Fig. 1.—Showing finger-bowls containing various colored waters at different levels, each level indicating a different note.
Many attempts have been made to discover some means of producing the sound other than by rubbing the finger over the rim of the glass. Violin bows and other similar contrivances have all proved ineffectual.
It would seem that the texture and surface of the human skin are alone suitable for this purpose, and nothing else has proved successful. This is the reason why musical glasses have not become more common, for the continual rubbing of the wet finger over the surface of the glass becomes after a time somewhat unpleasant. However, this hardly applies to the short period that an ordinary performer would devote to an entertainment. Yet such was the reason that caused the failure of Franklin’s instrument.
The following few bars of music, being the opening phrases of a well-known song, will prove very suitable for glass music, especially when played at the dinner-table after the dessert has been discussed. To simplify the matter for those who are not familiar with the usual notation of music, the notes are given by name, thus enabling any one to pick them out with ease:
E, E, E, F, F, G, F, E, D, E, F, G, C, F, E, D, C.
CHAPTER XIV
HAND-BELL RINGING
A Sweet-lipped Friend
There is something vital in the ordinary bell that dominates all of us. It is an important factor in our lives. The railway bell’s clamor reminds us that haste is needed to catch the departing train. The dinner bell tells that the meal is ready for our consumption. The church bell, the wedding chime, the fire bell, the tolling funeral bell, are all our faithful monitors and guardians, but the exquisite voice of the hand-bell is the sweet-lipped friend that wooes us in our hour of ease.