In the summer of 1847 Agassiz established himself in a small house
at East Boston, sufficiently near the sea to be a convenient
station for marine collections. Here certain members of his old
working corps assembled about him, and it soon became, like every
place he had ever inhabited, a hive of industry. Chief among his
companions were Count Francois de Pourtales, who had accompanied
him to this country; Mr. E. Desor, who soon followed him to
America; and Mr. Jacques Burkhardt, who had preceded them all, and
was now draughtsman in chief to the whole party. To his labors were
soon added those of Mr. A. Sonrel, the able lithographic artist,
who illustrated the most important works subsequently published by
Agassiz. To an exquisite skill in his art he added a quick,
intelligent perception of structural features from the naturalist's
point of view, which made his work doubly valuable. Besides those
above-mentioned, there were several assistants who shared the
scientific work in one department or another.
It must be confessed that this rather original establishment had
the aspect of a laboratory rather than a home, domestic comfort
being subordinate to scientific convenience. Every room served in
some sort the purposes of an aquarium or a studio, while garret and
cellar were devoted to collections. The rules of the household were
sufficiently elastic to suit the most erratic student. A sliding
scale for meals allowed the greatest freedom for excursions along
the neighboring shores and beaches, and punctuality in work was the
only punctuality demanded.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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