The Life of Jean Henri Fabre 



Fabre, who was then in his ninetieth year, 

 and could no longer stand upright, awaited 

 M. Poincare sitting in a chair before the 

 threshold of his house, surrounded by his 

 family; on his right hand stood the Sister 

 who was watching over his welfare. 



A week before the President's visit, I went 

 to Serignan to see my distinguished relative 

 and to bless the marriage of his son Paul 

 Henri. 



In the familiar intimacy of this family 

 celebration he told me, as a piece of good 

 news: " It is possible that I shall soon re- 

 ceive a visit from Monseigneur the Arch- 

 bishop of Avignon." He said this with a 

 marked satisfaction which was very unlike 

 his usual detachment. 



I understood at once that his mind was 

 harking back to the evil days of 1870 and con- 

 trasting them with the present. What did 

 not happen in that disastrous year? Victor 

 Duruy had just instituted courses of lectures 

 for adults in order to make up for the de- 

 ficiencies of popular education. Young girls 

 were especially invited to these lectures. On 

 the pretext of opening the golden doors of 

 science to them it was hoped — no mystery 

 has been made of the matter since — to 

 emanicipate them from the tutelage of the 



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