the history of the telephone-第3章

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　his　ardent　and　headlong　way；　lost　his　heart　to　her　completely；　and　four　years　later；　he　had　the　happiness　of　making　her　his　wife。　Mabel　Hubbard　did　much　to　encourage　Bell。　She　followed　each　step　of　his　progress　with　the　keenest　interest。　She　wrote　his　letters　and　copied　his　patents。　She　cheered　him　on　when　he　felt　himself　beaten。　And　through　her　sympathy　with　Bell　and　his　ambitions；　she　led　her　fathera　widely　known　Boston　lawyer　named　Gardiner　G。　Hubbardto　become　Bell's　chief　spokesman　and　defender；　a　true　apostle　of　the　telephone。

Hubbard　first　became　aware　of　Bell's　inventive　efforts　one　evening　when　Bell　was　visiting　at　his　home　in　Cambridge。　Bell　was　illustrating　some　of　the　mysteries　of　acoustics　by　the　aid　of　a　piano。　〃Do　you　know；〃　he　said　to　Hubbard；　〃that　if　I　sing　the　note　G　close　to　the　strings　of　the　piano；　that　the　G…string　will　answer　me？〃　〃Well；　what　then？〃　asked　Hubbard。　〃It　is　a　fact　of　tremendous　importance；〃　replied　Bell。　〃It　is　an　evidence　that　we　may　some　day　have　a　musical　telegraph；　which　will　send　as　many　messages　simultaneously　over　one　wire　as　there　are　notes　on　that　piano。〃

Later；　Bell　ventured　to　confide　to　Hubbard　his　wild　dream　of　sending　speech　over　an　electric　wire；　but　Hubbard　laughed　him　to　scorn。　〃Now　you　are　talking　nonsense；〃　he　said。　〃Such　a　thing　never　could　be　more　than　a　scientific　toy。　You　had　better　throw　that　idea　out　of　your　mind　and　go　ahead　with　your　musical　telegraph；　which　if　it　is　successful　will　make　you　a　millionaire。〃

But　the　longer　Bell　toiled　at　his　musical　telegraph；　the　more　he　dreamed　of　replacing　the　telegraph　and　its　cumbrous　sign…language　by　a　new　machine　that　would　carry；　not　dots　and　dashes；　but　the　human　voice。　〃If　I　can　make　a　deaf…　mute　talk；〃　he　said；　〃I　can　make　iron　talk。〃　For　months　he　wavered　between　the　two　ideas。　He　had　no　more　than　the　most　hazy　conception　of　what　this　voice…carrying　machine　would　be　like。　At　first　he　conceived　of　having　a　harp　at　one　end　of　the　wire；　and　a　speaking…trumpet　at　the　other；　so　that　the　tones　of　the　voice　would　be　reproduced　by　the　strings　of　the　harp。

Then；　in　the　early　Summer　of　1874；　while　he　was　puzzling　over　this　harp　apparatus；　the　dim　outline　of　a　new　path　suddenly　glinted　in　front　of　him。　He　had　not　been　forgetful　of　〃Visible　Speech〃　all　this　while；　but　had　been　making　experiments　with　two　remarkable　machinesthe　phonautograph　and　the　manometric　capsule；　by　means　of　which　the　vibrations　of　sound　were　made　plainly　visible。　If　these　could　be　im…　proved；　he　thought；　then　the　deaf　might　be　taught　to　speak　by　SIGHTby　learning　an　alphabet　of　vibrations。　He　mentioned　these　experiments　to　a　Boston　friend；　Dr。　Clarence　J。　Blake；　and　he；　being　a　surgeon　and　an　aurist；　naturally　said；　〃Why　don't　you　use　a　REAL　EAR？〃

Such　an　idea　never　had；　and　probably　never　could　have；　occurred　to　Bell；　but　he　accepted　it　with　eagerness。　Dr。　Blake　cut　an　ear　from　a　dead　man's　head；　together　with　the　ear…drum　and　the　associated　bones。　Bell　took　this　fragment　of　a　skull　and　arranged　it　so　that　a　straw　touched　the　ear…drum　at　one　end　and　a　piece　of　moving　smoked　glass　at　the　other。　Thus；　when　Bell　spoke　loudly　into　the　ear；　the　vibrations　of　the　drum　made　tiny　markings　upon　the　glass。

It　was　one　of　the　most　extraordinary　incidents　in　the　whole　history　of　the　telephone。　To　an　uninitiated　onlooker；　nothing　could　have　been　more　ghastly　or　absurd。　How　could　any　one　have　interpreted　the　gruesome　joy　of　this　young　professor　with　the　pale　face　and　the　black　eyes；　who　stood　earnestly　singing；　whispering；　and　shouting　into　a　dead　man's　ear？　What　sort　of　a　wizard　must　he　be；　or　ghoul；　or　madman？　And　in　Salem；　too；　the　home　of　the　witchcraft　superstition！　Certainly　it　would　not　have　gone　well　with　Bell　had　he　lived　two　centuries　earlier　and　been　caught　at　such　black　magic。

