56 



Js(aturall Hi/lory - 



240 



241 



. Experiments 

 in Confort 

 touching the 



Reflexion of 

 ^Sounds. 



242 



243 



244 



245 



Hearing ,and Learning , And Birds give more heed, and mark Sounds, more 

 than Beajis ; Becauie naturally they are more delighted with them, and pra- 

 <5life them more-, As appeareth in their Singing. We fee alfo,that thofe that 

 teach Birds to fing,do keep them Waking,to encreafe their Attention. We 

 fee alfo,that Cock-Birds^ amongft Singing- Birds, are ever the better Singers $ 

 which may be, becaufe they are more lively, and liften more. 



Labour ,and Intention to imitate Voices, doth conduce much to Imitation i 

 And therefore we fee, that there be certain Bantomimi, that will reprefent 

 the voices of flayers of interludes, fo to life, as if you fee them not, you 

 would think they were thofe Players themfelves 5 And fo the Voices of other 

 Men that they hear. 



There have been fome, that could counterfeit the Diftance of Voices, 

 (which is a Secondary objeB of Hearing)' in fuch fort As when they (land 

 fait by you, you would think the '-feech came from a fan e off, in a fearfull 

 manner.How this is done,may be further enquired. But I fee no great ufeof 

 it,butfor Impofture, in counterfeiting Ghofts cr Spirits. 



There be ihrce Kindts of Reflexions of Scmds ; A Reflexion 

 Concurrent} A Reflexion Iterant^ which we call Eccho j And a 

 Super-reflexion, or an 'Eccbo of an Eccho, whereof the firft hath 

 been handled in the Title of Magnitude of SrWtcts . The Latter 

 two we willnow fpeak of. 



The Refltxionof Species Vi'flUe, by Mkrours, you may command ; Be- 

 caufe paffing in Right Lines, they may be guided to any point: But the 

 Reflexion of Sounds is hard to matter •, Becaufe the Sound filling great Spa- 

 ces in Arched Lines, cannot be fo guided : And therefoi e we fee there hath 

 not been pradtifed, any Meanes to make Artificiall Eccbo's. And no Eccho 

 already known returneth in a very narrow Room. 



The Natural! Eccbo's are t madeupon Walls, Woods, Rocks, Hi lis And Banks - y 

 As for Watersjotmg near,they make a Concurrent Eccho $ but being rui ther 

 j off, (as upon a large River) they make an Iterant Eccho : For there is no dif- 

 ference between the Concurrent Eccho, and the Iterant, but the Quicknefs, or 

 Slownefs of the Return. But there is no doubt, but Water doth help the 

 Delation oiEccho-^ well as it helpeth the Delation of Original/ Sounds. 



It is certain, (as hath been loirr.erly touched,) that it ycu fpeak tborow 

 a T runk, Hepped at the further end •, you fliaH find a BLift return upon your 

 Mouth,but no Sound at all. The Caufe is, for that the Cicfenefl^ which 

 preferveth the Original! ,is not :ble to preferve the Reflected Sound : Befices 

 that Eccho 's are feldome created,but by loud Sounds. And therefore there is 

 lefs hope of Artifctall Eccbo's in Air,pent in a narrow Concave. Neveithe- 

 lefs it hath been tried, that one leaning over a Well, of 2 5 Fathome deep, and 

 fpeaking, though but foftly, (yet not io foft as a whifper,) the Water returned 

 a good Audible Eccho. It would be tried, whether Speaking in Caves,whcve 

 there is no IlTue,fave where you fpeak, will not yeeld Eccho V,as Wells do. 



The Eccho cometh as the Originatt Sound doth, in a round Orbe of Air : 

 It were good to trie the Creating of the Eccho, where the Body Repercufling 

 maketh an Angle : As againft the Return of a Will, &c. Alio we fee that 

 in Mirrours, there is the like Angle of Incidence, 'from the Objecl to the 

 Glais,and from the Glafs to the Lie. And if you flrike a Bad iide-long,not 

 full upon the Surface,the Rebound will be as much the contrary way 5 Whe- 

 ther 



