The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-04-28

were blocked, so that entrance was
matter of DISAGREEMENT and rntfled tenn
per At eight O'clock every seat was &C.
cupied, and standing room was scarce.
Ali classes were represented, from the
man of science to the mere curiosity
seeker, though these last were by far in
the majority They were evidently
bound to have the worth of their money, |
and encored everything Unfortunately.
Mr.. Strakosch had provided, in addition
to the feature of the evening, very eX- |
celent concert programme, The tele-
phone exhibition was sandwiched be- |
tween the two parts Of the concert, and !
it was $50 before Prof. Elisha Gray, the |
inventor, appeared. There were two
grand pianos on the stage, and on one
stood what afterward turned out to be
the receiving sounding board of the new
wonder. it consisted of doubly gradu-
ated series OF rectangular hollow wooden
tubes, joined by wooden bars, to which
they were attached in the middle by
pivoted brass keys. They ranged from
two feet to six inches and under in
length, and were of corresponding
breadth. To the center of one bar was
attached an electro magnet, out of which
ran two ordinary covered wires. One of
these continued up and out through an
aperture on the left of the back of the,
stage, near the top, and the other through
a corresponding aperture on the right
A table with an ordinary telegraph in
strument was placed on the left of the
stage.
Prof. Gray was greeted with an out.
burst of applause when he stepped for
ward on the platform. He said that he
proposed to show, not musical instru-
ment merely, but something wonderful
in electricity. The audience would hear
music, not as good as had already been
performed before them, but coming from
much greater distance. He would ask
their indulgence on account of the
weather, as the. rain had tendency to
permit the electricity to escape from the
wires, so they must not expect very full
sounds. He did not know what they did
expect Some, he supposed, had come
to hear full orchestra, and others
nothing. Both would be disappointed.
In the brief time allowed he would not
be able to give an adequate description
of the principle upon which the instru-
ment worked, but he would say that 1t
came under three general heads: The
transmission of simple melody; the trans
mission of composite tones, Of which
eight or ten might be sent over the same
wire by the same instrument and an
alyzed into distant sounds on the re-
ceiver, and the transmission of the hui
man voice. The latter result was pro-
duced on a different instrument from
that on the stage-one which was the in
vcntion of Prof. Bell, who was in the
audience. In an upper room of the
Western Union telegraph office, in Phil
adelphia, was seated Prof. Boscovitz,
the pianist, with sounding board be-
fore him, fitted with keys, each capable
of making an electro-tone corresponding
to that of one Of the reeds in the reCeiv-
: ing sounding board. The least depres-
sion of any of the keys would cause an
electro magnet TO vibrate as many times
NIUIaulon would be sent through the wire
by electricity, and would be communi.
Gated to the air in the hollow tubes
through the magnet on the bar A cor
responding sound would be developed.
The tubes were on the principle of the
reeds of an organ, and were capable of
sounding both the upper and the lower
octaves. The professor said that he and
his colleague had spent very little time
in developing the telephone as musical
instrument. In conclusion, he wished to
call the audiences attention to the fact
that the music would pass under three
rivers and through the downtown West
ern Union office before reaching them.
The operator on the stage was then
directed to telegraph to Philadelphia
that all was in readiness, the professor
removed the sounding board from one
piano to another, and dead silence fell
over the audience. Presently the
familiar tones of Home, Sweet Home"
were heard, proceeding from nowhere in
particular. The general sound was
much subdued, but every individual tone
was quite distinct, especially the lower
notes. The higher notes were very
faint, yet perfectly audible. Not note
was missed. The music bore no re-
semblance to that of piano. 1t had
rather the sound of an organ. Come,
Gentil," and You'll Remember Me"
were also successfully reproduced, so far
as distinctness was concerned, the trans
mission of the variations in the latter air
being especially worthy of mention.
Prof Gray here removed the sounding
board to the floor, lest, he said. the
audience might think the pianos had
something to do with it, While in this
position the Last Rose of Summer"
was given, but in this and the subsequent
performances the sounds were much
fainter In this tune one high note was
completely missed. MAppari," from
Martha, the Carnival of Venice" and
" Yankee Doodle, " the latter in response
to an encore, concluded the telephone
portion of the entertainment, which, as
novelty, was highly entertaining, though,
unless an almost incredible improvement
be effected, it is difficult to see how the
transmission of music over the new in
strument can be ofpermanento or practical
value, the inferiority of the reproduction
in contrast with the performance being
very great.-N Y Times. :
The Philadelphia correspondent of the
Times telegraphed from the other end of
the wire
II Uas rotbor q J;eo,no;n.,l - r