What　had　this　dead　man's　ear　to　do　with　the　invention　of　the　telephone？　Much。　Bell　noticed　how　small　and　thin　was　the　ear…drum；　and　yet　how　effectively　it　could　send　thrills　and　vibrations　through　heavy　bones。　〃If　this　tiny　disc　can　vibrate　a　bone；〃　he　thought；　〃then　an　iron　disc　might　vibrate　an　iron　rod；　or　at　least；　an　iron　wire。〃　In　a　flash　the　conception　of　a　membrane　telephone　was　pictured　in　his　mind。　He　saw　in　imagination　two　iron　discs；　or　ear…drums；　far　apart　and　connected　by　an　electrified　wire；　catching　the　vibrations　of　sound　at　one　end；　and　reproducing　them　at　the　other。　At　last　he　was　on　the　right　path；　and　had　a　theoretical　knowledge　of　what　a　speaking　telephone　ought　to　be。　What　remained　to　be　done　was　to　construct　such　a　machine　and　find　out　how　the　electric　current　could　best　be　brought　into　harness。

Then；　as　though　Fortune　suddenly　felt　that　he　was　winning　this　stupendous　success　too　easily；　Bell　was　flung　back　by　an　avalanche　of　troubles。　Sanders　and　Hubbard；　who　had　been　paying　the　cost　of　his　experiments；　abruptly　announced　that　they　would　pay　no　more　unless　he　confined　his　attention　to　the　musical　telegraph；　and　stopped　wasting　his　time　on　ear…toys　that　never　could　be　of　any　financial　value。　What　these　two　men　asked　could　scarcely　be　denied；　as　one　of　them　was　his　best…paying　patron　and　the　other　was　the　father　of　the　girl　whom　he　hoped　to　marry。　〃If　you　wish　my　daughter；〃　said　Hubbard；　〃you　must　abandon　your　foolish　telephone。〃　Bell's　〃School　of　Vocal　Physiology；〃　too；　from　which　he　had　hoped　so　much；　had　come　to　an　inglorious　end。　He　had　been　too　much　absorbed　in　his　experiments　to　sustain　it。　His　professorship　had　been　given　up；　and　he　had　no　pupils　except　Georgie　Sanders　and　Mabel　Hubbard。　He　was　poor；　much　poorer　than　his　associates　knew。　And　his　mind　was　torn　and　distracted　by　the　contrary　calls　of　science；　poverty；　business；　and　affection。　Pouring　out　his　sorrows　in　a　letter　to　his　mother；　he　said：　〃I　am　now　beginning　to　realize　the　cares　and　anxieties　of　being　an　inventor。　I　have　had　to　put　off　all　pupils　and　classes；　for　flesh　and　blood　could　not　stand　much　longer　such　a　strain　as　I　have　had　upon　me。〃

While　stumbling　through　this　Slough　of　Despond；　he　was　called　to　Washington　by　his　patent　lawyer。　Not　having　enough　money　to　pay　the　cost　of　such　a　journey；　he　borrowed　the　price　of　a　return　ticket　from　Sanders　and　arranged　to　stay　with　a　friend　in　Washington；　to　save　a　hotel　bill　that　he　could　not　afford。　At　that　time　Professor　Joseph　Henry；　who　knew　more　of　the　theory　of　electrical　science　than　any　other　American；　was　the　Grand　Old　Man　of　Washington；　and　poor　Bell；　in　his　doubt　and　desperation；　resolved　to　run　to　him　for　advice。

Then　came　a　meeting　which　deserves　to　be　historic。　For　an　entire　afternoon　the　two　men　worked　together　over　the　apparatus　that　Bell　had　brought　from　Boston；　just　as　Henry　had　worked　over　the　telegraph　before　Bell　was　born。　Henry　was　now　a　veteran　of　seventy…eight；　with　only　three　years　remaining　to　his　credit　in　the　bank　of　Time；　while　Bell　was　twenty…eight。　There　was　a　long　half…century　between　them；　but　the　youth　had　discovered　a　New　Fact　that　the　sage；　in　all　his　wisdom；　had　never　known。

〃You　are　in　possession　of　the　germ　of　a　great　invention；〃　said　Henry；　〃and　I　would　advise　you　to　work　at　it　until　you　have　made　it　complete。〃

〃But；〃　replied　Bell；　〃I　have　not　got　the　electrical　knowledge　that　is　necessary。〃

〃Get　it；〃　responded　the　aged　scientist。

〃I　cannot　tell　you　how　much　these　two　words　have　encouraged　me；〃　said　Bell　afterwards；　in　describing　this　interview　to　his　parents。　〃I　live　too　much　in　an　atmosphere　of　discouragement　for　scientific　pursuits；　and　such　a　chimerical　idea　as　telegraphing　VOCAL　SOUNDS　would　indeed　seem　to　most　minds　scarcely　feasible　enough　to　spend　time　in　working　over。〃

By　this　time　Bell　had　moved　his　workshop　from　the　cellar　in　Salem　to　109　Court　Street；　Boston；　where　he　had　rented　a　room　from　Charles　Williams；　a　manufacturer　of　electrical　supplies。　Thomas　A。　Watson　was　his　assistant；　and　both　Bell　and　Watson　lived　nearby；　in　two　cheap　little　bedrooms。　The　rent　of　the　workshop　and　bedrooms；　and　Watson's　wages　of　nine　dollars　a　week；　were　being　paid　by　Sanders　and　Hubbard。　Consequently；　when　Bell　returned　from　Washington；　he　was　compelled　by　his　agreement　to　devote　himself　mainly　to　the　musical　telegraph；　although　his　heart　was　now　with　the　telephone。　For　exactly　three