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* cannot distinctly hear one or more words 
* Toudly vociferated at’ a greater distance 
than 91 metres, or, aliout 260 French feet. 
Tt may, however, be extended to 97 me- 
_tres (or about 300 feet) by persons with 
strong voices, who are habituated to this 
ind of exercise. The same result did 
not happen with respect to inarticulate 
sounds, or the cries or exclamations used 
by bargemen, sailors, officers giving the 
word of command, who pronounce only 
_the iast syllable distinctly, &c. These 
exclamations may he understood at 
‘much greater distance; and certain 
travellers (probably with that  exag- 
“geration which distinguishes most of 
‘their narratives) inform us, that the 
American savages inform their compa~ 
-nions, of their danger by means of ‘cries, 
which are understood at the distance of 
‘half a league. 
_ Supposing then, first, that these cries 
of the Gauls were intelligible at the 
distance of ninety-seven metres (about 
fifty toises); secondly, that the persons 
employed in the correspondence | had 
been stationed ina direct line. from Ge- 
nabum (Orleans) to Gergovia, (a town 
which stood on a mountain on the bor- 
ders of the Averni, not far from the place 
where Clermont was afterwards. built,) 
distant from each other 28 myriametres 
for about 53 leagues), it would appear 
that -2630 men, or 50 for each league, 
_ would have been required. If so consi- 
derable a number had been employed in 
the transmitting of the intelligence, we 
must suppose that they were stationed 
before hand for that particular purpose, 
or, what is still more improbable, that 
they had been so engaged from, the be- 
guming of the war. The narrative. of 
Cesar, then, idoes not appear to be accu- 
“Tate: but it may be brought nearer to 
probability, by supposing that they were 
‘signals, the nature of which had been 
-earefully concealed from the Roman ge- 
feral, and which, deceived by the popular 
rumours, he had been induced to believe 
to be only certain cries. These beacons 
“might have been placed near the scite 
_ of the town of Bourges, at Toul-Sainte- 
Croix, and Puy.de Dome. Each of these 
- distances, is less than that from, the pro- 
-montory of Lilybzum, to Cape Bon. 
“This explication. of the fact related by 
Czsar, is simple and very probable, and 
I accordingly propose it with confi- 
‘dence. - 
‘It isa mistake to suppose that the an- 
“cients used instruments for the purpose 
of increasing the strength and loydyess of 
»Montury Mac., No. 176. 
Proveedings of Learned Societies. 
‘kind of speaking-trumpet. 
249 
the voice; and the word clamore, in this 
passage of Cwsar, expressly does away 
every idea of it. The speaking-trumpet 
of the moderns has not been invenjed 
two hundred years. Would the ancients 
have so often praised particular, men 
on account of the extraordinary strength 
of their voice, if by such an instrument 
they had been able tu quaduplicate the 
strength and extent of the human yoice ? 
Would Homer have several times men- 
tioned Stentor, if a speaking-trumpet 
could .haye enabied Agamemnon to give 
his orders in such a manner, as to. be 
distinctly heard and understood by his 
whole army ? 
Cleomenes, the astronomer, (Cycl. 
Theor, Jib. ii, p..169,) says, “ Xerxes sta- 
tioned men, at various places from Susa 
to Athens, for the purpose of speedily 
conveying intelligence to Persia, of the 
event of his warlike operations against 
the Athenians. By this means news ar- 
rived in Persia from, Greece, in the space 
of one night and one day,” .Qn_ the 
maps of Danville, the distance in a direct 
line from Athens to Susa, is about 234 
myriametres (or 480 leagues). But.as 
this correspondence is not said to haye 
been carried on by means of carrier. 
pigeons, and the.Egean Sea would have 
interrupted the vocal transmission, we 
must add to. the distance the.extent of 
road between Athens and the Hellespont. 
The real distance thus becomes 253 my- 
riametres (520 leagues); and for such a 
mode of correspondence as is mentioned 
by Cleomenes, no less than 26,000 men 
would have been required ; and 1t is quite 
incredible, that so greata, number, should 
-haye been so employed. Di es 
What, Dioderus..Siculus (xix,.cap..47, 
p- 331,.ed..Wesseling,) relates.of Eume- 
nes,.js .still more marvellous. ‘He says 
-that, beingencamped on the-banks of the 
Tigris, and. wishing «to |be joined by 
“40,060 archers fiom-the- most remote 
parts of the Persian empire, he eins 
ployed for that purpose the vocal! corres 
“spondence established in that country; 
,and that by thisaneans, his orders were 
transmitted in the course of asingle day, 
to. provinces at the distance. of ,30 days 
journey. , itis necessary to remark, here, 
that; Diodorus -expressly. says, that. for 
this business they chose such, persons as 
had the strongest voices: from which we 
may conclude. that they did-not use any 
A day’s jours 
ney in Asia, is usually reckoned ‘to be 
about 5 myriqmetres: the 30 days jour+ 
ney would accordingly be equal to 150 
Kk myriametres, 
