“The work is written in so captivating a style that the reader seems almost to see Agassiz, the boy, catching the fishes and studying their movements in the old stone tank near the Swiss parsonage where he was born. Sympathy is felt for the youth threatened with blindness, but still so intent upon his chosen pursuits that he studies fossils in a darkened room, using his tongue to feel out the impressions when his fingers are not sensitive enough. Enthusiasm is aroused when the young man exploits his glacial theory, which, opposed by Buckland and other scientists, afterward makes converts of them all.” I have been deeply impressed by the manifestation of Agassiz’s distinctive traits and peculiar powers, at a very early age. It is this that makes the record of his life so inspiring to young men. When our boys read what a boy of nineteen may be, and may do, they will not be satisfied with lives devoted in large measure to trivial enjoyments; and they will regard as of less consequence the height of their new collars, and the tie of their cravats. From the time he was born in the little cottage by the Lake of Morat, until he was laid to rest at Mount Auburn, the story of Agassiz’s life is a constant inspiration. Whether Louis Agassiz was right or wrong, we respect the manliness that refused to accept the doctrine of evolution, because his reason was not convinced of its truth. I can scarcely conceive a greater blessing to this country, restless as it is in its haste for riches, vexed as it is by the clashing of opposing interests, than that the sweet and consecrated spirit of Louis Agassiz should steal into the unquiet breasts of American young men, and fill them with the like self-forgetting devotion to simple truth. [2] Edited by his wife, Elizabeth Cary Agassiz. With portraits, illustrations, and index. In two volumes, crown, 8vo. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston and New York. IN MEMORIAM. It is with deep sorrow that I have to announce the death of one of our most prominent and promising members. William D. Shaw, son of Mr. Thomas Shaw, died at Côte St. Antoine, June 29, aged 19 years. Mr. Shaw was one of those young men who had caught the spirit of Louis Agassiz, and already at his early age he had given promise of a useful life. He was the leading spirit in founding our Montreal Chapter, which grew, principally under his direction, into one of the largest and strongest on our roll. A member of the B. A. A. S., he was about going to England to take part in the proceedings there. He was a devoted student of natural science, and his collection which he recently gave to the Montreal Chapter was one of the largest private collections in the city. Mr. Shaw was our Canadian Secretary, and his loss will be deeply felt by many Chapters of our Association. NOTES.