wholly favorable to human welfare. More largely still, the truth is
that the telephone, like every other symbol and agency of progress,
has brought _enlarged responsibilities._

No man, no community, no people or nation can gain an increase of
power without accepting the accompanying increase of responsibility.
The moral nature of man is thus involved. Every forward stride of
scientific invention places upon the life of man, including his bodily
activity, his mental moods and his spiritual and moral powers, an
added stress of duty, of energy, and of rectitude in conduct from
which he may not shrink if he would be the gainer rather than the
loser. Each discovery and each improved method of employing the
beneficent forces of the natural world, brings with it a strain upon
the moral nature of man which, if he stand it, well; but if he stand
it not, then it shall go ill with him.

THE MACHINE THAT "TALKS BACK."

The invention for making nature give an intelligent response may well
be regarded with wondering interest. The odd, we might say humorous,
feature of the invention is that nature, being as it were cornered and
compelled to respond, will answer nothing except _to repeat what is
said in her ear!_ The phonograph may be defined as a mechanical
parrot. Unlike the living bird, however, it never makes answers
malapropos. It never deviates from the original text. The distrust
which has been justly cherished against the talking bird on account of
his originality can never be reasonably directed against the
phonograph!

The possibility of writing sound has been recognized for a century
past. Since the discovery of the vibratory character of sound, the
physicist has seen the feasibility of recording the vibration. Nature
herself has given many hints along this line of experimentation. Long
ago it was seen that the writing sand sprinkled on the sounding board
of the piano would under the influence of a chord struck from the keys
arrange itself in geometrical figures. It was also seen that a discord
sounded from the key-board would break the figures into chaos and
confusion. Were not these phenomena sufficient to suggest that sound
might be written in intelligible characters?

The mind, however, moves slowly from the old to the new. The former
concept of physical facts and the laws which govern them is not
readily given up. A great discovery in physical science seems to
disturb the foundations of nature. It does not re