228 OBSERVATIONS ON VENTRILOQUISM, 



unexpected quarter, in confequence of which the reflector will 

 appear to be the fpeaker. Nature Teems to fix no bounds to 

 this kind of deception, only care muft be taken not to let the 

 path of the direct pulfcs pafs too near the head of the perfon 

 who is to be played upon ; for, if a line joining the exhibitor's 

 mouth and the reflecting body approach one of his ears too 

 nearly, the divergency of the pulfes will make him perceive 

 the voice itfelf inftcad of the reverberated found* 

 Narrative of a '« The only ventriloquift I ever attended, acted in ftriCt con- 

 <ven ioqui . formity to the preceding theory of this curious paradox in the 

 fcience of acouftics. His audience was arranged in two op- 

 pofite lines, correfponding to the two fides of a long narrow 

 room, The benches on which they were feated reached from 

 one end of the place to the middle of it, the other part re- 

 maining unoccupied. The feats exhibited by him were the 

 Voice of a child three following. Firjl : he made his voice come from behind 

 from beneath j^,, au di ence> but it never feemed to proceed from any part 

 * of the wall, near the heads of the people prefent ; on the 

 contrary, it was always heard refembling the voice of a child, 

 who feemed to be under the benches. He flood during the 

 time of fpeaking in a looping pofture, having his mouth 

 turned towards the place from which the found iflued ; fo that 

 the line joining his lips and the reflecting object, did not ap- 

 aoifes from a proach the ears of the company. Second: advancing into the 

 cupboard, vacant part of the room, and turning his back to the audience, 



he made a variety of noifes, that feemed to proceed from an 

 open cupboard which flood directly before him, at the diflance 

 cries from an in- of two or three yards. Third; he placed an inverted glafs 

 verted cup. cu p on ^ e j ian( j s f j^j s h earer s, and then imitated the cries 

 of a child confined in it. His method of doing it was this; 

 the upper part of the hearer's arm laid clofe along his fide ; 

 then the part below the elbow was kept in an horizontal po- 

 rtion with the hand turned downwards, which was done by 

 Method of ope- the operator himfelf. After taking thefe preparatory fieps, 

 Mtmg. ^ man k ent j^ k oc j v f orW ards in a fituation which prefented 



the profile of his face nearly to the front of his hearer, whilft 

 his mouth pointed to the cup ; in which pofture he copied 

 the voice of a confined child fo completely, that three pofi- 

 tions of the glafs were eafily diftinguifhed by as many diffe- 

 rent tones, viz. when he prefled the mouth of the cup clofe 

 againft the palm, when one edge of it was elevated, and 



when 



