The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1873-07-24

than which is exercised by any other
species of coniurer. The ordinary ma
gician requires the theater, his accom-
plices and the instruments of art, and
he enjoys but local sovereignty within
the prescincts Of his own magic circle.
The Eentriloquist, ON the contrary, has
the supernatural always in command.
In the open fields as well as in the
crowded city, in the private apartment,
as weli'a in the public hall he can
summon up inumerable spirits and
though the persons of his fictitious dia-
logue are not visible to the eye, yet
they are unequivocally present to the
imagination of his auditors, aa if they
had been shadowed forth in the silence
| of spectral form.
MIR. Daugald Stewart, in some re-
marks upon the subject of yentrflo-
quism, has stated seVerel instances in
which deeeptions of this kind were very
frequent. He mentions having seen a
person who's by counterfeitiRg the ges-
ticulations of performer on the violin,
while he initiated the music with his
voice, .rivited the. eyes of his audience
upon the instrument, though every
sound they heard proceeded from has
mouth. He tells also OF another person
who initiated the whistling of the wind
through narrow cihnk, and who often
practiced the deception in the corner of
coffee-house. He declares that he sell
dom foiIad korgoa s,v,o of Al z------
rise to examine the tightness of the win
dowss while others more intent on their
newspapers, eontented themselves with
putting on their hats and buttoning
their coats. Mr.. Stewart likewise men
tiOns an exhibition formerly common In
Europe, where a performer on the stage
displayed the dumb show of singing
with his lips and eyes and gestures, !.
while another person, unseen, supplied
the music with his voice. The rdecep-
tiOn in this case he found to b. so COM
plete as to impose upon the incest ear
and the quickest eye but in the pro-
gress of the entertainment he became
distinctly sensible of the imposition,
and sometimes wondered that It should
have misled him for a moment. In this
case there can be.no doubt that the de-
ception was at first thevork Of the i'm
aginatiOn and was not sustained by the
acoustic principle. The real and
the mock singer were too distant
and when the influence of the i'm
agination snbsided, the true direction
Of the sound was discovered. { t''
One of the most remarkable ventrilo-
quists that ever lived was NJ. st. GiIIe
of st. German en- Laye, France, whose
performances have been recorded by
the abbe de la Chapelle. Once, when
overtaken by a storm. st. GilIe took
shelter in a neighboring convent, where
tie monks were in deep mourning over
the recent death of a much esteemed
member of their community. While
lamenting over the tomb of their de-
ceased brother the slight honors which !
had been paid to his memory, voice
was suddenly heard to issue from the
roof of the choir, bewailing the condi-
ton of the deceased in purgatory, and
reproving the brotherhood for want OF
zeal. The tidings of the extraordinary
event brought the entire fraternity to
the church. The voice from above re-,
peated its lamentations and reproaches,
and the whole company fell upon their
| face and vowed to make reparatiOn for
their error. They accordingly chanted
in full choir de profundis, during the
intervals of which the spirit of the de
parted monk expressed his satisfaction
at their pious exercises. The prior af-
terwarj inveighed against modern skep-
ticism on the subject of apparitions,
and st. GiIle had great difficulty in
convincing the fraternity that the whole
thing was a deception.
Another famous ventriloquist was
Louis de Brabant, at one time valet de
chambre to Francis l. Rejected by the
parents of avery rich heiress as an I'M
suitable match for their daughter,
Louis, ON the death of the father, paid
a visit to the widow and, as soon as
he entered the. room, the voice of her
deceased husband was heard thus to
| address her "Give my daughter in
marriageto Louis Brabant; he is man
of fortune and character, and 1 endure
the pains of purgatory for having re-
! fused her TO him. Obey this admoni-
tion, and give repose to the soul of
your departed husband" OF course
the widow complied. But Brabant's
/ difficulties were not yet overcome, He
wanted money to defray the wedding
expenses, and resolved to work on the
fears of an old banker, NJ. Cornu of Ly-
ons, who had amassed immense wealth
| bye usury and extortion. Having OBJ
tanned an evening interview, he con-
trived to turn the conversation to the
subject of departed spirits and ghosts
During an interval of silence, the voice
of the niser's deceased fatherw heard,
complaining of his situation in purgato-
ry, and calling loudly upon his son to
rescue him from his sufferings, by ena-
bleing Brabant to redeem the Christians
at that time enslaved by the Turks. Not
succeeding ON the first occasion, Bra
bant was compelled to make second
visit to the miser, when he enlisted,
not only the father, but all his de-
ceased relations, in the appeal and in
this way he obtained a thousand crowns
for the purpose Of Iiberating the Chris
tian oaPtives. When Cornu was at last
Undeoeived, it is said that he died Of
sheer vexation and modification.
It may be remarked, as rather an odd
circumstance. that there have been very
few female ventriloquists, and these
have always manifested a deficiency Of
power, Only one ever attained any
considerable celebrity, and even her
name is unknown. She lived in Am
sterdam in the sixteenth century, and is
referred 10 incidentally by writer's of
that period as possessing remarkable
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