xliii 



Louis Pasteur was born at Dole, on the 27th of December, 1822, 

 bat his childhood was passed in Arbois, whither his family removed 

 when he was an infant of two years old. His parents were in humble 

 circumstances, his father being a hard- working tanner; that he was, 

 however, a man of character and stern experience is shown by the 

 fact that he had not only fought in the legions of the First Empire, 

 but had been decorated, on the field of battle by Napoleon, and bore 

 the title of Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur. 



The home at Arbois appears to have been one of those establish- 

 ments which revolve round the children, and the greatest sacrifices 

 were made by the parents to secure the best educational advantages 

 for the son. Pasteur, as a boy, however, showed but little inclina- 

 tion to work at books, preferring to play the truant and spend his 

 time in following his favourite pastime of fishing or sketching 

 portraits of his companions and neighbours. As he, however, grew 

 older and began to realise the strain upon the resources of his 

 parents which his education entailed, he, with that energy and de- 

 termination which characterised all his actions throughout life, put 

 away his fishing tackle and locked up his cherished pastels so as to 

 place himself out of the reach of temptation and set to work. Prom 

 that day onwards Pasteur may be said to have hardly ever paused in 

 the pursuit of those Herculean labours which his genius throughout 

 his life supplied in such rapid succession for his indomitable energy 

 to perform. 



The college at Arbois having no chair of philosophy, Pasteur 

 went to Besancon, where he graduated Bachelier es Lettres, and 

 was appointed " maitre repetiteur," in the College. 



Pasteur's interest in chemical science had already commenced at 

 this time, and his eagerness to acquire knowledge resulted in his 

 overwhelming his teachers with questions, and we are told how one 

 of these, the venerable Professor Darlay, was so embarrassed by his 

 eager inquiries that he was reduced to telling young Pasteur that it 

 was for him to interrogate his pupils, and not for them to catechise 

 him before all his scholars ! Pasteur, however, was not to be dis- 

 couraged by treatment of this kind, and he went for private assistance 

 in his studies to a pharmacist who enjoyed considerable local reputa- 

 tion through being the author of a paper which had been considered 

 worthy of publication in the ' Annales de Chimie et de Physique.' 



His old schoolmaster, at Arbois, had often urged upon Pasteur 

 " pensez a la grande Ecole Nbrmale," and perhaps this encouragement 

 led him to present himself for the entrance examination at this 

 Institution. He obtained the fourteenth place, a position which so 

 dissatisfied him that he withdrew, and going up again later on, 

 in October, 1843, he was rewarded for his energy and perseverance by 

 being placed fourth in order of merit. 



VOL. lxii. g 



