268 LIFE OF ELIE METCHNIKOFF 



day ; lie said I should wheel him there in his bath - 

 chair. " I know I could scarcely work there myself. 

 But perhaps I might still play the part of a ferment, 

 be useful to my pupils by giving them advice. I am 

 leaving so much unfinished work which it would be 

 interesting to go on with : the question of intestinal 

 flora, that of diabetes, which surely is an infectious 

 disease — but that will have to be proved, — and my 

 experiments on the subject were scarcely begun. I 

 think the study of gonorrhoea will give very interesting 

 results when they succeed in inoculating it in new- 

 bom animals. And the question of tuberculosis is 

 well started ! I could still help my pupils and en- 

 courage them if I were a little better ! . . . But I 

 have no illusions ! I must live now only from day 

 to day. . . ." 



Those words were uttered with heart-rending 

 resignation. 



He continued to get worse. . . . 



It was fortunate that pantopon should have given 

 him good nights, for attacks of oppression now super- 

 vened several times during the day ; tachycardia was 

 continuous, the heart was weakening. The quantity 

 of urine diminished ; it often did not surpass 250 cubic 

 centimetres, and no diuretic succeeded in increasing 

 it ; the legs remained swollen, ascitis was beginning to 

 become visible ; in the night he occasionally grew 

 slightly delirious. 



At the beginning of July he wished to sit up ; he 

 spent part of the afternoon in an armchair, his legs 

 lying on cushions. We thought it was a good sign, 

 but in reality he found it difficult to breathe lying 

 down. Several times he asked me to play to him, 

 very soft music, as noisy sounds wearied him. I 



