be," answered Mr.
Hazen. "I have always been glad, too, that it fell to his lot to have
this honor; for he had worked long and faithfully, and if there were
glory to be had, he should share it. To his unflagging zeal and
intelligence Mr. Bell owed a great deal. Few men could so
whole-heartedly have effaced their own personality and thrown
themselves with such zest into the success of another as did Thomas
Watson."

The tutor paused.

"Up to this time," he presently went on, "the telephones used by Bell
and Watson in their experiments had been very crude affairs; but those
designed for the Centennial were glorified objects. Watson says that
you could see your face in them. The Williams's shop outdid itself and
more splendid instruments never went forth from its doors. You can
therefore imagine Watson's chagrin when, after highly commending Mr.
Bell's invention, Sir William Thompson added, '_This, perhaps, greatest
marvel hitherto achieved by electric telegraph has been obtained by
appliances of quite a homespun and rudimentary character._'"

Both Ted and Laurie joined in the laughter of the tutor.

"And now the telephone was actually launched?" Ted asked.

"Well, it was not really in clear waters," Mr. Hazen replied, with a
dubious shrug of his shoulders, "but at least there was no further
question as to which of his schemes Mr. Bell should perfect. Both Mr.
Hubbard and Mr. Saunders, who were assisting him financially, agreed
that for the present it must be the telephone; and recognizing the
value of Watson's services, they offered him an interest in Mr. Bell's
patents if he would give up his work at Williams's shop and put in all
his time on this device. Nevertheless they did not entirely abandon the
harmonic telegraph for Bell's success with the other invention had only
served to strengthen their confidence in his ability and genius. It was
also decided that Mr. Bell should move from Salem to Boston, take an
additional room at the Exeter Place house (which would give him the
entire floor where his laboratory was), and unhampered by further
teaching plunge into the inventive career for which heaven had so
richly endowed him and which he loved with all his heart. You can
picture to yourselves the joy these decisions gave him and the
eagerness with which he and Watson took up their labors together.

"They made telephones of every imaginable size in their attempts to
find out whether there was anything that would wo