Yes, though "born of parents entirely unknown to history," three different places have claimed themselves, or been claimed, as his birthplace. Before his energies became perverted to political aims, he had endeavored to rise, by his own talent and energies, through the sciences. The year 1789 found him in the position of veterinary surgeon to the Count d'Artois, thoroughly disgusted with his failure to rise in society with the "quacks," as he termed them, "of the Corps Scientifique." Miss Mühlbach, in her "_Maria Antoinette and her Son_," presents Marat in conversation with the cobbler, Simon, as follows:-- "The cobbler quickly turned round to confront the questioner. He saw, standing by his side, a little, remarkably crooked and dwarfed young man, whose unnaturally large head was set upon narrow, depressed shoulders, and whose whole (ludicrous) appearance made such an impression upon the cobbler that he laughed outright. "'Not beautiful, am I?' asked the stranger, who tried to join in the laugh with the cobbler, but the result was a mere grimace; which made his unnaturally large mouth extend from ear to ear, displaying two fearful rows of long, greenish teeth. 'Not beautiful at all, am I? Dreadful ugly!' "'You are somewhat remarkable, at least,' replied the cobbler. 'If I did not hear you speak French, and see you standing upright, I should think you the monstrous toad in the fable.' "'I am the monstrous toad of the fable. I have merely disguised myself to-day as a man, in order to look at this Austrian woman and her brood.' "'Where do you live, and what is your name, sir?' asked the cobbler, with glowing curiosity. "'I live in the stables of the Count d'Artois, and my name is Jean Paul Marat.' "'In the stable!' cried the cobbler. 'My faith, I had not supposed you a hostler or a coachman. It must be a funny sight, M. Marat, to see _you_ mounted upon a horse.' "'You think that such a big toad does not belong there exactly. Well, you are right, brother Simon. My real business is not at all with the horses, but with the men of the stable. I am the horse doctor of the Count d'Artois, and I can assure you that I am a tolerably skilful doctor.'" We do not quote the above author as reliable authority in personal descriptions, beyond the "shrugging of shoulders," which habit she attributes to all of her characters (_vide_ "Napoleon and Queen Louisa," where she uses the phrase some twenty-three times). At the time of his assuming the dictatorship, he resided in most squalid apartments, situated in one of the lowest back streets of Paris, in criminal intimacy with the wife of his printer.... He sold their bed to get money to bring out the first number of his journal, and lived in extreme poverty at a time when he could have become immensely rich by selling his silence.