The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-11-25
DREAM OF A PHONOGRAPH
Curious Evidence Found in the Ma.
tional Library.
CyraHo Dc BcrEcrHc's Fnuciful
sketch in One of His BuciSs-PrO-
totypc OF EdisOn's Great inycntiOn.
iays of GravitHtiun and Move
nent of the Earth Also Discussed.

| OF lae tue rOic Dy fSicnaFu NdHSh%iu
has brought the name and performance!
OF that long forgotten hniglt CT both PEI
and sword prominently before the w5rlt
Of today. Two centuries and more sinct
his death. De Bergerac did not Away!
owe his fame to the exploiting Of his
deeds by a deliver in forgotten history
Ills own quill suiliced to produce literary
efforts that were much read, favorably
criticised, and which lived for more thar
a century. His writings, CT that fantas-
tic character OF which Dean Jonathan
Swift gives so singular an example IL
"Gullivei' : Travels" were perhaps the
fountains from which the saiiTical
| work
Ever since de Bergerac was brought
before the Washington public, intere in
| this remarkable personality has steadily
| grown, and many visits have been made
TO the National Library for inv. stigation
among its literary treasures, not 50 much
to discover who Bergerac was, but what
| he was, what he thought and wrote. and
| the searchers have found that Rcstand S
| hero, had he lived in these days and in
this country, would probably have had
his name on the files of the Patent Office
as budding inventor. and might have
forestalled the Wizard of Menlo Park
| Dunlap, over a century ago. in the third
volume of his History of Fiction" gives
detailed account of the best known OF de
| Bergerac's works, The Comical History of
the States and Empires OF the Moon and
Sun This, he states, had acquired high
| reputation among the compositions of this
description. He considers Y as having
served in many respects rs prototype to
the popular work of Swift, the journey of
Cyrano TO the Neon being the origin of
Swift's Brobdingnag, and that to the Sun
suggesting the plan of the voyage to La
puta.
The opinion is here given that de Ber-
gerac was the source OF inspiration for lit
erature that came after, and which has sur
vived his own writings. We would not ex-
pect to find, in his works, the source of in
ventive mechanical inspiration. Yet his
World in the Moon contains a strange
suggestion of mechanical device, which
is absolutely prophetic. Without the
knowledge of the trend of mechanical age.
which perhaps lent the power of forecast
to Jules Verne, and separated by more
than two centuries from the constructive
fulillment of his imaginative conception,
he is found describing with strange accura-
cy that most marvellous of modern inven-
tons, the monograph. That Edison de-
rived any benefit from the account is not
in the least 10 be suspected. For it is more
than doubtful il Edison. whose readings
are almost entirely devoted to practical
mechanical publications. had ever seen or
heard Of the device suggested by de Ber-
gerac Edison's invention. was the latest
evolution of scientific knowledge. Pecul-
iarly yernesque in character, however, is
the following excerpt from THE Norld
in the Moon to which the reference is
made:
Il fell to consider attentively my Books,
and their Boxes-that's to say, their Gov
ers. which seemed to me to be wonderfully
Rich; the one was cut OF single Dia-
mond, ircomparably more Respondent
than ours; the second looked like pro-
digious great Pearl, cloven in two.
las | opened the Box, l found within
somewhat of metal, almost like to our
Clocks. full of / know not what little
Springs and imperceptible Engines; 1t
was a Book, indeed; but strange and
wonderful Book, that had neither leaves
nor Letters: In fine, it was a Book, made
wholly for the Ears and not for the Eyes.
So that when any Body has a mind to
read it, he winds up that Machine, with
great many little Strings; then he turns
the Hand to the Chapter witch he desire
to hear, and straight, as from the mouth
of Man, or Musical Instrument, pro-
coed all the distinct and different Sounds.
which the Lunar Grandoes make use of
for expressing their Thoughts, instead Of
7 cfn afla cd
Miraculous Invention, | no longer Won
dercd that the Young Men of that Coun-
try. were more knowing at Sixteen. or at
Eighteen years old, than the Grey Reards
of our Climate; for knowing how TO read
as soon as Speak, they are never without
Lectures. in their Chambers. their Walks
the Town. or Travelling; thew NAV have In
their Pockets. or at their GirdIes Thirty
of these Books. where they need hut wind
IN n Snrinp IN hear n whole Cbanter .nd
ca much more n thev have n mind ~ hoar
tho Pook unite ,broupb. ca ,b,t yo, royar
van, tho rnu,any ns OH ,ha 80. s,a,
iy;,e AVID Mead ,,bo an,artai,, 49,, lie,
7 i,.;na vaioa, mi, p...a,,. -, ~. .si
a., =. -, - 80 - 49, \, nv
.o' -. an 10, az ."'N housing 'hehi
" my I,i1., I'M. pan Vi iehuah'e'
en- NaiMis
.o isoh Vi 'ne ph'hosiaph'
~ Att. g., A. D. W
e'e ucN!,e III "e peisefae taie' SHOWS
" n'a, Iea9us s.ini la mere ,i' Is the
~. co, % ai ,:..S mn W "ui
s.....,, ,0p. i"eo Gnu
-, pp Ensh,S' IL mas heilher
-. .es noi II 10 ,iiaue ior tiie
ia - aA1 no' ioi 'ne go 'ne ici,iiie
-, - ...ttr.h, -
- M ~ 49,, q" , I'm 'i,e iiiouth U,
"an' VI nusioai in instrument Iiiieht, pioceeu
al IN, me uis.ihet anu u,heieht souhus'
49, %osa,i,,, i' ~ ~ Sn,', ~ q. aeeu
80 p''n v, .me ,ioe as IL - how
eous,i uc.eu' 'nefe 10 GER