LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 259 



— not of recovery, but of a bearable life and further 

 work — lie wished at all costs to avoid the influence of 

 narcosis. He breathed fumes of pyridin or ether, he 

 smoked Escouflaire cigarettes, and inhaled various 

 other things. In order to sleep after an attack, he 

 ate a few biscuits, and I sprinkled his head with a 

 menthol solution, with which I damped his temples 

 and forehead. That eased him, and sometimes he 

 slept again for a few hours. 



But how many were the nights of insomnia and 

 suffering ! How many times did he call for death 

 as a deliverer, and say that he resigned himself to 

 live for my sake only ! 



And in spite of the martjnrdom he endured, he 

 always had gentle words, a caress, a consolation 

 even ! He constantly returned to the thought that 

 he had nothing to complain of, that he had had a 

 large share of happiness and good fortune in having 

 accomplished his task, and even arrived at the de- 

 velopment of the natural death-instinct. 



All those who saw him every day knew that he 

 was courageous and patient, every one admired his 

 serenity, but no one could realise the degree of his 

 courage and patience, for no one had seen and lived 

 through those miserable nights. 



Often, even, when asked how he was, he said " not 

 bad ! " after a terrible night, saying to me afterwards 

 in explanation, " Why grieve them, since it cannot 

 be helped ? " 



At the beginning of our stay in the Institute, he 

 was not yet quite bedridden. After his morning 

 toilet, he would lie for some hours on a sofa, reading 

 almost continuously, newspapers, scientific reviews, 

 and many works in connection with the book he had 



