Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1913-05-06
Perpetual
Youth
A Case In Which 1t Would
Not Work We'll
BY r. A. MITCH e L

/
have been substituting knee joints Il
the legs of human beings and other
wise repairing the human body clair
that they are on the way to cut OH
substances which lead to decay o
bring ON old age and when they sue
reed we shall always be able to re
main young"
"H'mr grunted Won Buest contemp
tuonsly.
"You seem to doubt the possibility o
such result"
Doubt it2 1t has been done lonl
ago"
Been done long ago! What do yo'
mean, professOr?"
Professor Won Buest took his pip,
ont of his mouth-he was always
smoking and. looking the other in th'
eye. said:
"Reinhard. the conceit Of this age Il
iutolerable. Most Of our discoveries
are accidental, though will adml
that nowadays our scientists are draw
Ing out natures secrets by scientific
experiment. Why shouldn't what ha:
been accidentally discovered today
have been accidentally discovered be
foreY
"Recause such discoveries electrifJ
the world. and we all know Of them"
Some OF them do now that knowl
edge is SO widely diffused. But yor
who are German know that there still
remnn in the fatherland those who In
vestlgate for the love Of science and
dpspislng the world, do not always
give out their discoveries. and wher
they do II IL because they will benefit
mankind"
what do you mean by saying that
the elixir of life hns been discoveredr
81 did not say that. Listen to me
ard will impart secret. Pasteur
did not begin our present methods OF
micrObe investigation. Jenner began II
Il century ago. Why should the Idea
lay dormant from the time OF Jenners
suggestion till Pasteur took 1t mp and
developed 1t? 1t did not lie dormant.
Many scientists thought about 1t. and
some made experiments based on the
Idea of vaccination which JenDer pro-
pounded.
1T Is needless to tell yOn how ! be-
| rame a scientist. You know all about
1t. was born a scientist. When |
WAS little hoy was wondering what
held the clouds In position. why OBJ.
jects were reflected In soap bubbles,
how animals walked. When ] was SIX
years old | killed my pet kitten to see
It's works. which supposed to be SIM
liar to those Of clock. That may
seem shocking to you. but 1t was the
beginning Of Investigations which led
me to prOlOng life.
"At eighteen left the university.
had found the professors a stupid lot.
handing down what they considered
knowledge from one generation to an
other. Some Of 1t was knowledge. but
The most of 1t was error. The irst
president Of this republic. Washington.
was killed by just such men. who. fol
lowing an ancient theory OF letting
blood In case of fever. bled the Father
of His Country to death. ! came Into
nv estate soon after leaving the uni
rersity. a landed property In Pomera-
min on the Baltic sea. There. rid of the
false knowledge that flooded the world.
established my laboratory.
81 followed up the killing OF my kit
ten by an onslaught upon such Inferior
animals as would give me the secrets
,t nature. worked twenty years. at
the end Of which time I discovered an
intituxin for the decay that accompa'
nies age
"Why. professorm interrupted Rein
hnrd "Yon are seventy and you look
seventy. If you discovered this anti
toxin. why did you not arrest the ef-
fects of age In yOurselfY'
mot so fast. my friend. At the time
made the discovery | was forty years
Did / could not bring back my youth.
and the beginning Of disease Is the
time to arrest it. There is another rea-
,on. did not hunt for my antitoxin
because wished to live forever, since
I knew this would bring ME intolerable
misery. / experimental to satisfy my
thirst for knowledge. And now ! can
explain to you why the world never
got nv secret. did not wish to cause
my fellow men to suifer. At my pres
eut age | have lived too long. Had
the physical strength OF youth the
mental ennui OF age would be with me.
And what would this ennui be in an
pther seventy or twice seventy yearsf
"ln the lonely region In which lived
had one congenial friend Weisbard.
His tastes were not my tastes or ]
,houId have hated him. In his world ]
fouud something different something
to freshen me. To him alone con-
nded my secret. I had cause to re-
yrpt my confidence. He had daugh,
ter fifteen years old. lovely. beauti-
ruI girl. Gould you keep her as she
/ -
nv life would be supremely happy
II sighed. for | knew that a desire
70 preserve his daughters youth would
l,aster min and he would pursue me
| IN | consented to give her perpetual
couth. I paid no attention to this
irst broad nint. but It came again and
again and finally took the form OF Q
1etinite request.
"For n year resisted. assuring
WpiSbard that II ! consented the day
wonId come when his daughter. WI
helmine, would long for age, II not 10
death. Her associates would grow Oh
while she would remain young. sh
would have experience which Is tr
compatible with youth. She woul
belong neither to her own generauo
nor the one next below her. Haytn
no proper position. being identihe
with no particular age. she would be
worse enemy to herself than the m
crobe that produces the decay of oil
age. All in vain. The opportunity
;. preserve his daughters youth an
; beauty WAS too tempting for him. H
gave me no peace till l consented.
when | began to give Wilhelmin
the antitoxin she was sixteen year
old. Hers was my first case aud IN
only one In practicing upon a huma
being after having satisfied myself Q
) the efficacy Of my remedy. and natr
rally my. efforts were not at once sui