Shadow of great britain

Arthur held the gramophone, stood on the stage with a smile, and introduced it to a group of gentlemen and ladies who were so surprised that they were speechless.

"As you can see and hear, this is a gramophone. As the name suggests, its function is to record the sound onto the record that is currently rotating on the machine. Of course, it can also record the sound. Good sounds are played.

The piece you are listening to now is Paganini's etude "The Bells" which I recorded in the musical instrument shop of Mr. Charles Wheatstone, the inventor of the phonograph, using a special recording piano that can be connected to the gramophone. .

Of course, limited by the size of the record, the recording range of the current gramophone is only about 4 to 5 minutes, and after listening for a while, you have to turn the spring again and wind it up. However, I believe that with Mr. Wheatstone's intelligence, he will solve these problems sooner or later. "

Elder, who had known about this new invention for a long time, echoed with a smirk: "Yes, Mr. Wheatstone can't even say he can't solve these problems."

After saying this, he extended his index finger and thumb towards Arthur, making a gesture like a pistol.

The guests in the audience were all surprised by this invention, and they exclaimed.

"Oh my God! What is the principle of this thing? Recording people's voices. I always thought that God was the only one who could do this! Could it be that he finally shared the secrets of the world with us?"

"Who is this Mr. Charles Whetstone, and why have I never heard his name before?"

"Mr. Hastings, is he the young scientist you recently discovered? Just like when Sir David discovered Faraday, Mr. Faraday discovered you?"

"Britain has become more and more beautiful because of researchers of natural philosophy like you and Mr. Faraday who are willing to make a name for others. Thank you, Mr. Hastings, and thank God even more. I hope he will continue to bless you in the future." For you!"

"By the way, where is Mr. Wheatstone's musical instrument shop? How much does it cost to buy such a gramophone and records?"

As soon as these words were spoken, all the gentlemen and ladies present were immediately interested in buying.

The gramophone itself is already very new. If you add a piano piece adapted from Paganini's masterpiece "La Campanella", then they have to buy themselves one no matter how much money they spend.

As long as he can get such a machine before others, it will not only allow him to listen to music at any time, but also prove his passion for new science and technology.

When you go back to your banquet salon and show off like that, why don't you shock a whole bunch of your friends?

And my friends’ shock also means fashion, which means our family is more fashionable than others!

For these gentlemen and ladies who are active in social circles, nothing can satisfy their vanity more than the envious eyes of others.

At this time, most of the gentlemen and ladies were focused on asking Arthur about the purchase location and price, but there were also some guests who were obsessed with music and discovered the blind spot hidden in Arthur's words just now.

Mrs. Codrington was sweating on her forehead and said, "Wait a minute, Mr. Hastings, you just said that this phonograph can only record for five minutes at most?"

Arthur nodded slightly. He thought Mrs. Codrington was dissatisfied with the length of the recording, so he tactfully defended the gramophone: "This is indeed the case at the moment, but a lot of music can be recorded in five minutes."

Mrs. Codrington waved her hands quickly: "No, no, you misunderstood me. I am not questioning this great new invention. I...I...God, what was I thinking. Mr. Hastings , I really shouldn’t doubt you!

To be honest, when I just listened to you playing that etude, I discovered that "The Bell" is quite simplified from Mr. Paganini's "La Campanella". At that time, I thought it was because the original song was too difficult that you had no choice but to reduce part of the fast-changing registers of "La Campanella."

Now it seems that you shortened the article to accommodate this gramophone! "

Mr. Moscheles, who was standing next to Arthur, after being reminded by Mrs. Codrington, also discovered the subtleties as if he had woken up from a dream.

He was so amazed by the new invention that he forgot the most important point.

"This..." Moscheles' expression was a little complicated, and he asked cautiously: "Mr. Hastings, can you still make it more difficult?"

Arthur thought about the price of "The Bell" at the devil's store, and smiled reluctantly: "Actually, there is not much room for improvement."

"You can actually still mention it?!"

