viii CONQUEST OF DISEASE 213 



tion to little Meister. The treatment lasted ten days, 

 during which the boy was inoculated twelve times. 

 It was completely successful ; and an infallible remedy 

 had been found for a dread disease against which all 

 previous measures had failed. The results of the treat- 

 ment of rabies on this principle are now well known, 

 but for several years strong opposition was offered to 

 it by certain people in Great Britain, while at the same 

 time terrified British sufferers from the disease were 

 continually sent to Pasteur for salvation. In scientific 

 circles Pasteur's great advance in the treatment of 

 disease was understood and fully appreciated, but as 

 it had been obtained by means of experiments on animals, 

 it was misrepresented and vilified by opponents of such 

 experiments until its beneficial effects overwhelmed 

 them. 



Experiments made with the noble object of not only 

 increasing human knowledge but also diminishing human 

 suffering are deserving of the highest praise ; yet those 

 who carry on such researches are often assumed to be 

 among the most callous of mankind. Pasteur was one 

 of the most tender-hearted of men. An instance of 

 disinclination to inflict pain was given by Lord Lister 

 in a speech some years ago, in a reference to his work 

 on rabies. It had been established that the introduction 

 of the portion of the brain of a mad dog under the skin of 

 a healthy animal was liable to cause rabies, and, as has 

 been explained, Pasteur had reason to believe that it 

 was principally in the nervous centres that the poison 

 accumulated. He felt a very strong desire to introduce 

 some of the poison into the brain of an animal ; but he 

 was a peculiarly humane man. He never could shoot 

 an animal for sport. He was more humane than the 

 majority of human beings ; and for a long time he could 



