and the startling impetus to the universal search for knowledge that
has come at the close of the nineteenth century from the modest little
laboratory in the Pleicher Ring at Würzburg.

[Illustration: A HUMAN FOOT PHOTOGRAPHED THROUGH THE SOLE OF A SHOE.
THE SHADING SHOWS THE PEGS OF THE SHOE, AS WELL AS TRACES OF THE FOOT.

From a photograph by Dr. W.L. Robb of Trinity College.]

[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPHING A FOOT IN ITS SHOE BY THE RÖNTGEN
PROCESS.--A PICTURE OF THE ACTUAL OPERATION WHICH PRODUCED THE
PHOTOGRAPH SHOWN ON PAGE 408.

From a photograph by Dr. W.L. Robb of Trinity College. The subject's
foot rests on the photographic plate.]

On instruction by cable from the editor of this magazine, on the
first announcement of the discovery, I set out for Würzburg to see the
discoverer and his laboratory. I found a neat and thriving Bavarian
city of forty-five thousand inhabitants, which, for some ten
centuries, has made no salient claim upon the admiration of the world,
except for the elaborateness of its mediæval castle and the excellence
of its local beer. Its streets were adorned with large numbers of
students, all wearing either scarlet, green, or blue caps, and an
extremely serious expression, suggesting much intensity either in the
contemplation of Röntgen rays or of the beer aforesaid. All knew the
residence of Professor Röntgen (pronunciation: "Renken"), and directed
me to the "Pleicher Ring." The various buildings of the university are
scattered in different parts of Würzburg, the majority being in the
Pleicher Ring, which is a fine avenue, with a park along one side