As Mr. Moscheles roared, many guests slapped their foreheads as if they had made an appointment. There was only a crisp sound, which almost shattered the window glass of the ballroom.

After thinking about it, Moselles finally couldn't help but said: "Mr. Hastings, are you interested in joining the London Philharmonic Society? We are currently preparing to build the third symphony orchestra of the society. I sincerely wish you An invitation is extended, would you like to be its pianist and bandleader?”

When Arthur heard this, he flatly refused without even thinking: "Mr. Moscheles, you really overestimate me. As I said before, I am a beginner, and the only music I can play at the moment is this." The first adaptation of "The Bell" from "La Campanella."

Although Arthur said this, Moselles did not buy his account.

"Mr. Hastings, please don't be modest. Even if you are a beginner, if you can play "The Bell" now, then even if you don't make any progress in the future, you will still be able to learn most of the pianos currently on the market. song."

As soon as Mr. Moscheles finished speaking, Mrs. Cowper, who had been standing in the audience smiling, also spoke.

"Mr. Hastings, I think Mr. Moscheles is right. Or taking a step back, even if you only know this one piece of music in your life, I am willing to bring my friends to your concert. . Although Mr. Paganini’s skills are superb, he is after all an Apennine musician. Compared with the two, I still want to support you who are from our native Britain."

Upon hearing this, General Codrington also joked to his wife beside him: "I don't want to wear the Paganini hat you bought me, but if it is a hat with Hastings' name embroidered on it, I can consider it. "

After saying this, General Codrington held his wife's hand, pointed to the Paganini silver chain on her wrist, and asked humorously: "By the way, Anna, maybe you also have to consider changing to new jewelry. "

General Cochran also followed with a glass of wine and shouted: "Mr. Hastings, look, there are more than ten guests tonight. If you are willing, you can already put the tickets for us in your pocket." We're in. Of course, General Sidney Smith probably won't be able to. He'll have to go back to Paris soon."

General Smith's cheeks were dizzy with alcohol. He was a little drunk: "Nonsense! Cochrane! Whether I can go back to Paris depends on whether Mr. Hastings will give me face. As long as he doesn't send the Scotland Yard police to throw me away." Even if he goes to debtor’s prison, I would still be willing to attend his concert.”

When Cochran heard this, he finally determined that General Smith was really drunk. He sarcastically mocked the old general who had been bullying him in the lounge before the banquet started.

"It doesn't matter, General Smith. Even if you go to a debtor's prison, it's still the same if you squat there and listen to the phonograph."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Before the laughter stopped, who knew that the mantis was stalking the cicada and the oriole was behind, Elder, who had been bullied by Cochran before, spoke in a sinister tone.

"General Cochran, what you just said may have been recorded on the gramophone. When General Smith goes to debtor's prison, do you really want to play this to him?"

Cochran raised his eyebrows in fright, and he hurriedly said to Arthur: "Mr. Hastings, you didn't really record this, did you? For the sake of our friendship today, please hurry up Cut this section off."

Arthur nodded seriously: "About this, I have to check carefully. I almost forgot to tell you before. Every record has two sides. I will check now whether the reverse side of the record has been recorded for you. .”

The guests were surprised: “Can this thing actually record two things at the same time?”

"Both sides, five minutes for one side and ten minutes for both sides."

"It seems that this gramophone is better than I thought. It can record a lot of music in ten minutes."

"General Cochran, I think you should stop talking nonsense in the future and waste such a good thing."

In the midst of their discussion, Arthur removed the needle, turned the record over, and started playing from the beginning.

The gentlemen and ladies held their breaths one by one. After a period of noise, there was a rustle of turning pages from the brass speaker of the gramophone.

Immediately afterwards, Arthur's gentle voice sounded on the gramophone: "The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 1, Ship Arrives at Marseille. On February 24, 1815, the lookout on the shelter weir watchtower called A signal was given to inform the people of the arrival of the barque Pharaoh in the port of Marseilles. She came from Smyrna via Trieste and Naples..."

Thanks to the leader of ‘Cute and Charming Villain Professor M’ for the reward.