France by the great wars of religion. Here was a bond of union; and Tronchin was struck at first sight with the appearance and address of young Berthollet, and before long he became fondly attached to him; and so efficacious was his patronage, that he succeeded in getting him nominated one of the physicians of the Duke of Orleans, the uncle of the reigning sovereign.

He soon became known for his chemical knowledge and skill, and for the original and independent mind which he brought to bear upon the science to which he devoted all his powers, and in whose interests he expended his whole existence. Prior to the outbreak of the French Revolution, the improvements which Berthollet introduced, by his scientific discoveries and indefatigable researches, into the arts of bleaching and dyeing, secured for him universal gratitude and applause. One of his most important discoveries was that of the application of oxy-muriatic acid to the purposes of bleaching. Cloth, when first taken from the loom, bears a faint colour, which must be made to disappear entirely before the material can be dyed. This was formerly effected by bleaching on the grass and repeated washings-a very long and inconvenient process, and one requiring great extent of ground. Berthollet substituted the chemical process now in general use (and which has also been applied to the preparation of paper), which is now brought to a degree of perfection never attained under the old methods.

Great saving of labour, time, and expense, immense

tracts of waste land restored to cultivation, the preservation of the cloth from the injury by friction, and the purity of the whiteness in the bleach, were the results of this valuable discovery. The only personal advantage Berthollet ever derived from it was a present of a bale of cotton-stuffs bleached by his process, which was sent to him by an English manufacturer. It is not improbable that this was the celebrated Mr. Watt, who immediately saw the importance of the discovery, and actually applied it in whitening five hundred pieces of cloth. With noble disinterestedness, Berthollet refused to sell or monopolize his invention, which would infallibly, in the course of a few years, have enormously enriched him. His desire was that the benefit should be diffused as widely as possible; and without loss of time he communicated his experiments, and subsequently published them in his work entitled "Description of the Bleaching of Cloths." Berthollet united great energy of character to his remarkable scientific capacity. M. Pariset, in his eulogium on this great chemist, relates an anecdote which deserves to be perpetuated. During the bloody period of the Revolution, when the selfconstituted tyrants of France demanded an implicit obedience, under penalty of death, Berthollet was commanded to examine some casks of brandy suspected of being poisoned. Finding in them no injurious substance, he sent in a favourable report; but this did not satisfy the accusers, who were probably desirous of ruining the unfortunate mer

chant, that they might confiscate his goods. Accordingly, Berthollet was sent for and interrogated. "Are you sure of what you tell us?" they asked in ferocious accents. "Perfectly sure," was the calm reply. "Would you be willing to make the experiment upon yourself?" He unhesitatingly filled a glass and drank it off. "You are very bold," exclaimed one. "Less so

now than when I sent in my report," was the intrepid reply.

Subsequently to the Revolution, when France was cut off from the usual resources of foreign supply, he came forward with other eminent men to remedy the deficiency by the appliances of skill and science. In the organization of the celebrated Institute of France, which comprehended all the men of talent in the capital, Berthollet took the lead, and long laboured, with the most active assiduity, to promote its interests.

After the subjugation of Italy by the French arms, Berthollet and Monge, the celebrated geometrician, were appointed deputies by the Directory, to select those objects of the arts and sciences, which ought to be transferred to Paris. In the execution of this task Berthollet came under the notice of Napoleon, who, struck with his genius and practical talent, formed a high opinion of him, and when he subsequently transported a French army to Egypt, which it was hoped would prove a valuable colony to France, he induced Berthollet, with a band of savants, to accompany him. During this campaign he rendered himself remarkable by his personal intrepidity, his humanity, his scientific

investigations, and by the respect which the Commander-in-chief paid to his merits and usefulness. Many traits, illustrative of the courage and energy of this remarkable man, are preserved with reference to this expedition. In the desert, and among the wild Mamelukes, he was ever foremost in acts of daring, and by his example, he animated the courage and gaiety of the soldiers. After the disastrous retreat from St. Jean d'Acre, he gave up his carriage to the wounded generals, and traversed on foot twenty leagues of desert, as though it had been a mere excursion. In the pursuit of his scientific researches he did not hesitate to encounter all sorts of dangers. It would have been well if his courage had sprung from a higher source than mere animal spirits; but, like so many of his companions and the men of his age, he regarded not God, and practically set aside His authority. On one occasion, when fired on by some Mamelukes, as he passed in an open boat along the Nile, he was observed to fill his pockets with stones; and being asked what he was about, he replied "Making ready to sink; so that I may not be mutilated by these rascals!”

On his return to France, in 1799, he was nominated a senator, and received the distinction of grand officer of the Legion of Honour. He was afterwards provided with the rich senatorie of Montpellier. All this liberality on the part of his Imperial master did not, however, suffice to meet the multiplied demands upon him. His numerous experiments, made on such a

large scale, his constant labours for the improvement of the arts, and the maintenance of a vast laboratory, which he kept always open to his friends and to strangers, and above all, to the numerous pupils whom he delighted to see studying under his auspices the most delicate processes of chemical science,-all this exhausted his means, and he was obliged to reduce his personal expenses, to sell his horses, and to withdraw | from court. But Napoleon, who entertained for him a high regard, and called him his chemist, summoned him to the Tuileries, and after reproaching him for not making known his circumstances, gave him a munificent present, which he repaid by fresh discoveries and new services rendered to science. Not long after he returned from Egypt, M. Berthollet took up his residence at Arcueil, a village about three miles from Paris, where he pursued, in peaceful seclusion, those fine researches which adorned the close of his career. There he established a society for the advancement of the sciences he loved, and surrounded by men of like pursuits and kindred talent, reaped the best rewards which earth can give, in the friendship and esteem of his compeers.

Alas! this tranquillity was abruptly and for ever destroyed, in consequence of the dreadful event we are about to relate. He had an only son of the most promising talents, who had already co-operated with his father in scientific researches and publications, and whose abilities and character had excited the most sanguine expectations of his friends. This unhappy