Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-03-08

fresh sheet around the cylinder. One
of old Mother Goose's rhymes was muir
INJURED into the mouthpiece, and its al
phabet pricked out by the action of the
steel point. The cylinder was then re-
set, and the crank turned with the fol-
lowing result:
Rub dub dub
Three men In tub,
And who do you think was there3
The butcher, the baker,
The candestck maker,
They all jumped out of rotten potato,
The instrument is so simple in its
construction, and its workings so easily
understood, that one wonders why it
was never before discovered. There is
no electricity about it. 1t can be car
ried around under a mans arm, and its
machinery is not fiftieth part as intri-
cate as that of a sewing machine. 1t
records all sounds and noises. The
professor blew into it at intervals, and
the matrix recorded the sound and re-
turned it. He whistled an air from the
"Grande Duchesse,n and back it came
clear as fife, and in perfect time. He
rang small bell in the funnel. The
vibrations were recorded, and, on re-
setting the cylinder, the tintinnabula-
tory sounds poured out soft and mellow.
Mr.. Edison coughed, sneezed and
laughed at the mouthpiece, and the
matrixes returned the noises true as q
die. But, most remarkable, the instru-
ment sent back the voices of two men
at the same time. To illustrates: The
professor, in u deep bass voice, recited
in the mouthpiece the first verse of
"Bingen on the Rhine The matrix
was obtained, the machine reset, the
funnel placed in position, and the crank
turned. The words came out as though
some tragedian was endeavoring to
affect an audience to tears:
4 soldier of the legion lay dying in Algiers
| There was lack OF woman's nursing, there was
dearth of woman's tears,
| But a comradc stood beside him while his life
| blood ebbed away,
And bent with pitying gances to hear what he
might say.
The dying soldier faltered, and he took that
comrades hand,
And he said: :" never more shall see my own,
my native land
Take IA message and a token to some distant
| friends of mine,
For was born at Bingen-at Bingen on the
Rhine"
While these affecting words were
pouring out the professor shouted into
the funnel several petulant exclama-
tions. At the close of the verse the
cylinder and its matrix were reset, and
the recitation again came out of the
funnel, interruptions and all, as fol-
lows:
A soldier of the legion lay dying in Algiers,
Oh, shut up!"
There was lack of woman's nursing, there was
-----"O Oh, give us a rest!''
dearth of womans tears,
But comrade stood beside him while his life
oh, what are you giving us!n
blood ebbed away.
And bent with pitying glances to hear what he
----"Oh, you can't recite poetry!n
might say.
The dying soldier faltered, and he took that
---- -' Police Police ~ - -" Po-
comrades hand,
| licer'
And he said: " 1 never more shall see my own,
---"Oh, put him out!"
my native land.n
1t is impossible to describe the lu-
dicrousness of the effect. The pro-
fessor himself laughed like boy. One
of his assistants told story concerning
a trap laid for a well-known divine,
who was skeptical regarding the capa-
bilities of the instrument, and evidently
had suspicion that the professor was
a ventriloquist. He wanted to talk into
the mouthpiece himself and see if his
own words would be recorded and re-
peated. A matriX was put on the
! cylinder that had been used once be-
fore. The doctor repeated Scriptural
quotation, and, to his great astonish-
ment, it came out as follows:
He that cometh from above is above all
| L" Who are youH' he that is of the earth
['Oh, you can't preachpl is earthly, and
speaketh of the 81 think you're fraud ~ |
earth; he that cometh from heaven is above
| all. And what he has seen and heard
! Louderp' that he testiteth; and no man
receyeth his testimony ["Oh, go and see
| Beecherl"l
The possibilities and capabilities of
this remarkable instrument are wonder
full. Dolls and toy dogs can be made
to recite mlrsery ballads, and wax fig
ures of notabilities can use the voice
and language of their originals. A
prominent Snowman has already taken
steps toward the formation of museum
of wax figures similar to Nine. Tus-
saud's in London. All the figures are
to speak. MatriXes of the voice and
words of a gentleman whose limitations
of Edwin Forrest are astonishing are
to be secured and placed in the breast
of a wax statue of the great tragedian.
The voice and outward appearance of
Mr.. Forrest are to be perfectly copied.
why" says Mr.. Edison, "Adelina
Patti can sing her sweetest arias, and
by this instrument we can catch and re-
produce them exactly as sung. The
matrixes can be copied the same as
1tn Il
those owning the machine. A man can
sit down in his parlor at night, start his
phonograph, and enjoy PATHS singing
all evening if he chooses. The same
with Levy's cornet playing. The matrix
of his solos can be produced, and a
million copies taken, and Levy's solos
and PATHS arias can be given 10000
years from now as perfectly and accu-
rately as when these great artists were
alive.
Poor churches in the country con-
tinued the professor, "might have these
machines rigged up over their pulpits,
and, by using the proper matriXes, could
have Dr. Chaplin, DIR. Bellows, Beecher,
or any other great theological light eX-
pound to them in their own voices every
Sunday. Thus the poor churches would
save their money and get rid of the
poor preachers. Nor is this all. A man
in Europe has invented machine by
which he takes an instantaneous pho
tograph. Let us suppose that he pho
tographs DIR. Chaplin every second, and
we take down his sermon on the matriX
of the phonograph. The pictures and
gestures of the orator, as well as his
voice, could be exactly reproduced, and
the eyes and ears of the audience
charmed by the voice and manner of the
speaker.
"Whole dramas and operas" con-
tinued Mr.. Edison, his eyes sparkling
with excitement, "can be produced in
private parlors. The instrument can
be used in thousand ways. Say hire
a good elocutionist to read David Cop