New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-03-03
The Talking Machine.

It looks like the skeleton of small organ,
with the shiny brass and mahogany stripped
off, and an ornamental gilded pallor table
underneath. 1t sounds, when the lady
plays upon its many levers, like human
| voice with an asthmatic cold. 1t talks with
| a pair of bellows for lungs, an arrangement
of sliding bolts like penholders for CLOTHS.
piece of India rubber for a tongue. and
India rubber for lips. 1t is the imitation of
human voice, of it's mechanism. 1t talks
through a mechanical throat, and groans
heartily through the bellows. 1t is a sue
cess as curiosity; at present, it is nothing
more. We believe that dressed up in human
would scare the hair from its ROOTS so I'M
natural is its voice, so full of mechanical
pathos is its terrible falsetto. The principle
on which it is built is the organ; in fact, 1t
is an organ, and is worked in the same way.
Imagination is lost in picturing the effect
upon church-goers of an organ constructed
on this plan, which will sing the words of
praise to the music of the masters, for some
ingenious Yankee, We predict, will seize
hold of this invention. now in embryo, and
yet build an organ with thousand voices
that will sing like the roar of the ocean.
The manner of makingit talk it is this:
Suppose it says you" the finger is placed
upon the lever which controls the scale
and one representing Y, thence it is placed
on the one answering to Q, then on U; and
as it says "you'' one is reminded again of
hearing one talk who has bad cold. A
world of patient thought was required be.
fore the inventor realized his idea, and
thirty years of toll before the machine could
talk when it was played upon. 1t is the
mechanism Of the voice without its intelli-
weight is to metal. Some of the tones re-
mind one of a broken nose; others Of
stuffed throat; others sound like a voice in
a chest; others of a schoolboy with his gum
my fingers on the letters hesitating, under
the masters ferule, to pronounce b-a-ba. |
phia. The lady operates with the series of |
levers and the word "Phil-a-del- phi-a" is !
pronounced, sure enough. So it g0es-the |
professor announcing, the lady operating |
the machine, repeating until gratifed cu,ios- !
ty turns aside stated, and imagination dip |
ping in the future toretells the effect of this
invention few years hence. when one Or
gan may sing one song, or ''speak piece
in every note of the gamut, and repeat it's
echoes thousand times.
Mile. Aimee.
The enga cement Of Aimee's French opera
ooutie troupe at the Academy of Music has
5hus far been grand success. The crowd
I'd audiences that have nightly greeted
Nile. Aimee. the acknowledged queen of
long, gifted with rare gracefulness, attest in
he strongest manner the matcEless powers
# this charming lady. She is full of music.
There is delicious melody in her voice, and
he most ravishing harmony in her every
notion: and in person she is simply beauti-
III. No wonder. then. that Mile. Aimee
lis the Academy of Music nightly with the
ream of New Orleans society. Her La
'rande Duchessc, ON Friday night last, in |
'tfenbach's sparkling opera Of that name,
7as most captivating performance: and
be characters in that delight opera were ,
II we'll sustained by the ladies and gentle s
len who compose the excellent troupe that
Mile. Aimee.
As long as manager Bidwell plays such
jumps he is bound to have success.