THE TALKING WAX DOLL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1978, 24 October 1888, Page 3

THE TALKING WAX DOLL.

Mb' Edison has invented a wax doll that talks. The jaws are hang bo naturally that one unacquainted with the fictitious character of the doll would Imagine they belonged to » genuine flesh and blood Infant. The body of the doll contains a miniature motor and the smallest phonograph ever made, the phonograph and the jaws of the doll are worked simultaneously, and the fictitious* infant talks for just one minute by Mr Edison's golden chronometer. It is so accurately timed that the homely little prayer whloh John Quinsy Adams uttered while dying— »• Now I lay me down to sleep "—has juat time to issue from its inby lips before tha Instrument stops. In explaining how this remarkable feat b performed, Mr Edison said; "A curious featnre about this invention is that the baby's voioe is an ezaot representation of the human voioe. In faot it is my own voice, for I speak to the phonograph and the record is m»de of the tones of my rolos npon the little wazen cylinder. Then, by an Ingenious contrivance connected with one of the arms of the makebelieve baby, the mechanism is started into motion. It sounds all the more natural coming from the baby, because the tones of my voice have been reduced m volume, so that they seem salted to the infant's capacity. The accurate guaging of the utterances of the doll, bo that thty would come within the one minute limit, hap cost me a great deal of time and labor. The first line of the prayer Is repeated more quickly than any of the others. I " The second line is a little slower, and runs aomething like the following : ( I pray the Lord my soul to ke c p.' ' "The third Hoe is etlll Blower, and when printed would read eometbing like thii : 'If I should die belorel wake,' * ( The last line of the original verse is long drawn ont, as if the make believe baby waa getting very sleepy, thua : •I— pr a y— t h e— Li o r d— m y— so v I— t o take* "But I have added," continued Mr Edbon, "a few words to the prayer which, while they do not appear m the original, still will be found m general use, They are these, and they die away from the infant's Hpa as though she were overcome with weariness — 600 o d njxight, maamma, Goood nnight, pppaapa, Gooood niiight, 11 Thii Is not the only accomplishment o! this wondeiinl child," continued the inventor with a smile. " Not only does the spurious baby speak its prayer, but It also alnOa a oomio song. When I had Mr Rogenfeld play over bis song ' Kutchy, Katohy, OOo f for the phonograph I aloo took an impression of the melody and words for the nae of my baby, so that now she not only aays her evening prayer, but she always sings her little song— ringing the ohorus only.. .us follows : Kutehy, Kutoby, 000, liovey me, I lovey 'oo ; Does 'oo lovey, lovey roe I Am I lovey, lovry 'oo 1 Katcby, Katoby, Ooo ! My little maiden never has a sore throat, and the never refuses to sing when called npon to do go»"