Washington telegraph., 1856-12-10
The Calliope-


No new invention ever took coInmuni
ty 50 completely by surprise as did the
--C1iilope, the steam musical machine
with which the steamer Amazon announc
cd her arrival in port ON Saturday evening.
he sound filed the air in such mannel
that, IN all parts of the city, people fan
cled it WIS in the house over the way.
Found the corner, or somewhere else close
by; and many and ridiculous were the
Wlid-S0Ose clascs Up and down the street.
to hnd whence the extraordinary music
proceeded We needn't laugh at the as
/ tonishment of the Cherohces upon first
hearing boat snort, after being so com
! pictcly ''takeu of at the knees" by the
Caiiiope. This instrument, we presume,
Is named after Caliiope, one of the MUSES..
who was 50 named on account Of her beau
& nj silver toned voice We find in the
Boston Traveller Particular account of the
Instrument, which We subjcin for the ben
ett q our readers
''Several years ago, Mr.. J. C. Stod,!ard.
a mechanic OF Worcester, conceived the
idea that the bells, by tie vibration of
whose thin edges the ',steam whistle" is
produced, could be So arranged as to rem
der accurately the ''diatonic scale" in inu
SIC; and after experimenting for some
time he succeeded IN constructing a series
vi bells on which the seven notes of the
octave could be played by steam. The
desIderatum was now to produce valve
sufficiently delicate to correspond with the
touch of the performer Oh the key board of
b.c H. H. II
and the inventor has taken out patent.
not only for the application of steam to a
series of musical bells, but also for a new
delicate valve for the admission of steam
into the bells. The Calliope then, as now
exhibited, consists of long series of bells
varying in size and length according to
the tone TO be produced, and running
through four or five octaves. The steam
is admitted to those bells by means of :;
long series of corresponding tubes, insert
ed III small cylinder connected with the
tube with key, l. G., a Finger board"
like that of u piano-forte or crgan; and
this, in 4 steamboat: may be placed in the
ladies cabin, while the bells themselves
are In d distant p; TT of the boat. \ full
chord of eight notes may be struck at once.
as upon the organ; and it is us needless
TO say that the effect Cf such combina-
ton of musical notes is remarkably grand
aud sublime. Think of steamer, with
one OF these mighty musicians on board,
plowing its way UP the Mississippi, and
waking those vast solitudes with Its tru:n-
pet breathings, On the ocean the CALI
ope can be heard for twenty miles, discours-
ing the 8 Star Spaugled Banner" and
- iiail Columbia with accuracy The
action Of the = Ives is So nice and perfect
that the quickest tunes, as Fishers Horn
pipe Money Musk and ''AIary's We'd |
ding," can be performed with ease, and |
al the accompanying parts distinctly Civ
en-. The Glencoye, between New York !
aid Albany, las one OF these instruments
on board, and it is said the boat has dJu-
bled her number of passengers by means
o. il. The Calliope is capable of being
played with a crank as . common hand or
gan; and in this form viii doubtless take
the place of the s!iyill steam whistle on the
Kailroad; but its great utility will be.
1t seems to US, as a signal between our
steamships on the ocean, and as q diver
sion to the passengers on their voyages.-I
The consumption of steam by i, is said to
be quite inconsideraole
~ D. Crescent