Let  those  who  condemn  it  ask  and  answer  the  ques-
tion :  Is  it  better  that  a  guinea-pig  should  suffer  a  lit-
tle or  that  my  only  child  should  die?  Pasteur  never
experimented  without  using  chloroform,  and,  tender-
hearted man  that  he  was,  he  took  the  greatest  care  to
save  any  animal  from  unnecessary  suffering.  Never
had  he  shot  an  animal  of  any  kind  for  sport.  But
when  human  life  was  at  stake  "  Vivisection  was  a
dreadful  necessity."  Even  when  he  had  multiplied
his  experiments,  he  said,  half- fearfully :  "I  think
my  hand  will  tremble  when  I  go  on  to  mankind."

In  Pasteur's  life,  the  years  1885  and  1886  were
marked  by  wonderful  strides  toward  the  conquest  of
hydrophobia.  The  terrible  memory  of  the  mad  wolf
of  his  childhood  had  never  worn  away.  It  came  back
to  him  in  manhood  with  fresh  horror  when,  one  July
morning,  an  Alsatian  mother,  poorly  dressed  and  lead-
ing a  nine-year-old  boy  by  the  hand,  entered  his  labo-
ratory. Little  Joseph  Meister  could  hardly  walk,  and
his  small  hands  were  fearfully  bitten.  In  a  voice  full
of  restrained  suffering  and  with  beseeching  eyes  Frau
Meister  begged  Pasteur  to  save  her  child.  "  He  was
so  small! "  she  sobbed.  "  When  the  dog  flew  at  him,
he  knew  no  more  than  to  stand  still  and  cover  his  face


244  MORE  THAN  CONQUERORS

with  his  hands.  A  man,  passing,  beat  off  the  beast
with  an  iron  bar.  But  there  was  my  Joseph !  —  Oh,
the  dreadful  blood!"

*  I  am  no  doctor,"  answered  the  scientist  humbly.
"  I  am  only  trying  to  discover  cures ;  but  I  shall  do  my
best  for  little  Joseph."  As  he  spoke,  he  gently  laid  his
hand  on  the  child's  fair  head.
