The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-04-27
The Photograph Exhibited.

AN intelligent audience about half
filled Chickering Hall last evening, to
listen to Prof. j. w. S. Arnold's de-
scription of Edison's speaking phono-
graph. On the stage was aformidable
array of apparatus. There were no
less than six tables, all covered with
mysterious instruments. On one was a
guitar rampant, with a complication of
wires and tubes attached to it. This
| afterward proved to be a singing and a
vocal telephone. On another was a Gu
rious glass bottle, which turned out to
be an instrument for measuring the Vi
brations of sound, called a svren.
There were half dozen magic lanterns,
with all sorts of trestlework and mir
rors and magnifying glasses about
them, several gas-retorts, four or five
tuning-forks, of various sizes, a toy
harmonicon, a blackboard with bar of
music painted on it, an immense mus
lin screen, huge papier mGche human
ear, and little machine that at first
sight appeared to be an ordinary crimp-
ing machine. The professor assist
ant, DIR. Miller, had great trouble in ar
ranging and rearranging the various
instruments. He finished, and disap-
peared, and there was a long pause.
The audience stood it until twenty min
utes past the hour, and then began
stamping vigorously. Finally the gas
was turned on, and simultaneously the
Professor entered. For an hour and a
half he kept his hearers interested by
lucid explanation of the physical con-
struction of the human organs of speech
and hearing and of the philosophy of
sound, the lecture being illustrated at
intervals with curious experiments, in
which not only the apparatus before de-
scribed, but also the organ of the hall,
was made to play part. One rather
novel experiment was the throwing up
on the screen, by means of strong
electric light and an arrangement of
mirrors, of shape representing the
/" fundamental tone'' of vibrating
tuning-fork. DR.. Miller spoke into an
apparatus devised to initiate the tvm-
panum of the human ear, and the ltl-
minous shape was splashed about on
the screen in the most eccentric man.
ner. By bringing other tuning-forks
of various capacities into play, many
diverse and beautiful figures were OBJ
tanned. The two telephones were in
cidentally introduced, with a result APP
parently not down on the bills. DR..
Miller went into the cellar, and Prof.
Arnold asked him through the speak
ing telephone whether he was ready.
On receiving what was presumably an
affirmative response, he called out to
go ahead. The doctor, it was under
stood, was to sing a song. In few
moments "Auld Lang Syne," loud and
clear, resounded from the guitar, in
close imitation of the Vox Humane
pipes of an organ, as the professor aft
terward showed by a practical illustra
ton. After the first stanza there was a
pause, and the Professor went on with
his lecture. He was instantly inter-
rupted, however, by the notes of the
second stanza. He waited patiently to
the end, and then there being another
pause, took fresh start, when along
came the third stanza. The professor
took summary measures this time by
detaching the wires.
Finally, holding up the little crimp-
ing machine, he said that it was the
photograph that everybody had been
waiting for. On closer examination it
was seen to consist of little fly-wheel
with a polished outer surface grooved
with a delicate spiral thread. Its axle
was also grooved spirally so as to run
sideways, and was attached to crank
handle. On one side was an adjusta-
BILE iron arm with hole at the top, on