made with the telephone at the other end of the
circuit, but upon inquiry this proved not to have been the case.
Attention having thus been directed to the phenomenon, a watch was kept
upon the instruments, and upon a subsequent occasion the same fact was
observed at both ends of the line by Dr. Channing and his friends. It
was proved that the sounds continued for about two hours, and usually
commenced about the same time. A searching examination of the line
disclosed nothing abnormal in its condition, and I am unable to give you
any explanation of this curious phenomenon. Dr. Channing has, however,
addressed a letter upon the subject to the editor of one of the
Providence papers, giving the names of such songs as were recognized,
and full details of the observations, in the hope that publicity may
lead to the discovery of the performer, and thus afford a solution of
the mystery.

My friend, Mr. Frederick A. Gower, communicated to me a curious
observation made by him regarding the slight earth connection required
to establish a circuit for the telephone, and together we carried on a
series of experiments with rather startling results. We took a couple of
telephones and an insulated wire about 100 yards in length into a
garden, and were enabled to carry on conversation with the greatest ease
when we held in our hands what should have been the earth wire, so that
the connection with the ground was formed at either end through our
bodies, our feet being clothed with cotton socks and leather boots. The
day was fine, and the grass upon which we stood was seemingly perfectly
dry. Upon standing upon a gravel walk the vocal sounds, though much
diminished, were still perfectly intelligible, and the same result
occurred when standing upon a brick wall one foot in height, but no
sound was audible when one of us stood upon a block of freestone.

One experiment which we made is so very interesting that I must speak of
it in detail. Mr. Gower made earth connection at his end of the line by
standing upon a grass plot, whilst at the other end of the line I stood
upon a wooden board. I requested Mr. Gower to sing a continuous musical
note, and to my surprise the sound was very distinctly audible from the
telephone in my hand. Upon examining my feet I discovered that a single
blade of grass was bent over the edge of the board, and that my foot
touched it. The removal of this blade of grass was followed by the
cessation of the sound fro