of seventeen, Martha, and myself. As his nephew and an orphan, I became his laboratory
assistant.
I freely confess that I was exceedingly fond of geology and all its kindred sciences; the
blood of a mineralogist was in my veins, and in the midst of my specimens I was always
happy.
In a word, a man might live happily enough in the little old house in the Konigstrasse, in
spite of the restless impatience of its master, for although he was a little too excitable--he
was very fond of me. But the man had no notion how to wait; nature herself was too slow
for him. In April, after a had planted in the terra-cotta pots outside his window seedling
plants of mignonette and convolvulus, he would go and give them a little pull by their
leaves to make them grow faster. In dealing with such a strange individual there was
nothing for it but prompt obedience. I therefore rushed after him.
