The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1878-03-09
Mary had little lamb.
It's fleece WIS whito as snow,
And everywhere that ,iary won't,
The lamb was sure to go--to 90
Oph ooh of,h-nbl

ana tho crank turned Yory slow.
The effect WAS ludicrous, for tho
Professor had originally pronounce
ci @aa w.rcii with great gravity
An 'i.;"iLJ, .nd the drawing way
III which tho instrument repeated
them would have nado q horse
laugh. The cylinder was then
turned very fast, and tho words
flew out Of the funnel SO fast that
they struck the ear in confused
mass. But most extraordinary
effect was produced when the Pro
fessor turned the cylinder back
ward. It said:
Go to sure wns lamb tho,
Went Mary that everywhere and,
Snow rs white was fleece its.
L,mb little a had Mary.
All this with profound gravity, rs
if the fate of the world depended
upon the accent and pronunciation
Mr.. Edison then tore off the tinfoi
and wrapped a fresh sheet around
the cylinder. Ono of old Mothe
Goosa's rhymes was murmured into
the mouthpiece, and it's alphabet
pricked out by the action of the
steel point. The cylinder was then
reset, and the crank turned, with
the following result:
Rub dub dub,
Three men in tub.
And who do you think WAS thcrc2
The butcher, tho baker,
The candlestick maker,
They 'all jumped out OF a rotten potato
The instrument is so simple in
it's construction and it's workings
so easily understood, that ono
wonders why it was never before
discovered. There is no electricity
about it. It can be carried around
under mans arm, and it's ma
chinery is not fftieth part as in
tricate as that of sewing machine.
It records all sounds and noises.
The Professor blew in it at inter-
walls, and the matrix recorded the
sound and returned it. He whistled
an air from the "Grande Duchesse.
and back it came as clear rs fife
and in perfect time. He rang o
small bell in tho funnel. The
vibrations were recorded, and, on
resetting the cylinder, the tintin-
nabulatory sounds poured out soft
and mellow. Mr.. Edison coughed,
sncezed and laughed at the mouth
piece, and the matrixes returned
the noises true as die. But, most
remarkable, tho instrument sent
back the voices of two men at the
same time. 1t is impossible to
describe the ludicrousness of the
effect. The Professor himself
laughed like boy. One of his
assistants told q story concerning
n tap laid for we'll known divine,
who was skeptical regarding the
capabilities of the instrument, and
evidently had suspicion that the
Professor was ventriloquist. He
wanted to talk into the mouthpiece
himself, and see if his own words
would be recorded and repeated. A
matrix was put OIL the cylinder that
had been usad once before The
Doctor repeated Scripture quota
ton, and to his great astonishmont,
it camo out us follows:
He that cometh from above is
above all C"Who are you 81; he that
is of the earth ["Oh, you can't
preach II is earthly, and speaketh
of the ["I think you're fraud u
earth he that cometh from heaven
is above all. And what he has
seen and heard ["Louder, old
pudding head!"] that he testitieth
and no man rcceiveth his testimony
["Oh, 60 and see Beecher!"]
The possibilities and capabilities
Of this remarkable instrument are
wonderful. Dolls and toy dogs can
bo made to rccite nursery ballads,
md wax figures Of notabilities can
use the voice and language of their
originals
"Why," says Mr.. Edison, "Adelina
Patti can sing her sweetest arias,
and by this instrument we can
catch and reproduce them exactly as
sung. The matrixes can be cops
led the same rs storeoscopic views,
and millions sold to those owning
the machine. A man can sit down
in his parlor at night, start his pho
nograpb, and enjoy PATHS singing
oil the evening if he chooses.
"Poor churches in the country"
c continued the Professor, "might
have those machines rugged up over