National Republican., 1884-11-19
FLAMES PRODUCED BY KISSES.
A Scientific Study Suggested by Emma Alb.

Selentlnc study NnRgeateu ny Emma AD.
botts Osculation-A Surprising Discovery.
Emma Abbotts kiss always produces feel
ings Of ecstatic Joy among those who witness
Il, but these plcasurablc sensations which
come by observation can, of course, only
reach their maxima when the witness be.
comes participant in the osculatory act.
The causes which produce these sensations
have been wondered at and have for some
engaged the attention of scientists Thcyar
now generally attributed to be the result Off
peculiar kind of electricity which shows its
presence In the form of light whom kiss Is
bestowed and returned. Every one VIII ad-
NIT that there Is considerable fire, metaphor
ically speaking in tho act, but few are aware
that, as fnct, actual fire has an existence,
and that flame can be discerned, This has
boon proved by Reichenbpch's experiments.
Forty years ago he made an elaborate series
of experiments in support of his claim that
Light emanatcd from the end of magnets lie
also claimed that the same phenoma could be
observed ut the end of the fingers These won
dcriul sights Were confined, however, to n
small class of people called by the baron
"scnsitives." lie attributed tho lames to the
action of a peculiar force analogous to heat,
electricity, and magnetism, but distinct nom
all, which he called "Odye" This force he
also assigned Us the cause of spontaneous som
nalnbulism, or, when nrtiiiCally produced, us
the mesncric state. llo found that the lips
ahd tongue were markedly ioci of this i'm
HplutIhult power Ut llIutllit NDltll tNlHtA III
the human body, aud by which one human
being was able TO produce In another the mes
merle state. He says, Here we obtain not
altogether uninteresting explanation Of the
true nature aud siguliicunrr of kiss; the lips
are one OF the iOci Ot udyle, Hnd the nunigs
which our poets describe ~ belonging To th0m
rs q matter of fact actually play there.
The barOn's cNpgriuprts were ridiculCd ana
deserted Us absurd 10y The scientist OF his day,
some even changing that his statements weru
wiIlIuly false Du B1is Raymond said his de-
duclious were AN absurd romance. Ghe reply
Oi the bnrOn was in effect that since the birth
OF science, ignorance had assumed to sit IN
judgment and condemn Wh1t II could not un-
derntalid. IL now seems riDHDlU thht his re-
ply was propcrune, aud Ihnt his experiments
are OF the greatest value The Etttricdf Rc'
Dictr OF November says that one Oi the most in-
teresting achievements IN It's line is the recent
phOtOgrdphny of luichunbachis flames, In
! total darkness u perforated blaCkened card was
| paced one.elghth Of an inch above perma-
| no ii horseshoe magnet Il sensitive dry plate
beng set all eighth OF an inch above the card.
Attor an exposure of five minutes result was
| obtained, aud this was repeated many times.
| The most remarkable thing was the discovery
| that there was a positive aud sometimes II
negative image found under precisely the
same conditions.
This seems to establish the truth of tho
baron's experiments, SO far rs the magnets are
concerned and If this Is true there seems to
| be no reason for doubt that an osculation
actually produces flame. II 1t was found pos
sible by means of a proper lens to bring TO Il
focus the light of several magnets, 1t is there
| fore probable by u similar arrangement to
photograph the flame or osculatory light us the
resultant of several simultaneous kisses. OF
course the light produced in this way Is but
| feeble, and 1t is hardly within the bounds of
| probability that II will be used for that pur-
pose of general illumination. lfa third party
| was allowed TO be present i'll dark room
| where two others were engaged III kissing the
| fame would be seen by him. The facts
claimed by the baron rs to magnets are not
Il InNN oil Ia hnI
| when steel or iron Is magnetized its several
molecules or particles are in state Of vibra-
| tion---n other words, they are doing work. As
| the magnet acts as well through Il vacuum as
| through air 1t must, therefore, be able TO put
| in motion particles OF ether, und light is but
the vibrations of ether. A limited or definite
source of work must sooner or later become
exhausted and 1t Is well known that Il magnet
| LETT without its armature or keeper gradually
| loses Its power, and this is shown TO be the
case If it Is eXhausting itself in doing work to
| produce light.
1t is not known, but presumed that the
| odyle in Emma is of u positive character, as
she comes from the kissing ordeal without any
signs ofexhaustion, and even more bright and
| chippy than when the scene began, conse-
quently there does not seem to be any appar-
ent loss of power by the work she has per-
| formed, and 1t must be inferred that as Il
magnet Is strengthened and its power in
creased by its armature or keeper Emma's
power for kissing is increased every time she
| indulges in It, Therefore the length of the
kissing scene Ia gradually increasing to such
an extent that II she lives for a great number
OF years, which 1t is hoped she may, it will
require the whole number of hours of an
| evenings performance for the osculutory ex-
ercise. The length of time for the kiss depends
entirely on how long it requires tho flame pro.
duced by the positiye and negative currents
| of odyle to become exhausted, or, In other
words, die out. 1t would be very interesting
| to have little Emma's kiss photographed, but
IL dry plate sufficiently large could not be found
which would cover IT, The combustion, how
ever, would be most brilliant and fully COM
pensate by lis intensity for the loss in the size
| Of the flame.