Their  married  life  was  of  the  happiest ;  indeed,  it  may  be  said  that  they  were
in  love  with  each  other  till  the  end.  One  of  the  sons  wrote: — "Mon  p^re  et
ma  mere  s'adoraient ;  jamais  le  moindre  nuage  n'avait  trouble  leur  bonheur.
lis  s'dtaient  compris  dis  le  premier  jour.  lis  dtaient  si  bien  faits  pour  se
oompl^ter !  Bien  que  tres  lettr^e  et  fort  intelligente,  maman  s'^tait  toujours
-efiac^e  devant  son  mari,  se  bornant  k  s'efforcer  de  le  reudre  parfaitement
heureux.  C'dtait,  k  son  avis,  la  seule  fagon  de  coUaborer  k  son  oeuvre."
Another  intimate  friend  added : — "  Monsieur  et  Madame  Berthelot  s'adoraient ;
tous  deux  ^taient  de  la  nature  d'^lites;  sa  compagne  n'avait  cess^  de
Tencourager  et  de  le  soutenir."  No  one  visiting  their  house  could  fail  to
remark  this  absolute  devotion  to  each  other;  never  was  there  a  happier
family.  Although  not  a  conversationalist,  Madame  Berthelot,  by  her  perfect
tact,  her  serene  manner,  and  her  charming  sympathetic  face,  knew  how  to
make  each  guest  appear  at  his  best;  the  ball  of  conversation  was  lightly
tossed  round  the  table,  Berthelot  himself,  by  his  quaint  and  paradoxical
remarks,  contributing  his  share.  A  dinner  at  Berthelot's,  in  his  old  house  in
the  Palais  Mazarin,  the  home  of  the  Institute,  was  a  thiug  to  be  remembered.
id  Obituary  Notices  of  Fellow.'^  deceased.
Always  charitably  disposed,  Madame  Berthelot  used  to  send  all  the  cast-utf
clothes  of  the  family  to  the  cleaners,  and  after  tliey  had  been  carefully
mended,  they  were  distributed  to  poor  friends.
In  1881,  Berthelot  was  elected  a  *■  Permanent  Senator  "j  he  thought  it
incumbent  on  him  to  bear  his  sham  in  the  GoYcniinent  of  his  country.  With
hia  wife's  help^  he  managed  to  carry  on  his  two  functions  at  the  same  time.
