New York Special.

    Sweet sounds from the stars, melodies from the spheres, angel voices from unseen realms of everlasting joy or wails of lost souls in unending torment, crashes of worlds in the making or unmaking, vibrant forces of nature audibly at work—which or what is Prof. Albert G. Albertson able to convey to the mundane sense of hearing by his latest discovery-invention? The professor inclines to the belief, one gathers from talking to him, that the mysterious sounds come from the stars, which word in this article means both suns and their satellite planets.
    The instrument invented by Prof. Albertson resembles in some respects a combination phonograph, telephone and telescope.
    “It is necessary to bear in mind,” said “The Star Wizard,” as he is called, “that light rays falling on a polished steel plate produce a tone. This is inaudible, however, unless the plate is connected with an electric circuit, also containing a microphone or a telephone earpiece. A number of small steel cylinders, varying in length and perfectly polished inside, are used instead of a plate or hollow steel shell. The cylinders are arranged within the box in such manner as to vibrate freely. The entire box is made part of an electric circuit from the battery, and in this circuit is contained also the microphone and telephone earpiece.
    “A revolving disk is in front of the cylinders, and this is so perforated that a ray of light when passing through the small holes will be thrown in different directions. Behind the revolving disk there is a glass prism and a tube containing a lens, which may be directed toward any star. It is necessary to place the instrument upon some soft foundation like a sofa pillow, and cover it with a dark cloth so as to exclude all other kinds of light except that from the star. Only the tube and earpiece remain exposed.” When the instrument is played upon by the sun, the sounds are overpowering, says the inventor. “A million weird and inexplicable noises, due to reflected light from the earth and other planets, spoil the music entirely,” he declares. The different sounds that emanate from the various stars form the very basis of the professor’s great theory of interstellar communication.
    These sounds reflect, he believes, different conditions, and are keynotes to the state of affairs on the stars from which the sound comes. In a talk with a Cincinnati Enquirer correspondent lie said:
    “It is when the instrument is directed toward Sirius or the planets revolving about the star that the weirdest effects are obtained. If the sounds speak true, despair must be the keynote of that region. Hideous noises, frightful beyond description, pour forth. Nothing earthly can be compared to these fearful sounds. They remind one of spirits in agony, shrieking over the loss of eternal happiness. The hideous, nerve-racking sounds can only be compared to the ravings of the wildest inmates of a madhouse.
    “Beautiful Arcturus gives forth the most confusing noises. When the instrument is directed toward this magnificent star of the first magnitude sounds of startling contrast are audible. Now it reminds one of an ear-deafening hurricane, then the roars of a thousand Niagaras beat upon the ear drums. After this tumult, absolute stillness will prevail for a few seconds, then something like a melodious, yet soft, and low whispering will play upon the instrument. This star is in direct apposition to Sirius, and might be the home of perfect love and contentment. The melodies which pour forth from this star remind one of the gentle whisperings of thousands of pairs of lovers on the shores of a moonlit sea. Then, cheerful and zentle laughter, exquisite and soft singing burst forth, and lingering sounds resembling the subdued smacks of fervent kisses relieve the whispering.”

From—Williston Graphic. (Williston, Williams County, N.D.), 26 May 1904. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.