The Hickman courier., 1873-07-19

species OF conlurer. The ordinary ma
gician requires the theater, his accom-
plices and the instruments of art, an6
he enjoys but local sovereignty within
the prescinets of his own magic circle
The ventriloquist, ON the contrary, has
the supernatural always in command
In the open fields as we'll as in the
crowded city, in the private apartment,
as well as in the public hall he can
summon up innumerable spirits; and
though the persons of his fictitious dia-
logue are not visible to tho eye, vet
they are unequivocally present TO the
imagination of his auditors, as if they
had been shadowed forth in the silence
of a spectral form
Mr.. Daugald Stewart, in some re-
marks upon the subject of ventrilo-
qqism, has stated sesyerel i9stanees s.is. in
frequent. He mentions having seen a
person who, by counterfeiting 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 his
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
a coffee-house. He declares that he sell
| dom failed to see some of the company
rise to examine the tightness of the win
| dows, while others more intent on their
| newspapers, contented themselves with
putting on their hats and buttoning
their coats. Mr.. Stewart likewise men
tions an exhibition formerly common in
Europe, where 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 decep-
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 wonderei that it should
have misled him for a moment. In this
case there can be no doubt that the de-
ception was at first the work 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 subsided, the true direction
of the sound was discovered.
One Of the most remarkable ventrilo-
quis is that ever lived was M. st. Gille
of st. German en- Laye, France, whose
performances have been recorded by
the able de la Chapelle Once, when
overtaken by a storm, st. Gille took
shelter in a neighboring convent, where
TIE monks were in deep mourning over
the recent death of a much esteemed |
IaimhesRntine9 "a over tnth the tomb of their de-
ceased brother the slight honors which |
had been paid to his memory, a 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 reproaehes,
and the whole company fell upon their
face and vowed to make reparation for
their error. They accordingly chanted
in full choir a de profuEdis, during the
intervals of which the spirit of the de-
parted monk expressed his satisfaction
at their pious exercises. The prior af-
terwari inveighed against modern skep-
ticism on the subject of apparitions,
and st. GilIe 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 /. Rejected by the
parents of very 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
marriage to 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
by 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 miser's deceased father was heard,
complaining of his situation in purgato-
ry, and calling loudly upon his son to
rescue him from his suferings, 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 a 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 thousand crowns
for the purpose of liberating the Chris
tian captives. When Cornu was at last
undeceived, 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 al ways manifested deficiency of
power. Only one ever attained any
considerable celebrity, aud even her
name is unknown. She lived in Am
sterdam in the sixteenth century, and is
referred to incidentally by writer's of
that period as possessing a remarkable
gift The art seems to be known even
by the savage races. We have authen-
tic accounts of its practice in the most
expert manner by the Esquimaux, some
of whom are reported to have produced
extraordinary acoustic effects by this
means and it is quite certain that VEN
A g..