Year: 1875


The Mysterious Professor schulz,


cling Be Rim.


The Berlin correspondent of the Lon
don Standard, writing on the Doth of Feb
ruary, saws:


The following strange story is in circu-
lation: On the 4th of the month, toward
evening. stranger called upon the owner
of a well-known medal foundry in Berlin,
and after some introductory phrases began
to launch forth into a learned disquisition
about the movements of the heavenly
bodies in such a manner as to excite the
astOnishment and admiration of his hearer,
the more so as the latter possessed no
knowledge whatever of the subject in dis
course. The mysterious stranger, who
gave no clew to his own identity. stated,
among other. things, that he had just
come from the Observatory, where great
preparations were being made for an event
of unparalleled interest in astronOmic cir
cles; an event which took place only once
in every hundred years. This he explain
ed to be the passage of the planetoid Pluto
across the disc of Mars. He was desirous.
he added, of casting a medal in eommemo-
ration of this rare occurrence, which was
TO come off at midnight precisely between
the 9th and 9TH of February. The medal
founder kindly offered, in the interests of
science, to place his crucibles and
other melting apparatus at the dis
posal of the stranger, without making
any charge for their use. The stranger
was profuse in his thanks, and soon after
ward withdrew, promising to return at
the appointed night and hour. 1t hap
pened that the proprietor of the foundry
had small party of friends assembled un-
der his roof on the evening of the 9th,
and in the course of conversation the
stranger of two nights before was men,
toned, with the particulars of his visit.
All expressed a great wish to see him, ii
he should really make a second appear
anee, for it was generally surmised that
his only object had been to play hoax
upon the master of the house by getting
him to heat his furnace and prepare
his materials for nothing. Orders were,
however, given to make the necessary ar
rangements, and upon the stroke of IL the
man reappeared in an overcoat tightly
buttoned up to the chin. He this time
gave himself out to be Professor Schulz,
of Charlottenburg. He was then escorted
to the melting-hOuse, all the guests FOL
lowing him with great curiosity. When
every thing was ready for the operation
the selfstyled Professor Shulz produced
an English sovereign, a piece of an old
fashioned gold watch chain, a piece of a
silver chain, a small bar of iron, and few
copper coins. These were thrown into the
melting-pot, and at u o'clock to minute,
when the mass was in thorough fusion, the
professor cast four medals, each of the size
of two-thaler piece. As soon as they
were ready for removal he wrapped them
up very carefully, without having shown
them to any body, and then made his bow.
The whole thing seemed very strange,
and when the man was gone the company
began to speculate upon his odd behavior,
and to regret that he had not been detained
and forced to give some fuller account of
himself. His unusual appearance, too.
aroused suspicion, for it was noticed that
he had never taken off his overcOat, which
seemed abnormally bulky, as with some
hidden weight hat threatened to drag all
the buttons away from their moorings.
Skepticism being now fairly aroused, even
Pluto himself was treated as an impostor,
until upon inquiry at the Observatory it
was found, believe, that he actually ex-
lists, but that he has never shown any IN
tentiOn of taking trip across Mars disc.
No Professor Schulz was traceable at the
Charlottenburg address given by the
stranger, who is set down as either a mad
man or an impOstor. Upon the latter
view his proceedings are not very expli-
cable. Ii is supposed, however, that he
really had a much larger quantity
of gold and silver, under various
forms. secreted about his person, but
that the presence of SO many spectators
disconnected him, and prevented him from
carrying out his original design of melting
the lot so as to destroy its identity 1t is
thought that he may belong to gang of
thieves, and publicity is given to the story
in order that if any of his accOmplices .ry
the same game in other quarters they may
meet with their deserts. Be this as it may,
the mysterious Professor Schulz, with his
melting-pot and his medals, is the hero OF
the hour in Berlin.


Since the above was written, hear that
the prOblematic DR.. Schulz melted a gold
ring with the other objects, after having
removed the stone from the setting, a cir
cumstance calculated to increase the gen.
eral suspicion. 1t is remembered that rob
berries ON a large scale have been commit
ted during the last eighteen months,
among other places at the British and
! Spanish embassies, and very lately at the
Royal Castle, and it is cOnjectured that at
tempts are now being made to destroy the
! identity of some of the missing property.
! On the other hand, DIR. Schulz produced
the impression of being a man of educa-
| ton. He seemed to have travelled much,
especially in Africa and in various parts of
Asia, was very entertaining and had by no
means the appearance of a burglar or of a
receiver of stolen goods. The riddle,
therefore, still remains unsOlved.