﻿PREHISTORIC 
  TELEPHONE 
  DAYS 
  

  

  237 
  

  

  opened 
  upon 
  a 
  common 
  stair. 
  We 
  took 
  

   the 
  apparatus 
  out 
  on 
  the 
  common 
  stair 
  

   and 
  made 
  it 
  yell! 
  My 
  brother 
  put 
  the 
  

   windpipe 
  to 
  his 
  mouth 
  and 
  blew 
  for 
  all 
  

   he 
  was 
  worth, 
  while 
  I 
  manipulated 
  the 
  

   lips. 
  Soon 
  the 
  stairway 
  resounded 
  with 
  

   the 
  most 
  agonizing 
  cries 
  of 
  "Mamma 
  ! 
  

   Mamma 
  ! 
  Mamma" 
  ! 
  It 
  really 
  sounded 
  

   like 
  a 
  little 
  child 
  in 
  great 
  distress 
  calling 
  

   for 
  its 
  mother. 
  

  

  Presently 
  a 
  door 
  opened 
  upstairs 
  and 
  

   we 
  heard 
  a 
  lady 
  exclaim, 
  "My 
  goodness, 
  

   what's 
  the 
  matter 
  with 
  that 
  baby" 
  ! 
  

  

  That 
  was 
  all 
  that 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  com- 
  

   plete 
  our 
  happiness. 
  Delighted 
  with 
  our 
  

   success, 
  we 
  stole 
  quietly 
  back 
  into 
  my 
  

   father's 
  house 
  and 
  gently 
  shut 
  the 
  door, 
  

   leaving 
  the 
  poor 
  lady 
  to 
  make 
  a 
  fruitless 
  

   search 
  for 
  the 
  now 
  silent 
  child. 
  

  

  I 
  do 
  not 
  think 
  that 
  the 
  speaking-machine 
  

   progressed 
  very 
  far 
  beyond 
  this 
  point; 
  

   but 
  it 
  had 
  undoubtedly 
  been 
  successful 
  in 
  

   realizing 
  my 
  father's 
  desire 
  that 
  through 
  

   its 
  means 
  his 
  boys 
  should 
  become 
  thor- 
  

   oughly 
  familiar 
  with 
  the 
  actual 
  instrument 
  

   of 
  speech 
  and 
  the 
  functions 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  

   vocal 
  organs. 
  

  

  In 
  order 
  to 
  show 
  the 
  educational 
  value 
  

   of 
  the 
  apparatus, 
  allow 
  me 
  to 
  speak 
  of 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  difficulties 
  experienced 
  in 
  

   making 
  the 
  larynx. 
  It 
  was 
  easy 
  enough 
  

   for 
  my 
  brother 
  to 
  copy 
  the 
  external 
  ap- 
  

   pearance 
  of 
  the 
  larynx, 
  but 
  we 
  both 
  found 
  

   that 
  our 
  ideas 
  concerning 
  the 
  interior 
  

   arrangements 
  were 
  vague 
  and 
  extremely 
  

   hazy. 
  We 
  were 
  thus 
  forced 
  to 
  consult 
  

   books 
  of 
  reference 
  and 
  anatomical 
  draw- 
  

   ings, 
  and 
  we 
  also 
  examined 
  a 
  papier- 
  

   mache 
  model 
  of 
  the 
  human 
  larynx. 
  

  

  KILJJNG 
  A 
  CAT 
  IN 
  THE: 
  INTE;RE;STS 
  OF 
  

  

  SCIENCE 
  

  

  Even 
  with 
  these 
  aids 
  we 
  were 
  greatly 
  

   puzzled 
  by 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  the 
  vocal 
  

   chords. 
  They 
  did 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  resemble 
  

   "cords" 
  or 
  tightly 
  stretched 
  strings, 
  as 
  we 
  

   had 
  imagined, 
  and 
  we 
  felt 
  that 
  the 
  only 
  

   way 
  of 
  completely 
  clarifying 
  our 
  ideas 
  

   would 
  be 
  to 
  examine 
  the 
  interior 
  of 
  a 
  real 
  

   larynx. 
  This, 
  however, 
  involved 
  a 
  visit 
  

   to 
  a 
  dissecting-room 
  and 
  the 
  examination 
  

   of 
  a 
  dead 
  human 
  body. 
  We 
  were 
  only 
  

   boys, 
  and 
  shrank 
  with 
  horror 
  from 
  the 
  

   mere 
  idea 
  of 
  attempting 
  to 
  do 
  this. 
  

