The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1878-03-29
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Philadelphia C;rresponds1ee of the New

Philadelphia G. C,rrespondence of the New
| York Graphic.
| When Du MourieT, the clever En-
| glisll artist, drew his picture, showing
that in the future the notes of operate
| singers would he bottled and stored
| away in % tin 10 be drawn al leisure,
| he little thought how soon his sarcas-
tic hit would be realized by an ingeni-
Gus American mechanic. 1t can be
done at present in much more SIM
pie manner, and, in place of glass bot
ties, which are liable to break, the
notes of Albani or Cary can be trans
ferred to thin sheets of tinfoil that can
be carried easily i'm ones vest pocket.
All this and much more can be per-
formed by the wonderful speaking
photograph which was exhibited to q
small party of invited guests in Phila-
deiphia on last Saturday by Mr.. Hem
ry Bently, President of the Local Tel
egraph Company. This little instriI-
ment, which rescmbled an Old-fash-
ioned coffee mill more than anything
else, was invented by II. *. Edison, of
New Jersey, who is now engaged i'll
constructing a much larger one, which
is TO have capacity of 1900 words.
The one exhibited was capable of re-
producing about 80 words in every
variety Of accent and tone. y Tt1!JfJer'
moutbpiece enclosed thin diaphragm
of ferrotype metal, which was easily
Jared liy the voice, causing a steel
needle underneath to Vibrate in uni
son. Around groOved iron cylinder
was wrapped a sheet Oftinfoil, and the
mouthpiece adjusted 50 that the nee
die point rested lightly upon the foil.
The operator talks into the mouth
piece and turns the cylinder at the
same time, and the needle travels in
the grooves around the tinfoil, making
indentations in the surface at every
vibration caused by the voice. When
the entire surface has been traversed,
the mouthpiece is readiusted to the
starting point, and as the crank is
turned the needle springs from hole to
hole in the tinfOil, causing the dia-
phrSIgm TO vibrate as ii did when orig
inally Jared by the voice. As this
causes the opening and shuttingOf the
valves of the diaphragm, everything
that has been said in the mouthpiece
il reproduced with startling accuracy.
The explanation having been conclu
ded, the operator said slowly and dis
tinctly i'm the mouthpiece:
Now is the winter of our discomfort
Made glorious summer by this sun OF York;
And all the clouds tn e lowered upon our
house,
In the deep bosom or the ocean buried
Hip. Hip: Hurrah =. Three cheers for
Gen. Grant! Houp la! va hoo
The cylinder was then reset, and
the machine repeated the words in pre-
cisely the same tone, causing shouts of
laughter from the spectators. Anoth
er trial was then made, the operator
saying in the mouthpiece
npoa a., llerSIo Igv4a5 l.
Who upon his sJgnet ring
GnveL a maxim wise and true,
Which he ever kept in view,
And repeated day by day,
rEven this shall pass away"
my little instrument, if | had had
YOU ut the Centennial Exhibition,
wouldn't We have astonished the for
eigners? rather think so. Wouldn't
the Chinese have opened their almond
eyes when they heard you talking to
them in broken China? HeighO All,
ha-a-a-a-a "
The effects of this speech, when re-
produced by the machine, was ludi-
crOUs in the extreme, and for several
minutes nothing could be heard but
the rOars of laughter of all present, in
which the operator joined heartily. \
number of other speeches We're then
given in the nIouthpiece, including
liver so pathetieally in "ISzss Dead
Heart"
Nineteen years IN the Bastilo,
scratched my name upon the wall,
and thar name wds-itotSeFt landry. -
This was repeated by tie phOno-
graph in manner that would have
drought down the house" upon any
occasion. After several other expert
mcnts the party separated, having di-
vided the sheets of the foil that were
used to preserve as souvenirs of the oc-
casion. The mQst wonderful thing
about the phOnograph isits simplicity.
No electricity, magnets or other agents
are employed in working it, as it is
purely a mechanical contrivance. The
parts gre all made of ordinary cast
iron, with the exception or the dia-
phragm, as before stated, and the ma
chine itself could he made by any me-
chanic and operated by a child. Its
capacity for diffusing amusement and
instruction seems unlimited, and it
may be classed as one qf the wonders
of the age.