It was not till 1885 that he ventured to use his discovery to prevent hydrophobia. On July 6 a little boy, Joseph Meister, from a small place in Alsace was brought by his mother to Paris for treatment. He had been severely bitten by a mad dog. Pasteur, with great trepidation, but moved by his usual compassion, undertook the case. The inoculations of the attenuated virus began at once. The boy suffered little inconvenience, playing about the laboratory during the ten days the treatment lasted. Pasteur was racked with fears alternating with hopes, his anxiety growing more intense as the virulence of the inoculations increased. On August 20, however, even he was convinced that the treatment was a complete success. In October a shepherd lad, who, though badly bitten himself, had saved some other children from the attack of a rabid dog, was the second one to benefit by the great discovery. Pasteur's exchange of letters with these boys after they had returned to their homes reveals the kindliness of his disposition. His sentiment toward children had regard both to what they were and to what they might become. One patient, brought to him thirty-seven days after being bitten, he failed to save. By March 1 Pasteur reported that three hundred and fifty cases had been treated with only one death. When subscriptions were opened for the erection and endowment of the Pasteur Institute, a sum of 2,586,680 francs was received in contributions from many different parts of the world. Noteworthy among the contributors were the Emperor of Brazil, the Czar of Russia, the Sultan of Turkey, and the peasants of Alsace. On November 14, 1888, President Carnot opened the institution, which was soon to witness the triumphs of Roux, Yersin, Metchnikoff, and other disciples of Pasteur. In the address prepared for this occasion the veteran scientist wrote:-- "If I might be allowed, M. le Président, to conclude by a philosophical remark, inspired by your presence in this home of work, I should say that two contrary laws seem to be wrestling with each other at the present time; the one a law of blood and death, ever devising new means of destruction and forcing nations to be constantly ready for the battlefield--the other, a law of peace, work, and health, ever developing new means of delivering man from the scourges which beset him. "The one seeks violent conquests, the other the relief of humanity. The latter places one human life above any victory; while the former would sacrifice hundreds and thousands of lives to the ambition of one. The law of which we are the instruments seeks, even in the midst of carnage, to cure the sanguinary ills of the law of war; the treatment inspired by our antiseptic methods may preserve thousands of soldiers. Which of these two laws will ultimately prevail God alone knows. But we may assert that French science will have tried, by obeying the law of humanity, to extend the frontiers of life." REFERENCES