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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY.— SUPPLEMENT. 



CUEIOSITIES OF THE VOICE. 



SOME years ago, a delightfully interesting book 

 was written by Sir Charles Bell on " The Hu- 

 man Hand." There might be fully as interesting a 

 work written on the mechanism of the human voice, 

 in which would be equally demonstrated the power, 

 wisdom, and goodness of the Creator. We offer a 

 few observations on the subject. Until recently 

 there were mysteries difficult to explain concern- 

 ing the wonderful inflections in the voice. Now, 

 it is thoroughly understood how words are pro- 

 duced, and how the throat is able to send forth a 

 wide variety of charming notes in singing. We 

 begin by mentioning that Dr. Mandl has devoted 

 himself to the study of the organs of speech, and 

 from his work on " The Larynx " we give some 

 interesting particulars. Investigators have long 

 been occupied with researches ; but, until they 

 had seen the larynx of a living being, one thing 

 only was proved — that the voice was formed in 

 the glottis. For fifty years of this century they 

 were trying by mirrors and other appliances to 

 examine the interior of this organ, but without 

 results. Suddenly an inspiration came into the 

 head of a celebrated singer, whose name awakens 

 charming remembrances among old amateurs. 

 This was M. Manuel Garcia. Ignorant of all the 

 trouble which surgeons had taken in ordor to ob- 

 serve the movements of the throat in the act of 

 singing, he conceived the idea of looking at him- 

 self. By the help of two mirrors, the one reflect- 

 ing the image on to the other, he saw the whole 

 of his larynx depicted. In ecstasy before the 

 glass, he determined to pursue the accidental 

 discovery which had been so long dreamed of. 

 But the autumn had set in, and the sun's rays, 

 which were necessary to success, did not lend 

 their aid. London with its fogs forced him to 

 try artificial light, the results of which were un- 

 successful, and therefore he could only profit by 

 fine days ; yet he soon recognized how isolated 

 sounds were produced. In 1855 the Bo\al So- 

 ciety received some communications from him 

 on these curious studies. 



The subject was at once taken up with great 

 activity, especially in Vienna, where success was 

 far from equaling the hopes of the doctors. The 

 caprices of solar light and the defects of artificial 

 threw them into a state of despair. By all means 

 they must improve their mirrors. Czermak, the 

 Professor of Physiology at Pesth, taking an ex- 

 ample from the instrument used in examining the 



eye, the ophthalmoscope, had recourse to a con- 

 cave mirror which concentrated the light. From 

 this time there was no difficulty but to perfect 

 the lenses. Czermak, having acquired great skill 

 in the use of his laryngoscope, visited the princi- 

 pal cities of Germany, where his demonstrations 

 deeply interested surgeons and physiologists. 

 He was warmly received in Paris in 1860, where 

 he showed not only the whole length of his 

 larynx, but also the interior of the trachea or 

 windpipe as far as its bifurcation ; a spectacle 

 truly astonishing to those who witness it for the 

 first time. It is not possible to examine the or- 

 gan of the voice with the same facility in all ; a 

 man must have had some experience before he 

 can do it. 



A slight sketch of this organ will perhaps 

 make the subject clearer. From the breast there 

 rises to the middle of the neck the passage for 

 the air between the lungs and the mouth ; at one 

 end it is divided into numerous branches, called 

 the bronchial tubes ; at the upper end, like the 

 capital of a column, is seen the larynx, resembling 

 an angular box ; strong cartilages make it very 

 resistent ; and the interior is lined with a mucous 

 membrane forming folds, named the vocal lips. 

 These separate, lengthen, or shorten, in the forma- 

 tion of various sounds. The largest of the four 

 cartilages rises in an annular form, and protects 

 the whole structure. It is but slightly shown in 

 the neck of the female, but strongly marked in the 

 man, and is popularly called Adam's apple. Like 

 everything else, the larynx presents individual 

 differences : a fine development is an indication 

 of a powerful voice ; as the child grows up there 

 is a sudden alteration and increase of size; but it 

 always remains smaller in the woman than in the 

 man ; the angles are less sharp, the muscles weak- 

 er, the cartilages thinner and more supple, which 

 accounts for the sharp, treble notes in their 

 voices. 



Singing demands a different kind of activity in 

 the organs from speaking. In society, where edu- 

 cation requires a submission to rule, singing be- 

 longs to the domain of art; but, in a primitive 

 state, all nations have their songs. Musical rhythm 

 drives away weariness, lessens fatigue, detaches 

 the mind from the painful realities of life, and 

 braces up the courage to meet danger. Soldiers 

 march to their war-songs ; the laborer rests, lis- 

 tening to a joyous carol. In the solitary chamber 



