A music-lover who had heard Alexandre’s melodium organs highly praised in every quarter wanted to donate one to the church of the village where he lived. “This instrument”, he thought to himself, “is said to have a delightful sound quality, with a dreamy, mysterious character which makes it particularly suitable for the expression of religious sentiment; it’s moderately priced too, and anyone who can more or less manage a piano keyboard can play it without difficulty. That would be just what I need. But one should never buy a pig in a poke, so why don’t I go to Paris and judge for myself whether the eulogies lavished on Alexandre’s instrument by the press throughout Europe, and even in America, are justified? I’ll look at it, listen to it, try it out, and then decide whether to buy it.”

The prudent music-lover came to Paris, obtained directions to Alexandre’s shop and lost no time in going there.

To understand his extraordinary behaviour after examining the organs, you should know that Alexandre’s instruments, in addition to the bellows which produce a flow of air to vibrate the copper reeds, are equipped with a system of hammers designed to strike the reeds and set them in motion just at the moment when the air flow begins to have its effect. The vibration caused by the hammer striking the reed makes the action of the bellows more immediate, and avoids the brief delay which would otherwise occur in producing the sound. The action of the hammers striking the copper reeds also produces a small, dry sound, imperceptible when the bellows are functioning, but which can be heard quite distinctly from close by when only the keys are pressed.

With this explanation, let us follow our music-lover into Alexandre’s large showroom, amongst the harmonious population of instruments displayed there.

“I should like to buy an organ.”

“Certainly, sir, we can arrange for you to listen to some and then you can choose.”

“No, no, I don’t want you to arrange for me to listen to them. The skill of your players is bound to bamboozle a listener concerning the instruments’ failings, or even turn them into advantages.