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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1993, 25 May 1875, Page 4

Musical Sounds BESEMBLiija the Voice Pkodttced by Flame.—An English journal states that lately Professor Tyndall gave, a lecture at the JRoyal Institution on heat; in which he introduced to his audience the wonderful invention of Mr Frederic Kastner. This 13 an instrument to which the ingenious inventor has given the name of " pyrophone," indicative of the fact that musical sounds are produced by the approximation of flames arranged for that purpose in a series of glass tubes. The sounds produced have a marvellous resemblance to the human voice, insomuch that if the instrument were concealed from view, it ■would be supposed at one moment that a lady was. singing; the ne^t performance might resemble the sounds of an seolian harp, or even be increased in volume to the full diapason of the, largest organ. These wonderful effects are produced by the simple mechanism of the keys played at an ordinary piano^. The great scientific fact established \>y this phenomenon is that the sounds are.produced and continued by keeping the flames apart, and as soon as they are united by means of the actions of levers, the sound ceases. Originally Mr Kastner used hydrogen gas, but he is now, hj the multiplication of the flame 3 able to produce the same effects with common gas. This improvement suggests some interesting surprises, such as the application of the principle to chandeliers or lustres on a grand scale, or even to the footlights of the st&ge. JtTICE OF THE G-EAPE (?).—Youth : Grann'pa, what's the meaning of " Glass of port wine from the wood ? " Gran'pa (gentleman of the. old school): Logwood, my dear boy, nowadays ! Logwood! logwood J (Chuckles).—Punch. Patbbjuli Cabe.'—^A -Missourian who attended', prayer-meeting with his daughter, felt compelled to rise and remark, "I •want to be good and go,to heaven, but if those fellers don't stdpsFiti|ung at Mary, there will bo a good deal of prancing around here the fust thing they know."