Louis Agassiz: His Life and Correspondence | Page 7

of
manuscript, from the paper copy-books of the school-boy to the
carefully collated reports of the college student, begun when the writer
was ten or eleven years of age and continued with little interruption till
he was eighteen or nineteen. The later volumes are of nearly quarto size
and very thick, some of them containing from four to six hundred
closely covered pages; the handwriting is small, no doubt for economy
of space, but very clear. The subjects are physiological, pathological,
and anatomical, with more or less of general natural history. This series
of books is kept with remarkable neatness. Even in the boy's
copy-books, containing exercises in Greek, Latin, French and German,
with compositions on a variety of topics, the writing is even and
distinct, with scarcely a blot or an erasure. From the very beginning
there is a careful division of subjects under clearly marked headings,
showing even then a tendency toward an orderly classification of facts
and thoughts.
It is evident from the boyish sketch which he drew of his future plans
that the hope of escaping the commercial life projected for him, and of
dedicating himself to letters and learning, was already dawning. He had
begun to feel the charm of study, and his scientific tastes, though still
pursued rather as the pastimes of a boy than as the investigations of a
student, were nevertheless becoming more and more absorbing. He was
fifteen years old and the time had come when, according to a purpose
long decided upon, he was to leave school and enter the business house
of his uncle, Francois Mayor, at Neuchatel. He begged for a farther
delay, to be spent in two additional years of study at the College of
Lausanne. He was supported in his request by several of his teachers,
and especially by Mr. Rickly, who urged his parents to encourage the
remarkable intelligence and zeal already shown by their son in his
studies. They were not difficult to persuade; indeed, only want of
means, never want of will, limited the educational advantages they

gave to their children.
It was decided, therefore, that he should go to Lausanne. Here his love
for everything bearing on the study of nature was confirmed. Professor
Chavannes, Director of the Cantonal Museum, in whom he found not
only an interesting teacher, but a friend who sympathized with his
favorite tastes, possessed the only collection of Natural History in the
Canton de Vaud. To this Agassiz now had access. His uncle, Dr.
Mathias Mayor, his mother's brother and a physician of note in
Lausanne, whose opinion had great weight with M. and Mme. Agassiz,
was also attracted by the boy's intelligent interest in anatomy and
kindred subjects. He advised that his nephew should be allowed to
study medicine, and at the close of Agassiz's college course at
Lausanne the commercial plan was finally abandoned, and he was
permitted to choose the medical profession as the one most akin to his
inclination.
Being now seventeen years of age, he went to the medical school of
Zurich. Here, for the first time, he came into contact with men whose
instruction derived freshness and vigor from their original researches.
He was especially indebted to Professor Schinz, a man of learning and
ability, who held the chair of Natural History and Physiology, and who
showed the warmest interest in his pupil's progress. He gave Agassiz a
key to his private library, as well as to his collection of birds. This
liberality was invaluable to one whose poverty made books an
unattainable luxury. Many an hour did the young student pass at that
time in copying books which were beyond his means, though some of
them did not cost more than a dollar a volume. His brother Auguste,
still his constant companion, shared this task, a pure labor of love with
him, for the books were more necessary to Louis's studies than to his
own.
During the two years passed by Agassiz in Zurich he saw little of
society beyond the walls of the university. His brother and he had a
pleasant home in a private house, where they shared the family life of
their host and hostess. In company with them, Agassiz made his first
excursion of any importance into the Alps. They ascended the Righi

and passed the night there. At about sunset a fearful thunder-storm
gathered below them, while on the summit of the mountain the weather
remained perfectly clear and calm. Under a blue sky they watched the
lightning, and listened to the thunder in the dark clouds, which were
pouring torrents of rain upon the plain and the Lake of Lucerne. The
storm lasted long after night had closed in, and Agassiz lingered when
all his companions had retired to rest, till at last the clouds drifted