Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-06-25

s.. IL reminds us OF that eQuivOcal
tory OF the minister who left out the
omma in his notice, which read:-l
Brother Jones is going to sea his wife |
SKIS prayers"
Edison. The Photographic.
Having invented machine to record
md perpetuate sounds, it occurred to
him that it was possible to make it speak
IS well as record. The thought had no
sooner dawned to him, than it was an
fact. This new machine
IS called the Auraphone.
The New York Star gives the follow
ing account of this new invention:
In the ceiling of his private Office, con-
cealed from view, with the exception of
a small, ear.shaped funnel, of dark color,
he has fitted between the rafters and the
floor above one of his double recording
and speaking machines. In the room
above a portion of the machine rises
through the floor, and attached to it is
a small wooden box, said to contain the
coils of the pipe of the trumpet, the bell
or mouth of which opens through one
side, and is made of the new substance
discovered by Mr.. Edison, and alluded
to elsewhere. With the exception of the
box, all other portions of the machine
are open to inspection: Every word ut
tered in the room below is repeated in |
the room above, with about treble or
quadruple the volume of sound although |
it can be arranged in vast excess of this.) |
While at the same time it is being re-
corded on the matrix-plate for future |
reference and preservation through the
electrotyping process. The effect pro-
duced by the auraphone is not only
comically weird, but, in many kways,
alarming. Sending an assistant to the
room below in order to test its capacity
for catching whispers, the orator direct
ed by Mr.. Edison, bent down his ear to
the little box only to be deafened by the
inquiry, "What do you think of the au-
raphone?" shouted in tones that almost
made the house rock, followed by
laugh so mockingly- hideous and I'M
earthly as to make the blood curdle with
horror. This we soon discovered to be
one of the peculiar jokes incidental to an
introduction to the auraphone, always
hugely enjoyed by the inventor and his
attaches. Subsequent experiments prov
ed the exquisite sensitiveness of the
machine. The faintest whisper, the
| ticking of clock, the rolling of lead
pencil over the desk, the tearing of Il
small piece of newspaper. sigh, tune
successfully delivered in the room shove
in exaggerated volume. At night, when
the quiet is more profound, Mr.. Edison
informed US that he could plainly hear
| the ppyring of his cat in the Office be-
low.
The effects to ba produced by the in
| PRODUCTION of the auraphOne will be
wonderful. When all walls have ears,
literally, what is to become of our con-
| fidences? With the spy ever in wait
for us, not only to repeat them, but to
also manufacture their indisputable
proof for transmission and preservation,
what are we to do? Will society become
thoroughly honest, virtuoUs and goad
or will it be torn asunder by dissension
and relegated to savagery? When mans
sins are popping up in Judgment at all
times and places; when man is forced to
! go through the world with window,
as it were, in his bosom, will it longer
be pleasant or even an endurable place
to live in? And yet to face this actual
!; contingency we are brought by Mr.. Edi-
son and his new auraphone.
The subject for contemplation is SO en-
tirely new and SO absolutely startling in
its nature, that we may well shrink
from considering its more serious as
poets, in view of its almost bcEnaless
possibilities and results. But there is,
happily, no shade without sunshide, and
it is not without its comical, though not
less vexatious, sides. Fifty or sixty dol
lars at most, Mr.. Edison Informed us,
, would cover the expense of placing one
of these machines, mechanical ears, in
the ceiling of any room, SO nicely CON-
cealed as to escape observation, and cap.
able Of being so nicely adjusted that "tlie
dropping of "a pin upon the carpeted floor
could be heard IL the room above"
NATURAL SELECTION.
2 Investigators of natural science have
, demonstrated beyond controversy, that
/ throughout the animal kingdom the
! Survival of the fittest" Is the only law
that vouchsafes thrift and perpetuity.-
} Does not the same principle govern the
l commercial prosperity of man? An In
ferior cannot supersede superior arti-
: ticle Illustrative of this principle are
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l D., of Buffalo, n. Y. By reason of their
superior merit, they have outrivaled all
other medicines. Their sale in the Uni
ted States alone exceeds one million dol
!, lars per annum, while the amount eN-
ported foots up to several thousand more.
No business could grow to such gigantic
proportions and rest upon any other ba-
: sis than that of merit. 1t is safe to say
that no medicine or combination Of med
icines yet discovered equals or can Gcna-
e pare with DR.. Pierces Golden Medi-
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. colds, and all pulmonary and blood af-
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and liver sluggish, his Pleasant PUrga-
, tive Pellets will give prompt relief
. while his Favorite Prescription will pos
3 itively, perfectly, and permanently, cure
. those weaknesses and dragging down"
sensations peculiar to females. In the
, Peoples Common Sense Medical Advi-
> ser, an illustrated work nearly one
thousand pages, the Doctor has fully
discussed the principles that underlie
health and sickness. Price $1.5G, post
paid Adapted to old and young, sin
t gle and married. Address r. V. Pierce,
: NJ. D., Worlds Dispensary and Inva.
: lids Hotel, Buffalo, n. Y.
ToNGUEs.-N othing but the proboses
of an o1nOb Mt oor1 r,uroc in 1r,1cO,11o r