Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-12-09
BEFORE EDISON'S TINE.
OLD STORIES AND FlcTIoNs ABOUT
THE p1oNoeRAe4.

Abes MAgss's Dssasvetss - s-sss's Ii
sssssss 10 1850 "A asssy fVso H.
Nsss-Is ~ Aisy Rsai.s Il A.sssss
vs.ey-Rnsa NaseAauass asA tie Hsrn.
No inven,iou, no discovery. h,s ever come
unhesatde.i- The world waves up some has
mprning and ruhs its Startled eyes 70 ind that
Amsrica- the steam sngine, the printing
prs., have bsen a.ddsd TO irs posssssions, and
forxsts that /, dreamed Of the-s things over
night The nes fact which civilized man
claims - q xign of his advzncesn@nt VA.
happily imagined by some primevh savsge
America vas discovered Lefors Columbus,
the steam engine was anticipated BY the pre-
Christian Hero, the printing pres Vas fore
shadoved 300 years ago by the brick STAMPS
Il the Egyptians
TIE rHoxoGKAPH BEFORE EDisos-
But the pnonograph. That, At least, u
nsw; nothing ike It has ever been known 70
man-has ever been dreamed OF by mail
Wrong again. Something just ike it was
invented when Ellison was barely out Of his
cradle, and more or Irs~ dim premonitions Of
the modern marvel haInted the brains Of our
ancestor for centuries back. In the year
1850 the famous Able Aigne read psIsr
bsfore the British association describing All
instrument called the phonautograph. which
bad been recently invented by young
Frenchman, NJ T. l. Scott Thu 2honauto-
graph consists Of Z tube enlarged At one end
in the same manner ~ = trumpet, in order TO
concentrate the sounds. which are conveyed
through il 10 . thin membrane tightly
trained over the other snd Of the instrument.
This membrane carries sffixei to it an ex-
cessiveiy light stylus or pencil, which Is put
in motion by every vibration produced by
the action OF the air upon the membrane.
Behind this stylus q band Of paper, COW
cred with lAmpblack, is unrolled by clock
work, and As this band passes along the point
Of the stylus traces upon the iampbiAck all
the curvilinear and rectilinear movements
originating in the vibrations Of the MEM
brane, and thus produces in its own peculiar
character faithful reproduction Of the
sound The Instrument was still in the
rough, however and the able went on 70 ex-
plain that while it WAS fairly successful with
musical sounds the human voice presented
certain difficulties At present Nevertheless.
he had little doubt that eventually the pho
nautograph would superseie stenography,
and would register for future generations
not only the words but the very tones OF
famous actors and orators But N. Scott
seeuls To have been unable 10 conquer the
difficulties lying in his path, aud he and his
invention disappeared from view.
So much for AN actual anticipation Of Eli
sons idea In the realm Of imagination .
very curious forecast may be found in Cyreno
lie Bergerac's Voyage To the Moon,n tine
book from which Swift did not disiain to
borrow Ideas Cyrenos imaginary traveller
tells OF a wonderful book presented to him
by lunar inhabii ant, a book with neither
leaves nor letters, book made wholly for
the ears and not the eyes, 80 that when any
body has mind to read it he winds up that
machine with a great many little springs,
then he turns the hand to the chapter which
he desires, and straight rs from the mouth OF
man, OF "a musical instrument, proceed all the
distinct and different sounds which all the
lunar grandees make use of for expressing
t. cir thoughts instead of language"
Ia NJ pa Of The Tattler Sir Richard
Steele preten,is To have come in possession of
un unpublished manuscript by Sir John Man
.ieville, which gives some account III his
usual veracious manner, ''of the freezing and
tina ing OF several short speeches in Nova
Zemblan Il need not inform my readers"
adds Sir Richard, that the author Of 'Hudi-
bras alludes to this strange quality in that
cold climate, when, speaking of distracted
notions clothed in a visible shape. he adds
that simile
Like words concealed in northern air.
THE CREW WAS EKALLY AMAZED.
Mandeville's pretended story tells how the
weather was SO cold that he and his COM
panions on shipboard found themselves de-
prived OF the benefit Of speech-their words
froze in the air before they could reach the
ears Of the person to whom they were spoken.
This distressing state Of affairs lasted for
three weeks. AT length . thaw set in Our
caDin WAS Immediately flied with dry,
clatterin. sound, which afterward found to
be the cracking Of consonants that broke
above our heads, and were often mixed with
gentle Kissing which Imputed to the letter
that comes 50 frequently in the English Ian
guace
Il soon after felt breeze Of whispers rush
ing by my ear, for those Icing of a soft and
gentle substance Immediately liquified in the
warm wind that blew across our cabin. These
were soon followed by syllables and short
words and at length by entire sentences,
that melted sooner or later, they were
more or less concealed; so that we now heard
everything that had been spoken during the
whole three weeks that We had been silent
if may that expression My reader will
easily imagine how the whole crew was
amazed to hear every man talking and see
no man opening his mouth"
A still mightier liar than even Steeles
Vaudeville. the famous Baron Munchausen,
had very similar tale to tell He informs
us that. travelling one severe winter 5 day in
Russia, the position tried vainly to wind his
born in the open air. Later, when the con
pany were assembled around the kitchen fire
Of a hostelry, they heard sudden tereng,
tereng, teng, teng. I'VE looked around and
now found the reason why the Position had
not been able to sound his horn; IA, iui,es
were frozen up in the horn and now came
out by thawing, plain enough, and much to
the credit of the driver. 50 that the honest
fellow entertained u fo;- some time with q
variety Of tunes withou. putting his mouth
to his horn.
Surely Munchansen's horn is no bad proto-
type Of Eiison's phonosraph. News