for "specimens;" for 

 had our school lasted two years instead of two short 

 months, I fancy that there still would remain much 

 that was new to have been searched for, nay, to have 

 been found. I would that I could recall all the 

 weird fancies that came to my mind that first night, 

 as I wandered amongst the darkening shadows of 

 those rocky sentinals; as I peered over precipitous 

 crags, or mounted to the top of some rocky height 

 from which to view the fast dimming outlines of the 

 lapping wavelets of the bay; or as, in some cosy 

 corner, I reclined and listened to the murmur of the 

 waves, and peering into the surrounding darkness, 

 tried to distinguish something, where I knew there 

 was nothing, in the vast beyond. Halcyon days, in- 

 deed! Halcyon summer evening, were they! Do 

 you wonder that I look back upon them with 

 pleasure? 



As to our daily work, the routine for one day was 

 much the same as for each successive day that we 

 were upon the island, and we soon learned about 

 what to expect. There were the breakfast horn, the 

 breakfast and the lectures, which all or part might 

 attend, occupying that part of the forenoon not de- 

 voted to exploring, collecting or dissecting; and then 

 dinner time. After dinner a similar routine occupied 

 the afternoon until tea time. Sometimes we had a 

 lecture after dark, while we often dissected by candle 

 light. Thus we were never idle, always busy, al- 

 ways learning! How softly and how pleasantly the 

 time passed; and far into the night we remained re- 

 writing our daily notes. 



Professor Agassiz's own method of work was pe- 

 culiar, and differed from that of any of the other 

 professors, though many of them imitated him as 

 closely as they were able. He never assumed super- 

 iority over his pupils; never attempted to annihilate 

 them with his wisdom; but yet, being superior, he 

 took the place of a brother rather than that of a 

 teacher. As brother and teacher he was a living il- 

 lustration of the truth of mottoes which, from time 

 to time, he tried to impress upon his pupils. "If you 

 wish to learn," he would say, " there must be no 

 question of dicipline in the class room," — and unruly 

 members were dismissed at once and without mercy. 

 And, again, "Never be afraid to say 'I do not know.' " 

 He would give us an object, and oblige us to study 

 that object alone for days, until we had ascertained 

 the simple and yet plainly evident principals of clas- 

 sification involved in its form and proportions. 

 Rarely would he tell us anything about any specimen 

 which he had given us to examine; but would ques- 

 tion us day by day until we had told him the history 

 of the species, as we were able to discover it; or un- 

 til we were obliged, from the mere fact of finding 

 nothing else to say, to give him the very answer for 

 which he had originally given us the specimen. Un- 

 til we gave him this answer, we were subject to the 

 closest and most continued scrutiny, whether the 

 time were hours or days, made no difference to him. 

 I once discovered, amongst the remnants of sand and 

 debris in my collecting net, a most curiously speckled, 

 shell-like or seed-like object, which, seeing Professor 

 Agassiz near I hastened to show him. In the eager- 

 ness of the moment I asked him what it was. He 

 looked at it intently for an instant. His face became 

 long, then wore an anxious expression, as he took 

 from his pocket a small lense and hastily began to 

 examine. the object with the utmost care. Gradually 

 a smile spread over his features, then he fairly laugh- 

 [to be continued.] 



