THE FIRST TELEPHONE.
The Sheffield Telegraph gives the following interesting account of the first telephone of which there is record:
The first telephone that was ever used was not electrical, nor was it a scientific instrument in any sense of the term. A little more than fifty years ago the employees of a large manufactory beguiled their leisure hours by kite flying. Kites large and small went up daily, and the strife was to see who could get the largest. The twine that held them was the thread spun and twisted by the ladies of the village.
One day to the tail of the largest kite was attached a kitten, sewed in a canvas bag, with a netting over the mouth to give it air. When the kite was at its greatest height, some two hundred feet or more, the mewing of the kitten could be distinctly heard by those holding the string. To the clearness of the atmosphere was attributed the hearing of the kitten's voice. This is the first account we remember of speaking along a line.
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