EARLY YEARS OF PASTEUR'S LIFE 5 



be, is already begun : you have only to go on, it 

 will accomplish itself. If by chance you stumble 

 on your way, a hand would be there to sustain you : 

 and, if that hand should fail you, He who took it 

 from you would uphold you to the end." Later, 

 he writes to his parents that he will pay for the 

 schooling of one of the little girls : " It will be 

 quite easy for me, by giving lessons : I have 

 already refused to give them to several pupils at 

 20 and 25 francs a month : I refused because I had 

 none too much time for my own work :" and he 

 advises his mother not to send his sister on so 

 many errands, but to give her more time for 

 reading. As for himself, " Do not think that my 

 work is making me ill. I take all the recreations 

 necessary for my health :" and again, from Paris, 

 " Do not trouble yourselves about my health and 

 my work. I am taking the class because it gets 

 me up at a quarter to six. ... I shall spend my 

 Thursdays in a library near here, with Chappuis : 

 he is free for four hours on Thursdays. On 

 Sundays, we shall walk and work together. I shall 

 do philosophy with Chappuis on Sundays, and 

 perhaps on Thursdays too. You can see, I am not 

 homesick this time." Already, at Besancon, he had 

 been old for his age, serious, devout, strong-willed, 

 blessed with simplicity, good health, and keen 

 enjoyment of his work. The letters from Paris 



