1885—1888 423 



tunity of benefiting by this great discovery, which will seal the 

 fame of our illustrious colleague and bring glory to our whole 

 country. ' ' 



Pasteur had ended his reading by a touching description of 

 Jupille's action, leaving the Assembly under the impression of 

 that boy of fourteen, sacrificing himself to save his companions. 

 An Academician, Baron Larrey, whose authority was rendered 

 all the greater by his calmness, dignity, and moderation, rose 

 to speak. After acknowledging the importance of Pasteur's 

 discovery, Larrey continued, *'The sudden inspiration, agility 

 and courage, with which the ferocious dog was muzzled, and 

 thus made incapable of committing further injury to 

 bystanders, . . . such an act of bravery deserves to be 

 rewarded. I therefore have the honour of begging the 

 Academic des Sciences to recommend to the Academie 

 Francaise this young shepherd, who, by giving such a generous 

 example of courage and devotion, has well deserved a Montyon 

 prize." 



Bouley, then chairman of the Academy, rose to speak in his 

 turn — • 



*We are entitled to say that the date of the present meeting 

 'w'ill remain for ever memorable in the history of medicine, and 

 glorious for French science ; for it is that of one of the greatest 

 steps ever accomplished in the medical order of things — a pro- 

 gress realized by the discovery of an efficacious means of pre- 

 ventive treatment for a disease, the incurable nature of which 

 was a legacy handed down by one century to another. From 

 this day, humanity is armed with a means of fighting the fatal 

 disease of hydrophobia and of preventing its onset. It is to M. 

 Pasteur that we owe this, and we could not feel too much 

 admiration or too much gratitude for the efforts on his part 

 which have led to such a magnificent result. . . .'' 



Five years previously, Bouley, in the annual combined public 

 meeting of the five Academies, had proclaimed his enthusiasm 

 for the discovery of the vaccination of anthrax. But on hear- 

 ing him again on this October day, in 1885, his colleagues 

 could not but be painfully struck by the change in him; his 

 voice was weak, his face thin and pale. He was dying of an 

 affection of the heart, and quite aware of it, but he was sus- 

 tained by a wonderful energy, and ready to forget his sufferings 

 in his joy at the thought that the sum of human sorrows would 

 be diminished by Pasteur's victory. He went to the Academib 



