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1865
we heard a sermon in the morning from Dr Gurley & passed the evening quietly at home reading Dr Thomas Browne's Religio Medici. Speaking of the numberless animals brought to life by the power of the sun Father said that at the time Dr Browne lived the spontaneos generation of animals by the heat of of the sun was believed in & that now that supposition had been revived & much discussed. Organic matter when boiled sufficiently it would seem to destroy all animal life when put away in air tight vessels exposed to the sun would after a time be found filled with animalali[[strikethrough]]fe[[/strikethrough]]. Other experiments had been tried to prove whether these curious manifestations of animal creation were produced from eggs or by [[strikethrough]]by [[/strikethrough]] spontaneous generation. In connection with the same subject he said his own frame & being had from his earliest years been a subject of wonder to him & had puzzled his childish brain sometimes almost to the verge of insanity. He quoted this pretty little stanza. [[end page]]

[[start page]]1865
"Bubbles upon a sea of matter born
We rise we break & to that sea return."
3rd Prof. Agassiz came in last evening while I was writing. The meeting opened this morning. There were only twelve members present. After dinner to day Prof. Agassiz read us the following poem sent to him by Longfellow with some bottles of wine on Christmas eve.
Noël
Quand les astre de Noël
Brillaient, palpitaient au ciel
Six gaillards, et chacun ivre
Chantaient gaiment dans le givre,
Bons Amis
Allons donc chez Agassiz.
2
Ces illustres Pélerins
D'outre-Mer, adroits et fins,
Se donnant des airs de prêtre
A l'enoi se vantaient d'être
"Bons Amis
De Jean Rudolphe Agassiz"
3
Oeil-de Perdix, grand farceur
Sans reproche et sans pudeur