Volume 1

13 Mar. 1876

Page 51

Mr. Hubbard then discovered that he had held the Receiving instrument so firmly against his ear that the armature had no chance of vibrating. When he held it more gently to his ear he distinguished the sounds, and declared that he was convinced that articulate sounds were transmitted along the wire - although the articulation was so muffled as to be to him unintelligible unless when he was informed beforehand of the sense.

Prof. Monroe also was able after a while to make out the sounds. He did not feel perfectly sure however that consonant sounds were audible - nor indeed that anything was audibly save the pitch and rhythm. He thought the rhythm of some well-known sentences would suggest the words even if the articulations had not been actually transmitted. In order to test whether the timbre was really transmitted he sang four vowels with equal force and with the same pitch.

I appreciated these as ee ah o i
Mr. Watson heard them as a ah o i
and Prof. Monroe said he had uttered ee ah o i

Volume 1

13 Mar. 1876

Page 51