Show Thrift Week Will Be Observed Will Teach Frugality Benjamin Franklin Playing ha invented tI in 1 I I I II H S s t IJ 1 1 iti t ti i i I- I ThY St g 1 S i Occasion Will Recall Memories of Benjamin Fran Franklin k in and His Early p Day y Achievements rits National Thrift week weel which begins on Monday has had no set program arranged for the schools but it is expected that in a number of ot them the lesson of ot thrift will be expounded b by the teachers The week will recall not only the familiar pictures of ot Benjamin Franklin as philosopher p patriot scientist and man of ot letters but also the less fa familiar familiar ta- ta but equally fascinating one of ot as a n. musician In a addition on to knowing the best European music of ot his day a somewhat unusual thing in a n. Colonial the author of Poor Richard himself enriched the field of ot music b by his Invention in 1762 of ot the or musical glasses which attained a high degree degre of ot popularity in the early days das of ot American national nation nation- al history Franklin became so profIcient proficient proficient pro pro- In n playing this instrument that he inspired a poem of praise by one of ot the earliest American poets Nathaniel Evans To commemorate this side of ot Franklins Franklin's Franklins Franklin's Frank Frank- lins lin's gifted personality and to make better known his contribution to the development of ot the orchestra the National National National Na Na- Thrift week committee has authorized authorized au au- nu- nu as as' as one of ot Its posters a picture showing the Father of Thrift as also a lover of ot music seated in playing playIng playIng play- play Ing position before his UNDERLYING PRINCIPLE The principle underlying Franklins Franklin's device is that musical sounds can be produced by rubbing a wet finger over the e eel ed edof l of ot a tumbler of ot water the pitch varying with the amount ot of water In the glass Rather clumsy ex experiments experiments experiments ex- ex had bc been n made previously by an Irishman named Puckeridge and anda a n. few others with numerous tumblers of assorted lengths partially filled with liquid so so that the invention Wt was I not absolutely Franklins AS shown b by hI bythe hIthe the illustration Franklins Franklin's was made mado by assembling a number of ot glass discs so that they would re revolve revolve re- re volve olve on a spindle passing through water as they turned They were played by touching the moist edges of ot the the- glasses lasses with the fingers as they revolved The first virtuoso on the musical glasses lasses was Miss Marianne DavIes a relative of ot Franklins Franklin's who created a sensation in England and with her hersl sl sister ter Cecella Cecelia a vocalist of ot some fame took th the th Continental public by storm Other skilled players followed and the appeared in concert In New I York Philadelphia and Baltimore and in many private homes of ot wealth Toward the end of ot the eighteenth century cen ceo tury improvements were made in the tho thein in instrument extending Its range beyond beyond beyond be be- yond the three octaves of ot Franklins Franklin's model and facilitating performance by the the- use of Or efa n a fiddle bow Instead bow instead of ot the tte bare fingers GREAT PRESENT Thomas Jefferson heard the the- ar ar j I monica in Paris and expressed the I opinion that Its success would be bethe bethe the greatest present which has been I made to the musical world this ceo cen tury not excepting the pianoforte The Instrument became a part of some I cen-I of ot the leading orchestras In Europe I Johann Gottlieb Naumann a noted composer of ot the eighteenth century played it and wrote six sonatas for it Mozart composed several pieces for It and even Beethoven gave It his attention at attention attention at- at In a short melodramatic se- se I lection Yet despite these marks of t an extended influence the tho instrument I fell into disuse before 1840 One reason reason reason rea- rea I son assigned for its passing is rea that Its sweetness tended to cloy Another is that it failed to secure an easily manipulated manipulated manipulated ma ma- keyboard like the modern piano However that may be the ar ar- ar monica stands as a symbol of ot Franklins Franklin's Franklins Franklin's Frank- Frank lins lin's many sIded genius and the ar i ar 1 bent of his scholarly mind Even more it exemplifies that characteristic 1 tic of ot his nature which Impelled him not only to seek knowledge with avidity avidIty avidity avid avid- ity but to put his knowledge In a form torm to help others His early hardships hardships hard hard- ships and life lite experiences he turned to the service of ot his fellow tellow men In his books The delight an and relaxation ho he derived from music ho he repaid by his musical invention |