Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1873-06-05


! or tone. and If il is in words, obscurins
little the consousnt sounds. while retain
ing una'ered the pitch and duration /,
doing this he modiGes the tones of hi
, voice by varying the position of the tor gu
and the soft palate. dilaiing or contrac,in,
. the mouth or pharynx. anc either Givid
ing the buccal and pharyngeal cavitie
into several compartments or throwiut
them into one. This is done wi,hou
movement of the lower jaw and with ba
slight motions Of the lips Usually the
ventriloquis' stands so as to give only a pro
file view of his face. unless a, distance
from bis audience, and thus has create,
opportunity of concealing any slight mo.
tions Of the facial muscles IL most cases
too. the apparently remote voice is a fall
sctto. this being more within the com.
mand Of the performer without perccpti.
bic facial movement than the natural tones.
Some If the greatest vcntriloqusts. how
ever, have never practiced any conceal.
mcnt. but stand face to face with their au
diences. NJ. Alexandra, VI. St. Gile and
Louis de Brabant, We are informed, ap.
parenily did not move their lips or the
muscles of their faces
( Vcntriloguism loses its distinctive char
acter if its limitations are not performed bv
voice from the belly. The voice, in
deed. does not come from that region: but
when the ventriloqu:st utters sounds from
the larynx without moving his face. he
gives them strength BY a powerful action
Of the abdominal muscles. Hence he
speaks BY means of his belly. although the
throat is the real source from which the
sounds proceed. The effort in every case
is so great tha; the exercise Of ventrilo-
quism for any considerable length of
time is very fatiguiug. and occasions fire.
quent coughing on the part of the per,
former.
The influence over the human mind
which the ventriloquist derives from the
skillful practice of his ar, is greater than
that which is exercised BY any other spc-
cics of conjnrcr. The ordinary magician
requires the thcater. hi, accomplces. and
the Instruments of his art. and he enjoys
bat local sovereignty within the precincts
of his own magic circle The ventrilo-
qui>t. on the contrary. has the superuat-
ural always at command In the open
GclAs. as well as in the crowded city. in
the private apartment. as well as in the
public hall, he can summon up innumer-
able spirits; and though the persons OF
his fictitious dialogue are no. visible to the
eye, yet they are uncquiv"cally presen, to
the Imagination of his auditors. as If they
had been shadowed forth in the silence of
n spectral form.
Mr. pugald Stewart. in some remarks
upon the subject of venrriloguism. has
stated several eases ia which decrp,ions Of
this kind were very perfect. lie mentions
having seen person who. by counterfeit
ing the gesticu'ati"ns of a performer on
the violin. while he initiated the music
with his voice. rivetcd the eyes of the au-
dicnce upon the instrument. though eve-
ry sound they heard proccede! from his
own mouth. He tells also of another per-
son who initiated the whi>tling of the wind
through a narrow chjnk. and who often
practiced the deception in the corner of
coffcc-house. He declared that he sell
dom failed 10 see some Of the com pany rise
TO examine the tightness of the windows,
while others. more intent on their news.
papers, contentcd themselves with put
ting on their hats and bauoning their
coats.
Mr.. Stewart likewise mentions m ex-
hibition formerly common in Europe.
where performer on the stage displayed
the dumb show of singing with his lips
and eyes and gestures. while another per
son, unseen, supplied the music with his
voice. The deception in this case he found
to be So complete as to impose upon the
incest ear and the quickes, eye: but in the
progress Of the entertainment he became
distinctly sensible of the imposition. and
sometimes wondered that it should have
mislcd him for moment In this case
there can be no doubt that the deception
was at first the work of the imagination.
and was not sustained by the acoustic prin-
ciple. The real and the mock singer were
too distant; aud when the influence of the
Imagination subsided. the true direction Of
the sound was discovered.
One of the most remarkable ven,rilo-
quists that ever lived was NJ ST Gille, of
st German Ell Laye. France. whose per-
formances have been recorded BY the
Able de Ia Chapelle. Once. when over
taken in storm. ST Gillc took shelter in
a ueiChboring convent, where the monks
were in deep mourning over the recent
death Of much esteemed member of their
community. While lamenting over the
tomb Of their deceased brother the slight
houors which had been paid to his mrm-
ory. a voice was suddenly heard to issue
from the roof of the choir. bewailinc the
condition of the deceased in purcatory.
and rcproving the brotherhood for want
Of zeal The tidings OF the ex,raordna-
ry event brouch. the entire fraternity to
the church The voice from above re-
peated its lamentations and reproaches.
and the whole company fell upon their
faces and vowed 10 make reparation for
their error. They accordingly chan,ed in
full choir dc profaadis, during the in
terval. Of which the spirit of the departed
monk expressed his satisfaction at their
piOus exercises. The prior afterward in-
Weighed against modern skep,ieism on the
subject Of apparisions. and So 6ille had
great difficulty in convincing the fraterui-
ty ,ha, the whole thing was deception.
On another occasion n commission Of the
Royal Academy OF Sciences at Paris. at
tended BY several persons Of the highest
rank. met at So. German en- Laye to Wit
ness the performance Of NJ. 81. Gille.-
The real object Of their meeting vas rur