4^ THE LIFE OF PASTEUR 



rare combination of qualities — a quick wit and an affectionate 

 heart. Bertin was too shrewd to be duped, and a malicious 

 twinkle often lit up his kindly expression; with one apparently 

 careless word, he would hit the weak point of the most self 

 satisfied. He loved those who were simple and true, hence his 

 affection for Pasteur. His smiling philosophy contrasted with 

 Pasteur's robust faith and ardent impetuosity. Pasteur 

 admired, but did not often imitate, the peaceful manner with 

 which Bertin, affirming that a disappointment often proved to 

 be a blessing in disguise, accepted things as they came. In 

 order to prove that this was no paradox, Bertin used to tell 

 what had happened to him in 1839, when he was mathematical 

 preparation master at the College of Luxeuil. He was entitled 

 to 200 francs a month, but payment was refused him. This 

 injustice did not cause him to recriminate, but he quietly 

 tendered his resignation. He went in for the Ecole Normale 

 examination, entered the school at the head of the list, and 

 subsequently became Professor of Phj^sics at the Strasburg 

 Faculty. *'If it had not been for my former disappointment, 

 I should still be at Luxeuil.'' He was now perfectly satisfied, 

 thinking that nothing could be better than to be a Professor in 

 a Faculty : but this absence of anv sort of ambition did not 

 prevent him from giving his teaching the most scrupulous 

 attention. He prepared his lessons with extreme care, en- 

 deavouring to render them absolutely clear. He took great 

 personal interest in his pupils, and often helped them with his 

 advice in the interval between class hours. This excellent 

 man's whole life was spent in working for others, and to be 

 useful was ever to him the greatest satisfaction. 



Perhaps Pasteur was stimulated by Bertin 's example to give 

 excessive importance to minor matters in his first lessons. He 

 writes: '*I gave too much thought to the style of my two first 

 lectures, and they were anything but good; but I think the 

 subsequent ones were more satisfactory, and I feel I am im- 

 proving." His lectures were well attended, for the numerous 

 industries of Alsace gave to chemistry quite a place by itself. 



Everything pleased him in Strasburg save its distance from 

 Arbois. He who could concentrate his thoughts for weeks, for 

 months even, on one subject, who could become as it were a 

 prisoner of his studies, had withal an imperious longing for 

 family life. His rooms in Bex tin's house suited him all the 



