experiments, in which he took the liveliest interest, being always
ready with advice or practical aid. The fact that Agassiz and Braun
had their room in his house made intercourse with him especially
easy. This room became the rendezvous of all the aspiring, active
spirits among the young naturalists at Munich, and was known by the
name of "The Little Academy." Schimper, no less than the other two,
contributed to the vivid, enthusiastic intellectual life, which
characterized their meetings. Not so happy as Agassiz and Braun in
his later experience, the promise of his youth was equally
brilliant; and those who knew him in those early days remember his
charm of mind and manner with delight. The friends gave lectures in
turn on various subjects, especially on modes of development in
plants and animals. These lectures were attended not only by
students, but often by the professors.

Among Agassiz's intimate friends in Munich, beside those already
mentioned, was Michahelles, the distinguished young zoologist and
physician, whose early death in Greece, where he went to practice
medicine, was so much regretted. Like Agassiz, he was wont to turn
his room into a menagerie, where he kept turtles and other animals,
brought home, for the most part, from his journeys in Italy and
elsewhere. Mahir, whose name occurs often in the letters of this
period, was another college friend and fellow-student, though
seemingly Agassiz's senior in standing, if not in years, for he
gave him private instruction in mathematics, and also assisted him
in his medical studies.

TO HIS SISTER CECILE,

MUNICH, November 20, 1827.