THE MAGIC OF ACOUSTICS.
The science of Acoustics furnished the ancient sorcerers with some of their most complete deceptions. The imitation of thunder in their subterranean temples did not fail to indicate the presence of a supernatural agent. The golden virgins, whose ravishing voices resounded through the temple of Delphos; the stone from the river Pactoles, where trumpet notes scared the robber from the treasure which it guarded; the speaking head, which uttered its oracular responses at Lesbos; and the vocal statue of Memnon, which began at the break of day to accost the rising sun, were all deceptions derived from science, and from a diligent observation of the phenomena of nature.
TO SHOW HOW SOUND TRAVELS THROUGH A SOLID.
Take a long piece of wood, such as the handle of a broom, place a watch at one end, apply your ear to the other, and the ticking will be distinctly heard.
A SINGULAR EXAMPLE OF SUPERSTITION.
The following true story was related to me by one who was personally acquainted with the facts. There was a certain bend in one of our western rivers which was avoided by every one, as it was supposed to be haunted by the devil. At a certain hour in the evening, for many years, terrible curses were distinctly heard. Suddenly they ceased. A gentleman skilled in the science of acoustics, hearing an account of the strange phenomena, determined to ascertain the cause, and carefully examined the river on each side for about a mile above and below the bend. He ascertained that at about the time the sounds ceased, an old fisherman, who had lived on the opposite side of the river, full a mile from the spot where the curses were heard, had died. He was told that the fisherman was in the habit of crossing the river to a village, where he found a market for his fish, and where he spent his money for liquor, and that after drinking freely on his way home, while rowing across the river at night, he would swear terribly. This gentleman then persuaded a friend to go down the river to the place where the curses were formerly heard, while he remained in a boat on the river at the point at which the old man usually crossed. He then played on a bugle and sung several songs. His friend soon returned, and with eager delight exclaimed: “Oh, ——, such glorious music fills the air just where the curses used to be heard.” The neighbors came rushing down to hear it, and some fell on their knees praying; they said “the angels have driven the devil away.” Mr. —— then asked what were the songs they heard. His friend described them correctly, and said he understood even the words, one of them being the famous Marseillaise, another a German song; the foreign words made the ignorant more sure that the sounds were supernatural. Mr. —— then played on the bugle and sang again the same songs, while his friend stood by; but his friend said the music was not equal to that he had heard below, where the sounds had really seemed heavenly.
The peculiar configuration of the river banks had concentrated the sounds, and the distance and the water had softened them.