The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1871-10-20
A WONDERFUL MACHIE E.
1t Laughs, Talks and Sings.

A persevering Frenchman once con-
structed q machine, In the form of q
duck, w hich could walk, clap its wings,
pick up grains Of corn, and more won
derful still, digest them, but machine
capable of talking was supposed to be
beyond the power of human ingenuity
to construct. Kempelen, a German,
ed tho words "papa" and "mamma,"
but after devoting his life to perfecting
them, he asserted that machine which
could utter all the words in use in
European languages was an impossi-
bility. After his death, his puppets be-
came dumb, no one understanding the
mechanism by which they were made
to speak. Kempelen's impossibility
has been at last overcome. In 1841
Prof. Faber exhibited a machine which
could utter a great number of sounds
and words, but it was by no means per-
feet. His nephew took up the machine
which his uncle had failed in perfecting,
and completed it. After exhibiting it
before all the crowned heads and scien-
tific societies of Europe, he has brought
an exhibition of it in private. The
machine which stands on small table,
consists of a complicated arrangement
of rubber tubes, reeds, keys, pedals,
strings and wires. The lungs are rep
resented by small pair of bellows, the
CLOTHS by reeds and pipes of different
sizes, the lips and tongue by pieces of
india rubber. Beneath the table is q
pedal by which the bellows are work
ed, and on the right hand side series
of keys on which are marked the let
tiers o. U. /. E. l.. r. W. F. S. B. D. and
g. With these and some supplement,
tary arrangements, all sounds used in
the European language can be enuncia-
ted. There is also an arrangement re-
sembling the keyboard of a piano, by
which the machine can be made to
sing. Every portion of It is open to
view, so that no deception is possible.
Yesterday the machine, under the def
hands of Madame Faber enunciated dis
tinctly all the letters of the English and
German alphabets, numerous long and
most difficult words, such as ''Constan-
tinople," "Politzka," mississippi"
"Radetzky," "hurrah," and then darted
off into long sentences in English, Ger
man and French, winding up with
laugh of the most natural kind, follow
ed by Kisses, groans and murmurs.
Every word proposed was pronounced
at once, and without the slightest hest
tatiOn. Of course some words were
but the majority were given more clear
ly than the majority of human beings
pronounced them, and even the nasal
twang which French people often adopt
was closely initiated. In Prof. Faber's
machine, the motions of the mouth aud
tongue initiate precisely those of hu-
man beings. Different keys or tones
can be given by proper manipulation
of the pedals. Taken altogether, the
"talking machine" is wonderful speci-
men of mans ingenuity. Whether it
can ever be anything more is doubtful.
1t cannot be applied to any practical
purpose, unless, indeed, dumb or weak
nerved and feeble-voiced persons should
choose to purchase them and use them
as mediums through which to address
the public.
Prof. Faber, we believe, intends to
exhibit his machine in public IS soon as
can be made for that pur-
pose. The singing portion of the ma
chine not being in order yesterday. we
were unable to determine what merit
he invention possesses as a vocalist
". 7. Times.