New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-08-16

/ b Wo1-O0SerV00 reputation - y pr0Ctlc0l
| engineer and organ builder. In true
on to the object of his visit without any of
those fastidiOus circuml0cuti0ns 80 much a
| la mode in Europe II know your per-
plexity," said he to Mr.. Halanzier mot q
| little surprised at the assurance exhibited
| by the strangely, -"yOu are in need Of q
tenor, and you can not find one, of course,
our age being ro more devoted to fine arts,
but to science, industry and politics; and
| for my own part I'll always deplore that
| General Butler, whom heaven has gifted
| with Splendid baritone voice, deserted his
natural vocation and became -. But
never mind Ben Butler; l guess you don't
care tor him. Perhaps you have heard, at
| the time of the last Paris exhibition, Of
a steam organ whose powerful sounds gave
| judgment. which will awake the dead and
| strike down the living. Well, / was the
, inventor of that new factor OF harmony, one
of the greatest attractions of your splendid
universal tair But, you know, our motto
| is Go ahead and, after five years of the
| hardest work, combinations and expert
ments, and at a considerable expense OF
| money, have just succeeded in completing
| an invention which, / am proud to say. shall
| be called the wonder of our wonderful cen
fury, a steam singer and declamator. which,
in precision and purity, leaves far behind it
all human nightingales of past and present
times. 1t consists of silver, steel, copper
and lead tubes of different sizes, pro-
vided with seven times as many pistons
as there are notes in the gamut, thus Civ
ing fully seven octaves, while Mr. Tam6er-
Xix himself could never reach the third one.
This com inatiOn of tubes, carefully adapt
ed to a steam engine, which underlies the
stage, remains in the side scene, SO that the
audience doesn't see it at all. Now, then,
you need not trouble yourself any more
about tenor, nor, indeed, about any kind
of singer, either male or female. The whole
question hes IN getting good pantOmimists,
who silently open their mouths and make
the appropriate gestures: the have not to
utter single sound, my steam singers per-
forming all the musical part of the role and
doing so with such perfection that the
illusion ought to be complete. l intended
to keep this marvel of mine a secret till the
great Centennial exhibition at Philadelphia
opens its doors, but l am, before all,
philanthropist and a friend of arts, and
your lamentations have struck me to the,
heart; and, see, had many Inconvenience
t. encounter with your policy before could
arrive here in safety, for l have, of course.
brought with me a specimen of my steam
singer, ard those stupid fools took me at
first for Communist agent sent to France
with an internal machine, intended to ex-
terminate at once the National Assembly,
the ministers and MacMahOn himself
Pooh! But, rather come with me to the
Grand Hotel, SO that you may have look,
and, above all, hearing of the thing"
And poor Mr.. Halanzier, quite stunned at
his visitors incredible revelation, followed
him, without being able to utter a syllable,
to the splendid Partisan Capernaum, in the
grand salon of which the new wonder was
already disposed, under the guard OF
Winkel's servants and machinists. At a
sign given by the inventor, the engine was
put in motion, the automatical tenor parti-
ton of Robert lie Diable" was adapted to
the key-ring, and for nearly two hours the
inmates of the hotel and the people in the
neighbOrhOod were struck with surprise
and admiration at the almost divine voice,
which made itself distinctly heard, in all it's
purity and powerfulness, for 500 yards
around.
Almost mad with emotion Mr.. Halanzier
fell into Mr.. Winkel's arms and precipi-
lately took him to his notarys, where
deed of cession granting to Mr.. Halanzier
the exclusive right for ten years of using in
Europe Elias Winkel's steam singer appa-
ratus was drawn and signed at once.
Through this treaty, the existence of which
nobody knows yet, the Paris Opera House
will become once more the first academy of
music in the world, and Mr. Halanzier is
here to recuperate hundred times the 500,-
600 francs which he has paid to the Ameri-
can inventor.