BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
79 
still a young man, of full habit, with a yellow beard. He spoke 
little English, and our conversation followed slowly. He begged 
to be excused for a moment, and then returned with a gentle¬ 
man whom he introduced as Dr. W. J. Smith, working in 
his laboratory. He reminded me very much of Dr. Brinton. 
He is an Englishman, a physician, who has left practice and 
is occupied with investigation at present on the changes 
occurring in seeds during germination. I found him very 
broad and intelligent. 
“He conducted me over the rooms, and from him I found 
that Baumann was a wise and able master, to be absolutely 
relied upon as to his knowledge and power of aiding his stu¬ 
dents. I saw the basement-room where Dr. Smith is study¬ 
ing. On his table were three dishes of glass, such as we use 
for crystallizing. The bottom was covered with moistened 
filter paper, and on it many seeds wxre germinating. He 
covered these with a glass plate, and a dark cover over 
the whole to exclude light. The seedlings, as they grew 
upon their own resources, lived perhaps three weeks. The 
roots were of the most dazzling whiteness, and gave the ap¬ 
pearance of the finest tufted spun-glass. Dr. Smith said they 
were studying a glucoside and later would attempt the syn¬ 
thesis of a ferment. He offered to ask if I might become a 
private student of Baumann, and to the astonishment of us 
both, he said ‘Yes.’ He even showed us the room in which 
I might work. It was a private room of his assistant. 
“ Dr. Smith invited me to his apartment, and the same even¬ 
ing Mrs. Smith called. I was unfortunately absent, having 
gone to a performance of The Huguenots. It was not of a very 
high order, but presented an interesting picture of provincial 
life. The theatre and its occupants reminded me of a great 
family party. The Grand Duke and some ladies of the party 
were present, and sat in one of the upper stage-boxes. Upon 
the Duke’s entrance, a crier proclaimed in a loud voice that 
His Royal Highness had arrived. Immediately every one rose; 
then the orchestra began the overture of the opera. If a fire 
had started, every one would surely have been burned, as there 
seemed no means of ready exit. After the performance, a 
