94 LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 



interested her like the good housekeeper she was. 

 When he came in from the laboratory he never failed 

 to go to her to ask her for details of her health ; he 

 talked to her playfully and affectionately, making 

 her laugh, telling her the incidents of the day. She 

 continued to be interested in everything, especially 

 that which concerned her dear Elie, the " consolation 

 of her life," as she called him. 



In spite of his affection for his mother, he bore 

 her almost sudden death very stoically, knowing as 

 he did that the grave heart disease from which she 

 suffered was bound to cause her increasing pain. 



My family became his, and the relations between 

 him and my father became such that the latter, 

 feeling ill and nearing his end, made him our guardian. 

 Until the last my mother preserved for my husband 

 a tender friendship which he fully returned. For 

 years he bore the burden and responsibilities of the 

 family. With my young brothers and sisters he kept 

 up a tone of merry affection ; always indulgent with 

 them, he was anxious to neglect nothing that could 

 be useful. Though ever led by the desire to procure 

 happiness around him, it sometimes happened that 

 he made a mistake in his appreciation and failed to 

 reach his goal. The human soul is a riddle, life is 

 complicated, and we ought not always to judge by 

 results but by motives. ... As far as I am personally 

 concerned, his affection, kindness, and solicitude have 

 always been unbounded. If during early years a few 

 misunderstandings arose between us, they were due 

 to my youthful obstinacy or to his nervous sensitive- 

 ness. We had our trials, but our friendship and deep 

 affection emerged from them stronger and purer than 

 ever. At a certain time, Elie, believing that happiness 



