The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1878-06-20

over, till the ear trumpets had to be
used. At last came to the ear of the
listeners, II am whispering now; do you
hear meF" Mr.. Planter was six hundred
feet distant, yet his whispers were per-
fectly distinct. Bachelor walked away
from him fifteen feet, and signaled that
he could not, with the unaided ear, hear
his companions whispers, which were
audible to us on the porch. AS six hun
dred is to fifteen, SO is Edison's ear
trumpet to the unaided ear-twenty to
one.
But the experiments were scarcely
begun.
Bachelor and Painter walked off
across the fields till they were mile dis
tant. They crossed many undulations
up hill, down dale, now vanishing,
now reappearing, till they finally stood
forth on a hillock in plain sight, but
diminutive and boy-like in size.
Signals were exchanged. All ready"
One at each end put the trumpet to
his ear.
Perfectly distinctl" said Redpath.
He says, John Browns body lies
moldering in the grave
Then he spoke towards the figures on
the distant hill, az hear that distinctly.
How loud are you talkingY
4" In an ordinary tone of voice." came
in response to the man with the trum-
pet; scarcely louder than / would
speak in parlor."
Then we tried it all around. 1t seemed
very strange and uncanny to hold a
conversation in an ordinary voice with a
man mile off, without a speaking
trumpet, and with no wire or electrical
assistance whatever.
"This is really telegraphing without
a telegraph" exclaimed Redpath.
As we could plainly see with our
opera-glasses that the man on the hill
had his trumpet in position" Mr..
Edison stepped to the front of the porch
and spoke to them, clearly, but in a
voice that could scarcely have been
heard two hundred feet away. "Go a
mile further off and get range"
He waited awhile and chatted about
the phonograph and telephone, and the
new sound magnifer of the Englishman,
Hughes, which Edison declared a
straight steal" from the principle of
his carbon telephone, when at last Mr..
Redpath said, !" / hear them"
But we could not see them anywhere.
They had vanished.
"He says" Mr.. Redpath repeated,
"Now is the winter of our discomfort
-four fourteen dollars a barrel, and
haven't got cent"
There was laugh at this, and Edison
announced from the other end of the
stoop that he had found them. We
moved twenty feet, and their white flag
was just visible through the distant
trees.
| Salutations were exchanged over the
two miles of intervening ground, and an
opportunity was furnished to all present
to hear the wonderful phenomenon.
This ear trumpet, or telescopophon,' %
as it is called, is internally a curious
combination of tunnels centering in a
chamber and radiated by wires. Mr..
Edison before Christmas hopes to COM
plete for the use of partially deal
people small but somewhat complex
instrument, which, when connected with
thin wire to the ear, will enable any
one to hear every whisper off the stage
of the largest theater.
The Graphic asked permission to de-
scribe and sketch the ear trumpet for the
Graphic, but was refused permission al
present on account of some delay of the
patents. But the country and the
world may be assured that our sketch
does not in any way exaggerate the
merits of this latest invention of this
marvellous mana device which Seems
likely to make the deaf hear, and which
will certainly open new methods G
communication to supplant the telegraph
and telephone.
You are going away for summer
rest, I hear," said the Graphic to tn
gray-eyed inventor.
If I can get away from this shop,
said he. "The proprietors of White
Mountain hotels have generously place'
that region at my disposal" he added
laughing. "They even offer to place
6 locomotive at my command If I ca
! get there shall talk ten miles from on
, peak to another with my telescopophon.