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PARIS, FRAHCE.
Institut Pasteur.
Bertrand and Dr. Pierre Le Compt-du-Nouey.
I had the misfortune to visit the Pasteur Institute when Bertrand
was away, but I had met previously at a dinner at Lapicque's Dr. Pierre
Le Lompt-du-Nouey who had charge of the new division of biophysics
a„ the Pasteur Institute. Frankly, I was bewildered by the mass of
new and obviously frightfully expensive apparatus of every conceivable
xorm, spectrographs of every kind and, too, a great deal of work on
blood serum, especially with the question of viscosity and the changes
in the hydrogen-ion concentration. The whole thing was beyond me but
I was astonished that they could get such an equipment together and
yet there was the complaint that funds were obtained only with
difficulty. It appears, however, that at least sometime rather
recently.a very considerable sum of money was available to set up
this entirely new division.
Professor Bertrand I was very sorry not to see at the laboratory,
although his micro-chemical work dealing with the minute qualities
of the metals does not interest me especially. I did see him
frequently on several social occasions and at my lectures and at a
most delightful social affair at his house on Sunday afternoon.
Altogether he is a most stimulating, charming personality and a
complete refutation of the idea of sloppiness and carelessness in
French scientific work. He is a man of whom it can be said, "He thinks
in nothing less than the third and fourth decimal figure."