40 LOUIS PASTEUR. 



FERMENTATION. 



ARRIVED at this unexpected turn in the road which 

 he had hitherto pursued, Pasteur paused for an in- 

 stant. Should he commit himself to the course which 

 abruptly opened before him ? His scientific instincts 

 urged him to do so, but the prudence and reserve 

 which show themselves to be the basis of his character, 

 whenever he finds himself called upon to make a 

 choice of which the necessity is not absolutely demon 1 

 strated, held him back. Was it not wiser to continue 

 in the domain of molecular physics and chemistry ? 

 M. Biot counselled his doing so ; the route had been 

 made plain, success awaited him at each step, but an 

 incident connected with the University triumphed 

 over his hesitations. 



He had just been nominated, at thirty-two years 

 of age, Dean of the Faculte des Sciences at Lille. One 

 of the principal industries of the Departement du Nord 

 is the fabrication of alcohol from beetroot and from 

 corn. Pasteur resolved to devote a portion of his 

 lectures to the study of fermentation. He felt that if 



