The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-04-19
A Professor S
Story
By OSCAR cox

After the death of Professor koop-
man, one Of the most remarkable sci
entists OF Germany, the following man
uscript was found among his papers.
His son, into whose hands they fell,
refused for long while to publish it,
for there We're those who believed that
the professor had impaired his mind
as well as his body by too close appli-
cation TO scientific research. However,
the heir at last assented. The paper
reads:
Holding the chair of chemistry in the
university, all the work of my brain
has been devoted To the decomposition
and reconstruction of matter. | have
long been convinced that we must pass
through matter to get at spirit-in 9th
er words, our medium instead of being
a person must be science. Now. 10y
chemical agents We photograph matter
which We can see More than this. we
photograph objects we cannot see eN-
cept 10y the aid of the microscope Still
more We photograph objects beyond
the range of our vision even assisted
10y the telescope Ergo. may we not
by the extension Of the process nj last
get picture of beings existing In
spirit form:
This dry scientific preface is but pre-
limnary t. the story | have Ia tell aud
is essential Ia lis understanding. Ten
years ago | married Louisa Markham
Five years ago she died Since then
my scientific studies have run in but
one view 10 bring her within the sight
of my mortal eyes.
The discovery of radium gave II new
Impulse Ia my Investigations. Radium
is the first substance known to exert
power without eXhauSting itself The
steam engine must have coal the body
food As soon as | heard of radium II
struck me that here was II substance
akin To spirit. neither requiring fuel
We may photograph matter even
though invisible Therefore may we
not photograph spirit?
| will not ask you tn follow me in
my studies of Photographic processes
| tried To penetrate the realm of soul
| will only say that l at last discover
ed substance which | converted into
plate. or. rather, laid upon a plate. a
hundred times more sensitive than any
known form of matter 1t was one of
many | had tried I'm making ordinary
photographs and failed But on one
occasion while experimenting with 1t
! was called away. On returning sew
eral days later | took the plate from
the camera to develop it.
To assign a reason for this impulse
l had no object of which was con
sclous would he to leave the scientific
field ana enter that of psychology.
am convinced that | was impelled by
one In the spirit world to develop the
plate Such direction given To human
thought Is very common. | developed
, my plate not with the usual agents
, but others had proved by experiment
to be far more delicate-and what was
my establishment to see the semblancc
, Of human forms The difference be
tween them and living persons | can
[ not explain. To get an idea Of them
e they must be seen.
: Why these figures had appeared he
| fore my camera | do not know.
+ could never get them again IL they
4 We're spirits they had happened to b,
{ where they would be photographed.
i pondcred long on how | might pho
e tograph my wife, provided she was &C
i customed to frequent places she haC
: been used to frequenting In life. There
u Is n window OF her bedroom at whicl
i she used To sit and look over a view 81
:. rolling ground on which were scatter
e ed several Of the college buildings. 1
Il occurred to me to keep plate con
e stantly exposed hearing on the chai
she had used in this window In thu
e hope that she would come there.
A weeks exposure failed 10 show
:, any impression on the plate Possibly
e ! thought ordinary light is not stron,
e enough for the purpose ! determined
v to use the strongest light available.
The room faced south. the sun bein,
! on 1t In summer from S o'clock in tn
< morning TIL about : I'm the evening.
Il rugged a lens on the principle of thu
! common sunglass-out the window
y throwing on the chair a light com
(" posed of the converging rays OF tn
! sun My lens was arranged to turn b.
a clockwork. so that the light thrown OF
q, the chair would continue irrespective
It OF the suns apparent motion.
| exposed my plate all one very clea
d day. but found nothing on it when de
Is veloped. For five successive days tn
% sun shone well. | continued the ex
r posture. After the fifth exposure fain
"a figure appeared on the plate. A prin
Is showed woman sitting In the chair
q. The figure was not distinct enoug
N for me to tell whether or not IL wa
that OF my wife. | mourned the In
g perfection OF my materials and sighe
m that | had none more delicate.
~ caught the figure at the window seS
eral times. but the impression was
ways blurred How | longed to pr'
: duce picture that would give the fes
n mn