Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-08-12
Asinsing Aaiornaton.

The room in St. James Hall, long enliv-
cned by the Christys Ministries, IS now de-
voted to a singular exhibition, bearing iUr
It's uitle the singular word IAnIhropoglOs5o
Entering the room the spectator nnds his
attention attracted by large waXen head
bearing no slight resemblance to the late
NJ Julien. with something like silver fun
mel stuck into its mouth. This head does
not stand upon pedestal, but is sustained
Oy gilded chains suspended from the cell
| ing. at the first glance 1t might be taken
for very idealized AUNT Sally" but on
closer inspection the spectator will perceive
below the bust a small glass case contain
my some sort of mechanical apparauliS.-
10 an aperture in this case the exhibitor
applies u key, and after winding-up pro
cession has been duly accomplished, a par
of lilIle bellows are seen to work, and the
sound II human, singing the music and
words of song; quite rs distinctly as any
flesh and blood vocalist, issues from the
mouth of the head. Six songs terminating
with God save the Queen" constitutes the
1 ---"--- - fr---si..-. ~ baasi &.
likewise with tunnels in their mouths. may
De observed at the back OF the room, but
these are not yet brought into active ope-
ration. When their musical education is
complete we may possibly be favored with
duets and trIos. .
Ii we remember right, it was Alexander
The Great who played the Tyre with such
wOndrous skill rs 10 elict from his father
the remark that the performance was too
good for future King. In the same man
ner, notwithstanding the assurance that
the loss of "Polly Perkins and the fasci-
nation Of the dark girl dressed in blue Z"
are celebrated "by means Of the incest and
most exquisitely CONSTRUCTED mechanism
we cannot help remarking that the srticu-
latlOn Is almost too uneXceptiOnable fora
machine. There IS nothing wooden or
metallic, or squeaky, or hitchy, in the whole
performance but the lyric etfusiJns go Off
as glibly as though some artist of the Music
Halls were singing them through one of
those p pes that fUrIn a communication re-
tween the principals pariOr ana the
clerks room IN a merchants counting
house. Hence we fear wicked PyIrhonists
viii arise who will doubt the connexion
between the winding-up Of the machine
and the utterance Of the melodies. OF
course, they will be altogether wrong, but
the presence of voice less decidedly hu-
man would have incalculably increased
the facility Of refuting them However,
the sceptic and the believer Will both agree
that the exhibition is extremely ingenious
The head is not large enough TO contain
any human performer, nor does it commu-
nicate in any visible manner with any re-
mote source or sound. There il hangs, in
chains, in state of defiant insulation. and
il you will not believe that its voice proceeds
from the little bellows it challenges You to
point out another origin.
To most persons OF the present genera
ton the ''Anthropoglossos,' will we think,
be an absolute novelty but the older
among Us will, perhaps, recollect that at Il
time when the name Of Madame Tussaud
was unknown in London there was, on the
southern side OF Fleet-street, collection of
wax figures, ostensibly belonging TO one
Mrs. Solomon. In one OF the rooms of the
OdiEee th-st eontainsd this collection was
the so-called Invisible Girl" small sus
pended box from which issued voice
that answered questions and sang songs
Whether the I'd "IRvisible Girl, was sim.
liar in principle to the Anthropoglossos'
We cannot say.-LoHdoH Paper.