﻿228 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  ALEXANDER 
  GRAHAM 
  BELLAS 
  FATHER, 
  MOTHER, 
  HIMSELF 
  

  

  (ON 
  THE 
  LEFT), 
  AND 
  TWO 
  BROTHERS, 
  MELVILLE 
  

  

  AND 
  EDWARD, 
  WHO 
  DIED 
  IN 
  YOUNG 
  MANHOOD 
  

  

  corrector 
  of 
  defective 
  utterance. 
  He, 
  

   however, 
  branched 
  off 
  in 
  a 
  new 
  direction, 
  

   as 
  an 
  inventor. 
  He 
  devised 
  a 
  remarkable 
  

   system 
  of 
  symbols 
  for 
  depicting 
  the 
  ac- 
  

   tions 
  of 
  the 
  vocal 
  organs 
  in 
  uttering 
  

   sounds. 
  These 
  symbols 
  could 
  be 
  used 
  in 
  

   printed 
  form, 
  like 
  letters 
  of 
  the 
  alphabet. 
  

   He 
  claimed, 
  indeed, 
  that 
  what 
  he 
  had 
  

   really 
  invented 
  was 
  a 
  universal 
  alphabet, 
  

   capable 
  of 
  expressing 
  the 
  sounds 
  of 
  all 
  

   languages 
  in 
  a 
  single 
  alphabet, 
  and 
  that 
  

   his 
  letters, 
  instead 
  of 
  being 
  arbitrary 
  

   characters, 
  were 
  symbolic 
  representations 
  

   of 
  the 
  organs 
  of 
  speech 
  and 
  of 
  the 
  way 
  

   in 
  which 
  they 
  were 
  put 
  together 
  in 
  utter- 
  

   ing 
  sounds. 
  

  

  THE 
  MELVILLE 
  BELL 
  SYMBOLS 
  

  

  For 
  example, 
  let 
  me 
  give 
  you 
  an 
  illus- 
  

   tration. 
  The 
  symbol 
  for 
  what 
  we 
  would 
  

   call 
  the 
  letter 
  M 
  consisted 
  of 
  a 
  curve 
  

   forming 
  the 
  outline 
  of 
  a 
  human 
  lip, 
  com- 
  

   bined 
  with 
  another 
  symbol 
  meaning 
  that 
  

   the 
  two 
  lips 
  were 
  shut 
  together. 
  Then 
  

   there 
  was 
  a 
  third 
  symbol, 
  indicating 
  the 
  

   vibration 
  of 
  the 
  vocal 
  chords 
  in 
  forming 
  

   voice; 
  and 
  still 
  a 
  fourth, 
  showing 
  that 
  the 
  

   soft 
  palate 
  was 
  depressed 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  open 
  

   the 
  entrance 
  into 
  the 
  nasal 
  passages. 
  

  

  These 
  four 
  symbols 
  were 
  combined 
  into 
  

   a 
  single 
  character 
  reminding 
  one 
  of 
  some 
  

   strange 
  letter 
  in 
  a 
  foreign 
  language; 
  but, 
  

  

  unlike 
  any 
  such 
  letter, 
  it 
  

   was 
  not 
  necessary 
  for 
  

   you 
  to 
  hear 
  the 
  sound 
  in 
  

   order 
  to 
  reproduce 
  it. 
  

  

  The 
  symbol 
  could 
  be 
  

   analyzed 
  into 
  a 
  direction 
  

   to 
  do 
  something 
  with 
  the 
  

   mouth, 
  and 
  if 
  you 
  fol- 
  

   lowed 
  the 
  direction 
  you 
  

   uttered 
  the 
  sound, 
  even 
  

   though 
  you 
  had 
  never 
  

   heard 
  it 
  before. 
  

  

  The 
  symbol 
  for 
  M 
  

   could 
  thus 
  be 
  translated 
  

   into 
  a 
  direction 
  to 
  "shut 
  

   your 
  lips 
  and 
  pass 
  voice 
  

   through 
  the 
  nose." 
  Now 
  

   you 
  will 
  see, 
  if 
  you 
  shut 
  

   your 
  lips 
  and 
  pass 
  voice 
  

   through 
  the 
  nose, 
  you 
  get 
  

   one 
  sound 
  only, 
  the 
  sound 
  

   of 
  the 
  letter 
  M. 
  

  

  I 
  remember 
  my 
  father 
  

   giving 
  a 
  public 
  lecture 
  

   upon 
  his 
  system 
  of 
  Uni- 
  

   versal 
  Alphabetics 
  when 
  I 
  was 
  a 
  boy, 
  and 
  

   I 
  acted 
  as 
  his 
  assistant 
  upon 
  the 
  occasion. 
  

   I 
  was 
  sent 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  hall, 
  and 
  then 
  the 
  

   members 
  of 
  the 
  audience 
  were 
  invited 
  to 
  

   make 
  any 
  sorts 
  of 
  sound 
  they 
  desired, 
  to 
  

   be 
  symbolized 
  by 
  my 
  father. 
  It 
  was 
  just 
  

   as 
  easy 
  for 
  him 
  to 
  spell 
  the 
  sound 
  of 
  a 
  

   cough, 
  or 
  a 
  sneeze, 
  or 
  a 
  click 
  to 
  a 
  horse, 
  

   as 
  a 
  sound 
  that 
  formed 
  an 
  element 
  of 
  

   human 
  speech. 
  

  

  Volunteers 
  were 
  called 
  to 
  the 
  platform, 
  

   where 
  they 
  uttered 
  the 
  most 
  weird 
  and 
  

   uncanny 
  noises, 
  while 
  my 
  father 
  studied 
  

   their 
  mouths 
  and 
  attempted 
  to 
  express 
  in 
  

   symbols 
  the 
  actions 
  of 
  the 
  vocal 
  organs 
  

   he 
  had 
  observed. 
  

  

  I 
  was 
  then 
  called 
  in, 
  and 
  the 
  symbols 
  

   were 
  presented 
  to 
  me 
  to 
  interpret 
  ; 
  and 
  

   I 
  could 
  read 
  in 
  each 
  symbol 
  a 
  direction 
  to 
  

   do 
  something 
  with 
  my 
  mouth. 
  

  

  I 
  remember 
  upon 
  one 
  occasion 
  the 
  at- 
  

   tempt 
  to 
  follow 
  directions 
  resulted 
  in 
  a 
  

   curious 
  rasping 
  noise 
  that 
  was 
  utterly 
  un- 
  

   intelligible 
  to 
  me. 
  The 
  audience, 
  how- 
  

   ever, 
  at 
  once 
  responded 
  with 
  loud 
  ap- 
  

   plause. 
  They 
  recognized 
  it 
  as 
  an 
  imita- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  noise 
  of 
  sawing 
  wood, 
  which 
  

   had 
  been 
  given 
  by 
  an 
  amateur 
  ventrilo- 
  

   quist 
  as 
  a 
  test. 
  

  

  I 
  remember 
  another 
  still 
  more 
  remark- 
  

   able 
  test. 
  My 
  father 
  handed 
  me 
  a 
  piece 
  

   of 
  paper 
  with 
  a 
  very 
  simple-looking 
  sym- 
  

  

  

  