Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-04-29
with these enc0aragiug words he


Well, what is it likeY'
He listened attentively to my brief
rehearsal of the stractre of parts. whose
names we're still unknown to me. the
fringed gill arches and movable opercu-
lum; the pores Of the head, fleshy lips
and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the
spinous fms and forkei tail; the COM
pressed and arched body. When | had
finished, be waited as If expecting more,
and then, with an air of disappoint-
ment:
You have not looked very carefully;
why" he continued more earnestly,
you havnt seen one of the most con.
spicuous features of the animal, which
is as'plainly before your eyes as the fish
itself look again, look againP and he
left me to my misery.
was piqued; / was mortified Still
more of that wretched fish But now |
set myself to my task with will, and
discovered one new thing after another,
until saw how just the Professors crit
cism had been. The afternoon passed
quickly; and when towards its close, the
Professor inquired:
Do you see it yet?'
No." l replied, am certain do
not, but ! see how little l saw before"
That is next best, said he, earnest
ly, but won't hear you now; put away
your fish and go home; perhaps you will
be ready with a better answer in the
morning. / will examine you before you
look at the fish.
This was disconcerting; not only must
| think of my fish all night, studying,
without the object before me, what this
unknown but most visible feature might
be, but also without reviewing my
new discoveries, l must give an exact
account OF them the next day. had
bad memory; so walked home by
Charles river in distracted state, with
my two perplexities.
The cordial greeting from the Profes-
sor the next morning was reassuring;
here was a man who seemed to be quite
as anxious as / that l should see for
myself what he saw.
Do you perhaps mean" l asked,
that the fish has symmetrical sides
With paired organs?'
His thoroughly pleased "of course!
of course" repaid the wakeful hours
of the previous night. After he had dis
doursed most happily and enthusiast
cally-as he always did-upon the i'm
portance of this point, l ventured to ask
what should do next.
" Oh, look at your fish, be said, and
left me again to my own devices. In
little more than an hour he returned
and heard my new catalogue.
That is good, that is good he re-
peated; " but that is not afl; go on
and SO for three long days he placed that
fish before my eyes, forbidding me to
look at anything else, or to use any arti
fetal aid. Look, look, look, was his
repeated injunction.
This was the best chronological lesson
I ever hsd-a lesson whose influence has
extended to the details of every subse-
quent study; legacy the Professor has
left me, as he has LETT it to many others,
of inestimable value, which we could not
buy, which we cannot part with.
A year afterward some of US were
amusing ourselves with chalking out
landish beasts on the museum black
board We drew prancing starfshes;
frogs in mortal combat; hydraheaded
worms, stately crawfshes standing on
their tails, bearing aloft umbrellas; and
grotesque fishes with gaping mouths and
staring eyes. The Professor came in
shortly after, and was as amused as any
at our experiments. He looked at the
fishes.
Hemulons, every one of them" he
said; Mr. - drew them"
True; and to this day, if attempt
fish, can draw nothing .but hemulons.
The fourth day, second fish of the
same group was placed beside the 6rstr
and l was hidden TO point out the re-
semblances and differences between the
two; another and another followed, until |
the entire family lay before me, and
whole legion of jars covered the table
and surrounding shelves; the odor had
become a pleasant perfume; and even
now the sight of an old, six inch, worm
eaten cork brings fragrant memories.
The whole group of hemulons was
thus brought in review; and, whether en-
gagged upon the dissection of the inter
nal organs, the preparation and exam
ination of the bony framework, or the
description of the various parts, Agas
siz' training in the method of observing
facts and their orderly arrangement was
ever accompanied by the urgent exhor
tation not to be content with them.
Facts are stupid things" he would |
say, until brought into connection with |
some general law"
At the end of eight months it was al. |
most with reluctance that left these
friends and turned to insects; but what
had gained by this outside experience
has been Of greater value than years of
ater investigation in my favorite groups.
street Scenes in Paris.