392 D'ALEMBERT. 



refuge in the humble dwelling of his nurse, feeling, as 

 he afterwards used to say, that the small income which 

 alone he possessed, a pension of less than fifty pounds 

 settled upon him by his father, would tend to increase 

 somewhat the comforts of the poor people with whom 

 he should board. In that lowly dwelling, a single 

 confined room of which he occupied as his bed-room 

 and his study, he established himself, living with the 

 family and faring as they fared. Here he remained 

 happy and contented for forty years, that is, until his 

 health compelled him to change his abode, when the 

 age of the good woman would not permit her to 

 accompany him. When her husband died she was 

 ill-treated by her grandchildren, who were stripping 

 her of her little property and reducing her to great 

 distress. "Laissez," said D'Alembert, "Laissez tout 

 emporter par ces indignes. Je ne vous abandonnerai 

 point." Nor did he ; he provided for all her wants, 

 and as long as she lived he visited her twice a week, 

 to satisfy himself by his own observation that nothing 

 was wanting of care and attention to secure her com- 

 forts. When he became famous his mother's vanity 

 led her to desire his intimacy, a step which natural 

 affection had not suggested. Discovering to him the 

 secret of his birth, she would have had him come and 

 live with her. But he plainly said he regarded the 

 nurse as his mother, and only saw a step-mother in 

 Mme. Tencin.* 



In this obscure retreat he devoted himself to his 

 daily pursuits. Such books of mathematics as he could 

 purchase he bought ; others he was obliged to consult 

 at the public libraries. From the very small scale of 



* " Que me dites-vous Ik, madame ?" he exclaimed ; " Ah ! vous n'etes 

 qu'une maratre ! C'est la vitriere qui est ma mere." This touching anec- 

 dote is differently related by some, as Grimm in his ' Correspondence.' 

 They report the interview as having taken place in presence of the old 

 nurse; that D'Alembert exclaimed, "Ma mere! Ah! lavoila! Je ne 

 connais point d'autre." And therewithal fell upon her neck and bathed 

 it in his tears. 