  

  We 
  then 
  remembered 
  that 
  we 
  knew 
  of 
  

   an 
  animal 
  that 
  produced 
  sounds 
  greatly 
  

   resembling 
  the 
  human 
  voice, 
  especially 
  at 
  

  

  night, 
  and 
  wondered 
  whether 
  the 
  throat 
  

   might 
  not 
  resemble 
  the 
  human 
  larynx 
  we 
  

   desired 
  to 
  see, 
  so 
  at 
  last 
  we 
  determined 
  

   to 
  kill 
  a 
  cat 
  in 
  the 
  interests 
  of 
  science. 
  

   The 
  only 
  trouble 
  was 
  that 
  we 
  were 
  much 
  

   too 
  tender-hearted 
  to 
  perform 
  the 
  opera- 
  

   tion 
  ourselves. 
  

  

  We 
  therefore 
  sought 
  the 
  assistance 
  of 
  

   a 
  friend, 
  a 
  young 
  man 
  who 
  was 
  a 
  medical 
  

   student 
  and 
  therefore 
  presumably 
  accus- 
  

   tomed 
  to 
  deeds 
  of 
  blood. 
  Would 
  he 
  not 
  

   kill 
  the 
  cat 
  for 
  us, 
  in 
  the 
  most 
  approved 
  

   and 
  painless 
  fashion 
  and 
  without 
  injuring 
  

   that 
  precious 
  organ 
  the 
  larynx. 
  

  

  He 
  undertook 
  the 
  job, 
  and 
  so 
  we 
  caught 
  

   a 
  cat 
  and 
  carried 
  it 
  into 
  my 
  father's 
  

   greenhouse 
  at 
  Trinity, 
  near 
  Edinburgh. 
  

   My 
  brother 
  and 
  I 
  held 
  the 
  legs 
  while 
  the 
  

   medical 
  student 
  forced 
  open 
  the 
  mouth 
  

   and 
  quickly 
  poured 
  in 
  a 
  liquid 
  warranted 
  

   to 
  send 
  the 
  cat 
  to 
  sleep. 
  When 
  I 
  tell 
  you 
  

   that 
  the 
  liquid 
  was 
  nitric 
  acid, 
  you 
  may 
  

   imagine 
  that 
  that 
  was 
  not 
  the 
  result. 
  

  

  With 
  a 
  single 
  bound 
  the 
  creature 
  was 
  

   out 
  of 
  our 
  hands 
  and 
  rushing 
  frantically 
  

   round 
  and 
  round 
  the 
  greenhouse 
  in 
  the 
  

   greatest 
  agony. 
  I 
  shall 
  never 
  forget 
  the 
  

   thrill 
  of 
  horror 
  that 
  seized 
  me, 
  as 
  I 
  

   realized 
  the 
  condition 
  of 
  affairs. 
  It 
  was 
  

   some 
  time 
  before 
  the 
  poor 
  creature 
  could 
  

   be 
  caught 
  and 
  put 
  out 
  of 
  its 
  misery; 
  by 
  

   which 
  time 
  we 
  had 
  completely 
  lost 
  our 
  

   appetite 
  for 
  dissection. 
  We 
  quietly 
  buried 
  

   the 
  cat 
  and 
  never 
  even 
  looked 
  at 
  the 
  vocal 
  

   organs. 
  

  

  It 
  took 
  us 
  quite 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  to 
  recover 
  

   from 
  the 
  nervous 
  shock 
  of 
  witnessing 
  so 
  

   terrible 
  a 
  death 
  ; 
  but 
  our 
  medical 
  friend 
  — 
  

   or, 
  rather, 
  fiend 
  — 
  merely 
  laughed. 
  He 
  

   thought 
  he 
  had 
  played 
  a 
  good 
  joke 
  

   upon 
  us. 
  

  

  After 
  this 
  we 
  were 
  satisfied 
  to 
  obtain 
  

   our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  larynx 
  from 
  a 
  

   lamb's 
  throat 
  supplied 
  by 
  a 
  butcher. 
  

  

  TEACHING 
  A 
  DOG 
  TO 
  SPEAK 
  

  

  I 
  was 
  always 
  much 
  interested 
  in 
  my 
  

   father's 
  examinations 
  of 
  the 
  mouths 
  of 
  

   his 
  elocutionary 
  pupils. 
  They 
  differed 
  in 
  

   an 
  extraordinary 
  degree 
  in 
  size 
  and 
  shape, 
  

   and 
  yet 
  all 
  these 
  variations 
  seemed 
  to 
  be 
  

   quite 
  consistent 
  with 
  perfect 
  speech. 
  I 
  

   then 
  began 
  to 
  wonder 
  whether 
  there 
  was 
  

   anything 
  in 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  a 
  dog 
  to 
  prevent 
  

   it 
  from 
  speaking, 
  and 
  commenced 
  to 
  make 
  

   experiments 
  with 
  an 
  intelligent 
  Skye 
  ter- 
  

   rier 
  we 
  possessed. 
  

  

  