The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-02-22
DIR. KOCH'S HOME
Daily Life Of the Discoverer Of
the Magic Lymph.
WHAT HE EATS. HOW ne WORKS
Review or the famous scientist's Career
"A Little. Delicate Man with
magnificent Head.

BERLIN, Feb. Especial Correspond
ce.l-One of the new streets In the
northwestern part of Berlin, leading to
the beautiful and well-kept park Of the
German capital, the Thiergarten, is called
the Brucken Alice. The location Of the
street Il not INTERCHANGEABLE, but highly
respectable, the neighborhood being in
habited principally by well-to-do people,
officials Of higher degree. retired mer-
chants and kindred people. Situated on
this street, in close vicinity to the Belle
vue station of the city railroad, and but
few feet from the entrance to the Thier-
garten il q handsome house, three stories
high, built of brick with front finely I'm
ished in white sandstone and surrounded
by few trees and modest grounds There
Is not much traffic in the street; but when
people pass this house-its number is So
they stop for moment or two and look
with interest at the row OF closely cur
tanned windows in the second story, for
these windows belong to the apartments OF
the man who at the present time monopo-
Lies the attention Of the whole civilized
world, to DIR. Robert Koch, the celebrated
medical discoverer.
1t is no easy matter for stranger to gain
admittance TO the fat occupied by DR..
Koch and his family. They have been
overrun with patients, clamorous physi-
clans hunting for lymph, cranks land in
quisitive people of all sorts and descrip-
tons to such an extent that they were
compelled as q matter of self-defense, to
instruct the servants of the household not
to receive anybody but those known to be
intimate friends Of the family. Very sell
dom, indeed, and then only on account Of
the strongest recommendations, are excep-
tions made to the rule. All callers are re-
ferred to the assistants of the doctor, who
himself will only receive a limited number
daily, from noon to 1 p. M, in his labor
atory in the Imperial Hygienic Institute,
86 Klosterstrasse.
Those who are favored with a glimpse at
Or. Koch's family life carry away impress
sions Of the most agreeable kind. DR..
Koch, who, like his seven brothers, one of
whom resides in st. Louis, NO., was born
in the well-known mining town of Claus
thai, in the Harz mountains, where his
ancestors for generations occupied promi-
nent positions as mining officials, married
while young practitioner an accomplished
lady, and although he is but AZ years of
age, his oldest daughter by this union is
married already. She joined in wedlock
DIR. Pfuhl, the most trusted assistant of
DR.. Koch in his scientific pursuits. in fact
the only one who from the start was initi-
ated in all the particulars of the present
work. Besides Mrs. Pfuhl, DR.. Koch has
two more children, son and daughter,
who with their mother make his home
happy one.
The apartments they occupy are neither
numerous nor large, and consist of row
of three parlors, a dining-room, the doc
tors study and the necessary bedrooms.
Modest, like the head of the family and all
its members, is their establishment; the
furniture is not of snowy costliness, but
handsome, good and solid, and tastefully
arranged in the rooms designated for So
cial intercourse ana the reception of
friends. The presence of magnificent
piano in one of the parlors indicates
Mrs. Koch's fondness for music, and
good oil paintings on the walls of the
rooms, some of them by the best modern
masters, prove conclusively the finely de-
veloped artistic instinct that led to their
selection. The doctors studio, large
sunny room, with two windows opening
on the garden in the rear of the house,
contains his well-stocked library, consist
ing Of German, English, French and some
Italian works on different departments of
the medical sciences, especially on conta-
gious diseases and bacteriology, on chem
istry and physics. The walls are deco
rated with portraits of DR.. Koch's parents,
to whom he was devotedly attached, men,
bers of the family, celebrated physicians
and university friends and pictures from
his travels in Egypt and India, where he
was sent by the German government to
investigate the cholera question. A large
collection of interesting bric-a-brac, beau
tiful furs and handsome arms has been
also used in the stylish adornment of the
cosy study.
As regards apparatus for practical ex-
periments, save few microscopes, very
little Is to be seen in the study at the fam
fly residence of DR.. Koch, as, on account
of the dangerous qualities of the materials
necessary for those experiments, he natur-
ally does not care to run the risk of rails
ing all kinds of bacilli at home This is
exclusively done in the laboratories of the
Imperial Hygenic Institute. To this insti-
tute, where, with the assistance of large
corps of physicians. the heavy work is
done, DR.. Koch repairs at about 10 O'Clock
in the morning, after having risen from bed
not earlier than a. m. On the third floor
of the Institute building DIR. Koch has a
very small room set apart for his special
use. 1t is filled from floor to the ceiling
with crucibles and pots made of porcelain,
retorts and high glass cylinders, photo
graphic apparatus of various kinds stand
in one corner of the room, and on table
covered with green cloth in the middle of
the room are displayed number of micro
scopes and walls containing different COL
ors. Near the only window is a little oak
writing desk with a number of photo
graphs from, patients who have been
treated according to the doctors method,
showing the gradual change in their APP
pearance. While in the laboratory the
professor wears peculiar kind of garment.
not unlike lady's wrapper, but without
sleeves. He interrupts his work only to
instruct his assistants in other parts of the
building, and may mention the fact that
no more than two work together in the
same apartment or to inspect the animals
lures, guinea pigs, white mice, chickens,
rabbits, once in a while q couple of dogs
and monkey or two, are kept in cages in
the lower part Of the building and of
course are carefully watched and attended
to by trustworthy scientific men.
DIR. Koch's early breakfast consists of a
little cruel and piece of toasted rye
bread. He is not in the habit of taking
luncheon, and eats nothing from the time
from the laboratory, at Up. m, then din
ner Is served In very peculiar manner
there is first a roast, then some sweet dish.
and at the end q soup. At 3 O'Clock sharp
horse from livery stable in the neigh
borhood of the doctors house is led to his
residence by q hostier. 1t is an old animal
with very few claims TO beauty. The doc