POLYPHONIC IMITATIONS.
The Tormenting Bee.—It is related that Mr. Love, when young, took great delight in imitating the buzzing of insects and the cries of animals; indeed, it is difficult to decide whether he or Mr. Thurton most excelled in this particular species of mimetic illusion. In all imitations of insect noises, the bee should be heard to hum gently at first, so as in a private party not likely to attract attention till the right pitch is obtained, and be it remembered that the sound, without being particularly loud, can be made to penetrate every corner of a large room. The illusion is greatly increased by pretending to catch the offending and intrusive insect. The humble bee, the wasp, and the bluebottle fly are best to imitate, and afford an agreeable relief to the other exercises of ventriloquial power. To imitate the tormenting bee, the student must use considerable pressure on his chest, as if he was about to groan suddenly, but instead of which, the sound must be confined and prolonged in the throat; the greater the pressure, the higher will be the faint note produced, and which will perfectly resemble the buzzing of the bee or wasp.
Now, to imitate the buzzing of a bluebottle fly, it will be necessary for the sound to be made with the lips instead of the throat; this is done by closing the lips very tight, except at one corner, where a small aperture is left, fill that cheek full of wind, but not the other, then slowly blow or force the wind contained in the cheek out of the aperture: if this is done properly, it will cause a sound exactly like the buzzing of a bluebottle fly. These two instances will show how necessary it is for the ventriloquist to study minutely the different effects of sound upon his hearers in all his exploits. And to make the above properly effective, he should turn his face to a wall; with a handkerchief strike at the pretended bee or fly, at the same time pretend to follow his victim first this way and then that, and finally to “dab” his pocket-handkerchief on the wall as though he had killed it; the sounds should be at times suddenly louder and then softer, which will make it appear as it is heard in different parts of the room.
The Spectre Carpenter.—The noise caused by planing and sawing wood can also be imitated without much difficulty, and it causes a great deal of amusement. The student must, however, bear in mind that every action must be imitated as well as the noise, for the eye assists to delude the ear. We have even seen ventriloquists carry this eye-deception so far as to have a few shavings to scatter as they proceed, and a piece of wood to fall when the sawing is ended. To imitate planing, the student must stand at a table a little distance from the audience, and appear to take hold of a plane and push it forward: the sound as of a plane is made as though you were dwelling on the last part of the word hush—dwell upon the sh a little, as tsh, and then clip it short by causing the tongue to close with the palate, then over again. Letters will not convoy the peculiar sound of sawing—it must be studied from nature.
A MOUNTAIN ECHO.
Some persons imagine ventriloquism to be an echo; but, as we have said, an echo only repeats what has been said before—it could not answer a question.
An echo is reflected sound, and the reflecting body must be at such a distance that the interval between the perception of the original and reflected sounds may be sufficient to prevent them from being blended together. No reflecting surface will produce a distant echo, unless its distance from the spot where the sound proceeds is at least 56½ feet, because the shortest interval sufficient to render sounds distinctly appreciable by the ear is about one-tenth of a second; therefore, if sounds follow at a shorter interval, they will form a resonance instead of an echo; and the time a sound would take to go and return from a reflecting surface, 56½ feet distance, would be one-tenth of a second.
It would, therefore, be impossible for a ventriloquist to produce an echo in a room of ordinary size, as the walls, being so near, would cause the sounds to be blended, and would only produce one impression on the ear; and yet the skilled ventriloquist can with ease imitate, in a room, a mountain echo. We will give the instructions, as it is very amusing.
Turn your back to the listeners; whistle loud several short, quick notes, just as if you were whistling for a dog; then, as quick as possible, after the last note, and as softly and subdued as possible to be heard, whistle about a third the number of notes, but it must be in the same note or pitch; this will cause the last whistle to appear just like an echo at a great distance. This imitation, if well done, never fails to take the listeners by surprise, and causes astonishment. The same thing can be done by shouting. Call aloud any sentence, such as—“Holloa, you there!” Let your voice be formed close to the lips; then quickly, and mind in the same pitch or note, speak the same words very subdued and formed at the back of the mouth. This is not difficult, and is very effective.