420 
rectly opposite to that which was dic- 
tated in the former instance; since the 
smaller the aperture of the mouth, and 
the lower the curtain of the roof is 
dropped, the more powerfully will the 
nasal tones be propagated. 
It should be observed, that the nasal 
tones here spoken of, as objects of har- 
monic cultivation, are not to be con- 
founded with that strangulated snuffling 
drone (the abomination of all ears), 
usually referred to, when any person is 
accused of speaking through the nose ; 
a defect which, in reality, is produced 
by obstructing the external passages of 
the nostrils ; as may, hereafter, be more 
particularly described. 
Ii. Toe Maxittras, &c.; other more 
minute and delicate varieties of tone— 
the soft, the tender, and the sweet— 
those flute-like, restrained, and yet 
powerful intonations, which accord so 
well with the luxuriances of pastoral 
description, and the sentiments of a 
melting pathos,—seem to depend on the 
responsive vibrations of a great num- 
ber of more minute organs: upon the 
maxillas, and other cellular, hollow, 
and thin plate-like bones in the neigh- 
bourhood of the mouth and larynx; and 
upon the frontal, and other sinusses. 
The mingled power and sweetness of 
these particular intonations render them 
particularly worthy of attention and 
cultivation; as being capable, even in 
their softest modulations, in almost any 
room, or situation that presents a 
tolerable medium for the transmission 
of sound, of exciting an agreeable sort 
of response, or echo— Q 
“A soft responsive yoice was heard at 
every close.” 
{V. In short, the whole Skutt itself, 
and the muscular fibres and integu- 
ments of the head, still further contri- 
bute to the complication of the sono- 
rous vibrations. A statement which 
may be placed beyond all question by a 
few simple and obvious experiments. 
Thus, for example: if, with the aper- 
ture of the mouth as nearly closed as 
the clear enunciation of the elements 
will permit, and with a powerful, but 
restrained effort, forcing the stream of 
vibration from the larynx upwards into 
the sinusses and resounding chambers 
of the head (the nasal muscles, at the 
same time, being as much relaxed as 
possible, to prevent the overpowerful 
vibrations of that organ,) we pro- 
nounce, in a tone of appropriate mel- 
lowness, such passages as that which 
IT have last quoted, and, at the same 
The Anatomy of Speech. 
(July 1, 
time, apply the finger delicately to dif- 
ferent parts of the head, we shall trace 
the correspondent vibrations with great 
facility.* vs 
So, also, if during any powerful effort 
of voice, the hands be pressed, with 
tolerable force, against particular por- 
tions of the sides of the head, the tone 
will be essentially altered, which could 
not be the case unless the vibrations of 
the fibres and surfaces so compressed 
were among the causes of the produc- 
tion and modification of that tone. 
Attentive analysis has enabled me 
to detect a phenomenon of at least 
considerable curiosity, producible by a 
proper direction of the original impulses 
through the channels of this organ. In 
the repetition of the line last quoted in 
particular,—and indeed in several others 
of a similar character, I have perceived 
that it is practicable to produce and 
prolong a species of responsive tone, or 
internal echo, similar in effect to the 
soft response of a favourably constructed 
room; and, consequently, of imitating 
external echoes, in a medium not fa- 
vourable to their actual production. 
V. Tue Cuest, and Superior Moiety 
of the Trunk.—But the enumeration of 
the secondary organs of voice is not 
yet complete. To those already par- 
ticularized, must be still further added, 
the cavity, cartilages, fibres, and in- 
teguments of the cuHEst. So that, 
according to the expressive metaphor 
of Mr. Gough, the whole superior 
moiety 
* T have endeavoured to render the 
process of these experiments, and the de- 
scriptions of the specific tones, in this tran- 
script, as intelligible as the imperfections of 
mere graphic language will permit. I am 
not, however, sanguine enough to expect 
that those readers who have not heard this 
portion of the lectures delivered, or had 
the specific varieties of intonation orally 
illustrated in constantaneous demonstration 
with the specific attitudes of the respective 
organs, will be able so far to follow me in the 
precision of experimental effort, as to arrive 
at a satisfactory result. If the precise 
tones, stated to be dependent upon the 
specific vibrations, are not produced, the 
vibrations themselves are not to be ex- 
pected to be perceived; and if the posi- 
tions, both of the exterior and internal or- 
gans, be not accurately assumed, the into- 
nations alluded to will assuredly not result. 
Nor is this the only respect in which elo- 
cutionary instruction must be expected to 
have its difficulties, when it is attempted. 
to communicate such instruction throug’ 
the medium of graphic language. 4 
