Huntsville gazette., 1890-10-04

is the exclusive property OF church
chimes. If ever there was set of bells
in complete tune nobody ever heard of
such thing. There is always high
note which isn't within mile of the key
and big booming bass bell which will
keep rumbling on when it ought to have
stopped About three Hiles away on
clear summer evening there is nothing
more beautiful than a church chime,
but right near there is nothing which
can excel it's discords at times. The
figure of speech literally correct in this
case. The nice-looking young men
about the Office make up regular con-
cert programme sometimes with these
cylinders and go out and give an
entertainment. The numbers have
great variety, ranging from "nig-
ger minstrel" song with banjo accom-
paniment to short lecture on the
phonograph which modestly ref ers to
the reasonable rental which the instru
ment commands.
The Edison phonograph is the best
for musical repetitions. The cylinders
can be cleaned off and used over and
over again. But they are rather bulky
and a trifle heavy. This is the advant-
age of the Bell e. Taintor graphophone,
that its cylinders are very light and can
be put into light box and mailed in
stead of a letter. Mr.. Hoitt gets letters
from his wife in Omaha and modestly
confesses to the kisses sent by postal
service. The baby prattles and COOS
into the instrument, and its papa visi-
bly, swells with pride as he listens to it
here in Chicago. That is one of the
points of difference in favor of Bells
machine, but then the cylinder, which
is covered with an asphalt preparation
can be used only once.
Both the machines are fitted out with
apparatus which stop the sound at any
desired moment and then take it up
again at the operators will. This is for
the convenience of amanuenses. Say
reply to letter is to be dicta ed by the
head of business house. He talks it
into the receiver and the typewriter
girl sits down to copy it from the dicta-
tion of the phonograph. She rattles off
the "Dear sir, your favor of the 1st inst.
at hand, and would say in reply"-and
there she throws the switch till she
catches up. Then it goes ahead that
we can ship you seven carloads of as
sorted gum-drops at the following rates
T. o. b." and so on.
There are several kinds of motive power
for the phonograph cylinder. There's
the storage battery and the water motor
and the foot-treadle arrangement, and
the last machine out is an institution
that turns with hand crank. This
comes in a case with handle, and
weighs about as much as the satchel of
hardware drummer. In fact, it is in
tended for the convenience of travelling
salesmen, who are often pressed for time
to write letters, and who would be en-
abled by this machine to take the or
ders on to a cylinder while they are
riding on the train. The machine is
also pretty good advertising scheme,
and we'll adapted to make the eyes of
the provincial storekeeper bug out with
astonishment. The advent of one of
UucSo WOu1u DO SuDlOlChU
to make talk for three months in town
like Pallala or Balloonville. This form
has only just come out, and has not been
regularly put on the market.
Perhaps not least among the interest
ing things to be seen in the office Of the
Chicago company is big japanned fun
mel, taller than man and about four
feet wide at the flare. That is used to
take the record of a full band. The
musicians get in front of that horn and
play into its depths, and that little glass
diaphragm of the bigness of half dol
lar meckly takes it all and puts it down
in it's own improved method of short
hand. Another curious thing is the diff
ference in the pitch of tune as the
speed Of the cylinder is less or greater.
To throw on swifter motion causes the
key to come sliding up and the move
ment to accelerate. 1t is the most per-
feet modulation which can be conceived
and is enough to drive q musician to
despair.