CHAPTER LVI.—VENTRILOQUISM, AND HOW TO ACQUIRE THE ART.
By William Crompton.
The etymology of the word Ventriloquism gives an incorrect idea of the art, as it is based upon the old notion that the ventriloquial voice really proceeded from the stomach. As a matter of fact, the sources of all such sounds are in the throat or mouth.
By the aid of the laryngoscope, a scientific instrument mirroring the action and vibrating changes of the vocal organ, it has been shown that tone and voice come when the cords in the larynx are excited by the breath; but a muffled vibration in the cavity of the mouth, which is caused by the action of the tongue and lips, produces whispering, in which the words appear as from a distance, and, thus robbed of their distinct vocal sounds, can be produced with little or no movement of the muscles of the face.
But the ventriloquist knows full well that the judgment must be led astray quite as much as the ear; therefore, in disguising the true direction of his voice—or those assumed voices which he has added to his own—he requires finesse of a high order, which, while he shall be apparently unconscious of doing so, must lead his audience to certain conclusions respecting the situation of the sounds. In this he is greatly assisted by Nature, which lays the foundation of the art in the fact of the uncertainty of their direction as well as distance.
It was formerly common on the Continent for performers on the stage to go through the dumb show of singing while persons off the stage supplied the voices. The same uncertainty as to the direction of sound is manifested at a marionette show, where the actors—wooden dolls—‘strut and fret their hour upon the stage,’ their actions leading the spectators to ally the speeches with them, and to look upon the manikins almost as veritable human beings. The illusion, if properly carried out, is very perfect.
One of the most favourite modes of ventriloquists now and for a long time past has been to have two or more wooden figures with jaws moved by strings acted upon by the hands of the performer, or by pedals. The artist then holds converse between these, and so takes attention from his own movements. Another capital device is the ‘Talking Hand,’ which it may be here well to describe. Having first provided yourself with a mitten purposely made, with a hole in the centre, and a frill round it, thus:—