Arthur stood on the stage with the gramophone in his hand, smiling, and introduced to the group of gentlemen and ladies who were so surprised that they couldn't speak.

"As you can see and hear, it's a gramophone. As the name suggests, its role is to record the sound into the record that is now spinning on the machine, and of course, it can also play back the recorded sound.

The piece you hear now is Paganini's etude "The Bell," which I recorded in the musical instrument shop of Charles Wheatstone, the inventor of the phonograph, on a special recording piano that could be connected to a phonograph.

Of course, due to the size of the record, the current phonograph recording range is only about 4 to 5 minutes, and after listening to it for a while, you have to re-turn the winding. However, I believe that with Mr. Wheatstone's ingenuity, he will solve these problems sooner or later. ”

Elder had long been aware of this new invention and echoed with a wicked smile: "Yes, Mr. Wheatstone can't solve these problems even if he says he can't solve them. ”

With that, he also stretched out his index finger and thumb at Arthur, comparing the shape of a pistol.

The audience was amazed by this invention and exclaimed.

"O my God! How does this thing work? Recording people's voices, I always thought that God was the only one who could do this! Could it be that he has finally shared the mysteries of the world with us? ”

"What the hell is that Mr. Charles Wheatstone, and why have I never heard of his name before?"

"Mr. Hastings, is he one of your newly discovered young scientists? It's like Sir David discovered Faraday, and Mr. Faraday discovered you? ”

"Britain is becoming more beautiful because of you and Mr. Faraday, who are willing to make a name for themselves, thank you, Mr. Hastings, and God even more, that he will always bless you in the future!"

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

As soon as these words came out, all the gentlemen and ladies present were aroused to be interested in buying.

The gramophone itself was a novelty, and if they added a piano piece based on Paganini's masterpiece La Campanella, they would have to get one for themselves, no matter how much it cost.

As long as you can get such a machine before others, it is not simply to listen to music at any time, but also a proof of your enthusiasm for new science and technology.

When I went back to my own banquet salon, I still had to shock a large group of my friends?

And the shock of friends also means that it is trendy, which means that our family is more fashionable than others!

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

At this time, most of the gentlemen and ladies focused on consulting Arthur about where to buy and the price, but there were also some guests who were obsessed with music and discovered the blind spots hidden in Arthur's words just now.

Mrs. Codrington sweated on her forehead and said, "Wait, Mr. Hastings, you just said that this gramophone can only record for five minutes at most?" ”

Arthur nodded slightly, thinking that Mrs. Codrington was not satisfied with the length of the recording, so he tactfully defended the gramophone: "This is indeed the case at the moment, but five minutes is enough to record a lot of songs." ”

Mrs. Codrington hurriedly waved her hand: "No, no, you misunderstood me, I am not questioning this great new invention. I...... I...... Oh my God, what was I thinking. I ought not to have doubted you, Mr. Hastings!

Truth be told, I just listened to you play that etude and noticed that this "Bell" is a rather simplification of Mr. Paganini's "La Campanella". At the time, I thought it was because the original song was so difficult that you had to cut back on some of La Campanella's fast-changing pitches.

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

And Mr. Moscheles, who was standing next to Arthur, also woke up from a dream after being reminded by Mrs. Codrington.

He was so surprised 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 make it any more difficult?" ”

Arthur thought about the price of this "Bell" from the devil, and smiled reluctantly: "In fact, there is not much room for improvement." ”

"You can really mention it?!"

With Mr. Moscheles' roar, many of the guests slapped their heads as if they had made an appointment, only to hear a crisp snap that almost shattered the windows of the ballroom.

After thinking about it, Moscheles finally couldn't help but speak: "Mr. Hastings, I wonder if you are interested in joining the London Philharmonic Society?" We are currently preparing for the establishment of the Society's third symphony orchestra, and I sincerely invite you to become its pianist and orchestra conductor? ”

Arthur flatly refused without even thinking about it: "Mr. Moscheles, you really overestimate me. As I said before, I'm a beginner and the only song I can play so far is this adaptation of La Campanella. ”

Arthur said so, but Moscheles didn't buy him.

"Don't be modest, Mr. Hastings. Even if you are a beginner and you can play this "Bell" now, you will be able to learn most of the piano music currently on the market, even if you do not improve at all in the future. ”

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

"Mr. Hastings, I think Mr. Moscheles is right. Or take a step back, even if you're only going to have this one piece for the rest of your life, I'd take my friends to your recital. Mr. Paganini was an Apennine musician, despite his skill. Compared to the two, I still want to support you who were born in Britain. ”

When General Codrington heard this, he also quipped to his wife beside him: "I don't want to wear the Paganini hat you bought me, but if it's a hat with Hastings' name embroidered, I can consider it." ”

After that, General Codrington took his wife's hand, pointed to the Paganini silver chain on her wrist, and asked humorously, "By the way, Anna, maybe you have to consider a new jewelry." ”

General Corcoran also took his glass and coaxed, "Mr. Hastings, look, there are more than a dozen guests tonight, and if you want, you can now put the tickets of our people in your pocket." Of course, General Sidney Smith did not think so, and he would have to return to Paris in a while. ”

General Smith's cheeks were flushed with wine, and he was a little drunk: "Nonsense! Corcoran! Whether I can go back to Paris or not depends on whether Mr. Hastings gives face. As long as he sent the police at Scotland Yard to throw me in debtor's prison, I would have been more than willing to attend his recital. ”

When Corcoran heard this, he was finally sure that General Smith was really drunk, and he sneered at the old general who had been bullying him in the lounge before the banquet began.

"It's okay, General Smith, even if you go to debtor's prison, it's the same to crouch in it and listen to the gramophone."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help laughing.

The laughter did not stop, who knew that the praying mantis catching cicadas and yellow finches were behind, and Elder who had been oppressed by Corcoran spoke gloomily again.

"General Corcorran, it's possible that your words have been recorded on the gramophone. Going back to General Smith and going to the debtor's prison, do you really want to let this paragraph go to him? ”

Corcoran raised his eyebrows in fright, and he hurriedly said to Arthur, "Mr. Hastings, you probably didn't really record this, did you?" For the sake of our friendship today, please quickly pinch this paragraph. ”

Arthur nodded quite seriously: "On this point, I have to check it carefully." I almost forgot to tell you that every record has two sides, and I'm going to check now to see if the reverse side of the record has been recorded for you. ”

The guests were amazed, "Can this thing record two things at the same time?" ”

"There are two sides, five minutes on one side, and ten minutes on both sides."

"It seems that this gramophone is even better than I imagined, and I can already record a lot of songs in ten minutes."

"General Corcortan, I don't think you should talk nonsense in the future, you have wasted such a good thing in vain."

In the midst of their discussion, Arthur turned the stylus off, turned the record over, and started playing it from the beginning.

The ladies and gentlemen held their breath one by one, and after hearing only a murmur, there was a rustle of turning the pages through the brass horn of the gramophone.

Immediately afterwards, Arthur's gentle voice sounded on the gramophone: "The Count of Monte Cristo, chapter one, ship to Marseille." On February 24, 1815, the lookout from the watchtower of the sheltered weir signaled the arrival of the three-masted Pharaoh in the port of Marseille. It came from Smerica and through Dirieste and Naples......"

Thanks to the leader of the alliance of 'cute and charming villain Professor M' for the reward.

(End of chapter)