ty of London, or of any of the great American
universities, it was bare and unassuming to a degree. It mutely said
that in the great march of science it is the genius of man, and not the
perfection of appliances, that breaks new ground in the great territory
of the unknown. It also caused one to wonder at and endeavour to imagine
the great things which are to be done through elaborate appliances with
the Roentgen rays--a field in which the United States, with its foremost
genius in invention, will very possibly, if not probably, take the
lead--when the discoverer himself had done so much with so little.
Already, in a few weeks, a skilled London operator, Mr. A. A. C.
Swinton, has reduced the necessary time of exposure for Roentgen
photographs from fifteen minutes to four. He used, however, a Tesla oil
coil, discharged by twelve half-gallon Leyden jars, with an alternating
current of twenty thousand volts' pressure. Here were no oil coils,
Leyden jars, or specially elaborate and expensive machines. There were
only a Ruhmkorff coil and Crookes (vacuum) tube and the man himself.

Professor Roentgen entered hurriedly, something like an amiable gust of
wind. He is a tall, slender, and loose-limbed man, whose whole
appearance bespeaks enthusiasm and energy. He wore a dark blue sack
suit, and his long, dark hair stood straight up from his forehead, as if
he were permanently electrified by his own enthusiasm. His voice is full
and deep, he speaks rapidly, and, altogether, he seems clearly a man
who, once upon the track of a mystery which appealed to him, would
pursue it with unremitting vigor. His eyes are kind, quick, and
penetrating; and there is no doubt that he much prefers gazing at a
Crookes tube to beholding a visitor, visitors at present robbing him of
much valued time. The meeting was by appointment, however, and his
greeting was cordial and hearty. In addition to his own language he
speaks French well and English scientifically, which is different from
speaking it popularly. These three tongues being more or less within the
equipment of his visitor, the conversation proceeded on an international
or polyglot basis, so to speak, varying at necessity's demand.

It transpired in the course of inquiry, that the professor is a married
man and fifty years of age, though his eyes have the enthusiasm of
twenty-five. He was born near Zurich, and educated there, and completed
his studies and took his degree at Utrecht. He has be