,4MNo?DJ;iP8^RM1  Minutes  of  the  College.  509 
entered  as  an  apprentice  to  M.  Chevallier,  of  Mayenne,  a  gentleman  of  great 
rjerudition,  an  excellent  chemist  and  pharmacien,  and  well  versed  in  the  natural 
sciences. 
From  what  can  now  be  learned,  M.  Chevallier  was  remarkable  for  the  great 
interest  he  took  in  his  proteges,  who  were  afforded  every  opportunity  to 
acquire  knowledge  and  skill  in  their  profession.  During  the  first  winter  of 
Durand's  apprenticeship  he  pursued  the  study  of  natural  philosophy  and  chem- 
istry ;  in  the  spring  he  applied  himself  to  botany.  During  the  second  winter 
his  attention  was  directed  to  practical  chemistry  and  the  manipulations  of  the 
shop  laboratory,  his  preceptor  explaining  from  time  to  time,  in  the  most  lucid 
manner,  the  chemical  reactions  and  combinations  taking  place  during  the  ope- 
rations carried  on.  The  third  winter  was  devoted  to  the  study  of  materia 
medica  and  pharmacy,  in  connection  with  which  his  preceptor  gave  him  instruc- 
tion in  the  collateral  branches,  mineralogy,  geology  and  entomology. 
Elias  Durand  in  after  life  often  spoke  of  his  great  indebtedness  to  M.  Che- 
vallier for  the  varied  elementary  knowledge  in  the  sciences  which  he  had 
j acquired  under  his  able  tuition,  and  for  which  he  always  felt  grateful. 
In  1812,  when  Napoleon  was  preparing  the  means  for  his  invasion  of  Russia, 
•every  available  man  was  called  upon  to  enroll  himself.  Young  Durand,  having 
completed  his  apprenticeship,  and  attained  the  age  of  18  years,  became  eligible 
for  the  army,  and,  not  wishing  to  be  conscripted  into  the  ranks,  made  prompt 
application  to  the  Minister  of  War  for  the  position  of  Pharmacien  in  the 
Army,  and  immediately  proceeded  to  Paris  to  prepare  himself  for  examination 
before  the  Board  of  Examiners.  There  he  attended  the  lectures  of  Thenard, 
Gay  Lussac,  Lefevre,  Ginault,  and  a  course  of  lectures  on  French  literature, 
by  the  celebrated  Andrieux,  applying  himself  with  great  industry  to  his  various 
studies.  Having  received  notice  from  the  Minister  of  War  that  the  10th  of 
January,  1813,  was  appointed  for  his  examination,  he  accordingly  presented 
himself  and  underwent  a  strict  scrutiny,  his  replies  to  the  queries  being  made 
in  writing.  The  next  day  he  called  on  M.  Parmentier,  the  Chief  of  the  Phar- 
maceutical Department  of  the  Army,  to  whom  all  the  answers  of  the  candi- 
dates were  submitted,  and  received  the  flattering  compliment  that  he  had 
passed  at  the  head  of  the  list. 
On  the  2d  of  February  he  received  his  commission  as  Pharmacien  sous  aide 
in  the  5th  Corps  of  the  Observation  of  the  Elbe,  with  orders  to  cross  the 
Rhine  on  the  15th  of  March.  Having  procured  his  uniform  and  accoutrements, 
he  spent  a  short  time  with  his  family  and  friends  at  Mayenne,  and  on  the 
appointed  day  presented  his  commission  to  Marshal  Kellerman,  commanding 
at  Mayence,  who  ordered  him  to  proceed  at  once  to  Magdeburg,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  5th  Corps.  He  joined  a  detachment  of  fifty  men  from  the 
Military  Hospitals  at  Mayence,  commanded  by  young  officers  from  the  Military 
School  of  St.  Cyr,  and  was  eleven  days  en  route  to  Magdeburg,  chiefly  on  foot, 
passing  Frankfort,  Giessen,  Marburg,  Cassel,  Gottingen,  Osterode,  Goslar  and 
Halberstadt.  On  arriving  the  men  were  nearly  all  entered  in  the  5th  Corps,  com- 
manded by  Prince  Eugene  Beauharnais,  then  numbering  70,000  men.  Young 
Durand  was  assigned  to  the  3d  Division,  under  La  Grange,  near  Magdeburg, 
and  continued  in  the  army  14  months,  till  the  abdication  of  Napoleon,  having 
