"It is the most wonderful thing I have seen in America." So, one after another, this notable company of men listened to the voice of the first telephone, and the more they knew of science, the less they were inclined to believe their ears.

The wiser they were, the more they wondered.

To Henry and Thomson, the masters of electrical magic, this instrument was as surprising as it was to the man in the street.

And both were noble enough to admit frankly their astonishment in the reports which they made as judges, when they gave Bell a Certificate of Award.

"Mr.Bell has achieved a result of transcendent scientific interest," wrote Sir William Thomson.