"Saluting a Phonogram," Scientific American, March 25, 1899, p. 185.

It will be remembered that Queen Victoria spoke a message of friendship and good will to the Emperor Menelek, of Abyssinia, after the recent victory in the Soudan.  The message created a marked impression on his Majesty.  The royal words were delivered on a Sunday, the phonograph working excellently.  The tones of her Majesty's voice were reproduced with remarkable clearness, and Menelek was so pleased that nothing would satisfy him but to hear the message at least a dozen times.  First he would listen to the words as they came from the trumpet of the phonograph, and then he would use ear tubes.  When his curiosity and delight had been satisfied, he relapsed into solemn silence, and ordered the royal salute and remained standing while seventeen guns were fired.  Menelek himself has tried to send a message by the phonograph, so that he appreciates the difficulty of securing a satisfactory record.