32 LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 



tical application ; but Elie, who did not know that, 

 dreamt of finding in laboratories assistance and means 

 of, at least, undertaking personal scientific work. He 

 attended a lecture on comparative anatomy, and, in 

 order not to appear too young, he wore his ordinary 

 clothes instead of the Lycee uniform. After the lecture 

 was over, he shyly approached the professor and 

 begged to be allowed to study protoplasm under his 

 direction. The professor received Mm coldly, and 

 told him in a pedantic tone that he was in too much 

 of a hurry, and that he should first of all finish his 

 course at the Lycee and then get admitted into the 

 University. 



It was a disappointment for the eager boy ; how- 

 ever, he did not lose heart but continued to attend 

 divers University lectures, clinging to the hope that 

 another professor might be more sympathetic. He 

 was pleased with the lectures of a young physio- 

 logist, Tschelkoff by name, and decided to make 

 another attempt. This time he was successful. The 

 professor received him kindly and consented to give 

 him private lessons in histology. Then, fired with a 

 passionate desire to produce something personal in 

 medical science, and attracted by Virchow's cellular 

 theory, he dreamt that he might create a general 

 theory of his own in medicine. In order to increase 

 his scientific knowledge, he undertook with his friend 

 Zalensky the translation of Grove's work, The Unity 

 of Physical Forces. The professor of chemistry and 

 natural history willingly encouraged the two boys 

 in this work, to which they gave up the whole of the 

 school year. Elie wasted no opportunity of learning ; 

 during those lectures which did not interest him he 

 used to read scientific books. One day that he was 



