As he went deeper into anthropology, he was struck by the fact that this science lacked a leading thread and was guided by no general idea but reduced to mere measurements, very precise and detailed, it is true. Metchnikoff wondered whether it would not be advisable to apply to anthropology the methods used in embryology and to establish an analogy between the diverse human races and the different ages of the individual. In order to solve this problem he had thought at first of visiting the Samoyedes as being the most primitive of the aboriginal peoples of Russia. But the project was not realisable and he determined to visit, at his own expense, the Kalmuks of the Astrakhan steppes, also a primitive Mongol race. Before his departure he went to see his family and that of his late wife. Long afterwards his sister-in-law, Mlle. Fédorovitch, wrote me the following account of that interview: He was still suffering from an inflammation of the eyes. This man, whom I cannot picture to myself without a microscope or a book, was, at that sad period of his life, reduced to complete inactivity. We had always been struck with his power of becoming absorbed in scientific reading, even during meals; it inconvenienced no one, for he heard at the same time the conversation that was going on and even took part in it from time to time. Now, the day after his arrival, I came to call him to tea and found him seated in his darkened room with scissors in his hands and the floor around him littered with small pieces of paper ... such was the occupation to which he was reduced. He told me that, if I liked, he would come to live in Moscow and devote his life and his work to our family. I refused and told him why; my refusal grieved him, but I was right. Besides a feeling of generosity, his offer was actuated by a desire for an immediate object in life. Soon after that, he started for the Kalmuk steppes in order to undertake anthropological researches. I was often haunted by the thought of his sad figure in the midst of the steppes.