The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-09-16
FOUR LIVES IN ON L.
ALVEY IL. Adea in The ArgOnaut.l

taking the volume and caressing 1T Ike
live thing in his fumbIing hands This
book was given to me by the great Kant
himself" he added.
Reverentiy replacing it, he advanced a
few steps toward the middle of the room.
Ronald followed, and, turning from the
windows, looked further around him. In
striking contrast to the undisturbed disOr-
dor, so redolent of middle age alchemy, was
the big table that thanked the laboratory
through its whole length. 1t began with n
powerful galvanic battery, SUCCEEDED by
wiry labyrinth of coils and helice5, with lit
tie keys in front of them like a telegraph Of
flee retired from business; these gave place
to many necked jars wired together by twos
and threes like oath-bound patriots plotting
treason; beyond them stood great glass
globe, connected with n siZable air-pump,
and filed with complexity of shiny wires
and glass ware; next doomed up huge in
dnction- magnet carefully insulated on solid
glass supports; and at the farther extremity
of the table lay a corpse.
Ronald Wyde, i'll spite of his many-sided
experience of dissection rooms, and mOrgues,
and other ghastlne to which he had long
since accustomed himself from principle,
drew back at tho sight-perhaps because he
had come to this strange place to clutch the
ld-old mystery of the life-essence, and
found himself. instead. confronted on its
threshold by the equal mystery of death.
Herr Lebensfun1e smiled feebly at this
move ment.
"A subject received this morning from
Berlin" he sail, in answer to Wyde's look
of inquiry; "a sad piece of extravaganza,
mein Herr-a luxury to which l can rarely
afford to treat myself"
Ronald Wyde bent over the body and
looked into its face-a rough, red face, that
had seemingly seen forty years of lowlived
dissipation. The blotched skin and bleary
eyes told of debauchery and drunkenness
and slight alcoholic foetidness was per-
ceptibe, as from the breath of one who
sleeps away the effects of a carouse.
81 hope you don't think of restoring this
soaked specimen to life" said Ronald.
THAT is still beyond me-" answered the
old man, mournfully; las yet l have not
created life of higher grade than of the
lowest zoophyte
do you claim to have done as much as
thatP
1T is not an idle claim" said Herr Lob
.nsfunk, solemnly; "look at this if you
ioubt."
"This" was the great crystal globe that
rosa from the middle of the long table, and
dominated its lesser accessories, as some
great dome swells above the clustered
houses of town. Tubes passing through
its walls met in smaller central globe half
filed with colorles, liquid Beneath this and
half encirclinS it, was an Intricate maze of
bright wire; and two other wires dipped
into it, touching the surface of the liquid
with their platinum tips. Within the liquid
pul:ed shapless mass of almost transpar
ent spongy tissue
you sec an aggregation of cells possessed
of lfe-of how order, it is true, but none
the less life, " said tho philosopher, proudly.
"These were created from water chemically
pust, with the exception of a trace of am
monil, and imprognated with liquid carbon
by the combined action Of heat and induced
electricity, in vacuo. Look
He touched one of the keys before him.
Presently the wires legan to glow with
faint light, which increased i'll intensity till
the coal famed into pure whiteness. Re-
moving his finger, the current ceased to
flow, and the wire grow rapidly cool.
II passed the whole strength of sixty cups
through it to show you its action. Ortlina-
rily, with one or two carbon cehs, AMI re-
filming the current by triple induction, the
temperature il barely blood warm"
Pardon an interruption" said Ronald
You spoke of liquid carbon; does it exstp
Yes; here is some in a vial. See it-how
pure. how transparent how it loves and
boards the light" The old man held the
vial up as he spoke, and turned
it round and round. "See how it
hashes No wonder, for it is tho dia-
mond, liquid and uncrystalized. Think
how the fools of men have called dia monds
precious above all gems through these many
weary years, and showered them on their
kings tossed them to their mstres ses'
feet, never dreaming that the silly stone
they iauded was inert, crystalzed lifel'
"Can't you crystalline diamonds yourselfa'
asked Wyde, "and make FreiDerg q Col
conda and yourself CrnSus!'
at could be done after the lapss of thou
sands of years." replied Herr Lebensfunke
place undilutod liquid carbon in that in
ner globe, keep the coil Mt II white heat, AMI
If Adam had started the process, his heir-at-
law would have a koh -i-no3r to-day, and
nice In wSuit for its possession"
R1nali Wyde bent toward the globo once
moro and examined tho throbbinS mass
closely, whistling softly meanwhile.
"lf you can create this cellular life, why
not develop it still higher into an organ
ismf'
Because l can only create life-not soul.
Years ago l was "a free thinker; now my dis
coverie have made m, deist-for 1 found
that my cells. living they were, and pos
sassihg undoubted parietal circulation, were
not germs; aud though they might cluster
into a bulk, like thi., n bubbles do to form
froth, To evolve animal or plant from
them wa far beyond me-lhat needs what
W. call soul But, IN searching bindly for
tins higher power, | grasped a greater dis
coVery than any had hoped for-the power
To Isolate life from its bodily organism
"Iou have TO keep the bottle carefully
corked, should imagine laughed Ronald.
"Not quite" aid Herr Iebensfunke join
ing in the laugh; life is not gIue. My grand
discovery il the life magnet"
Nv hlch has tho post of honor on your
table hore, has it not'' inquired Ronald
drawing his hand from his pocket and point
ing to the insulated coil
The old man glanced keenly at his hand
as he did 50; at which Ronald seemed con-
fused. and pocketei it again abruptly.
"Yes that is the life-maruet You se.,
this bent glass tube surrounded by the helix
That tube contains liquid carbon mass
through the helix current of induced cleo
tricity, generated by the action of thes,
sixty Bunseu cups upon a succession of coils