to general use in any country. It opened up a new world of sound. It exchanges. But there had now come a time when more than two persons which he could run up and down safely; they had to do more. They had instrument at each end. There were no operators, switchboards, or New Orleans the prattle of a child in New York. This was what the then, and is yet, the most sensitive instrument that has ever been put As for Bell's first telephone lines, they were as simple as would echo the tramp of a fly that walked across a table, or repeat in of the telephone that we call the receiver. This was practically the any account, no cables of any value, no wires that were in any sense to make this system so simple and fool-proof that every one--every one sum total of Bell's invention, and remains to-day as he made it. It was adequate, no theory of tests or signals, no exchanges, NO TELEPHONE They had to educate Bell's Genie of the Wire so that he would not only SYSTEM OF ANY SORT WHATEVER. And that was not all. These young men had not only to battle against except the deaf and dumb--could use it without any previous experience. mystery and "the powers of the air"; they had not only to protect their tiny electric messenger, and to create a system of wire highways along young men received, and this was all. There were no switchboards of the telephone; and while Bell himself had foreseen it, he had not worked clothes-lines. Each short little wire stood by itself, with one them could be joined at a moment's notice. three hundred, or three thousand, or three million, so that any two of wanted to be in the same conversational group. This was a larger use of out a plan whereby it could be carried out. Here was the new problem, and a most stupendous one--how to link together three telephones, or