VOCAL BOUNDS AND STATES OF FEELING. 215 



and its pipes. And as the loudncss of the sound given out 

 by an organ-pipe increases with the strength of the blast 

 from the bellows ; so, other things equal, the loudncss of a 

 vocal sound increases with the strength of the blast from 

 the lungs. But the expulsion of air from the lungs is ef 

 fected by certain muscles of the chest and abdomen. The 

 force with which these muscles contract, is proportionate 

 to the intensity of the feeling experienced. Hence, a priori, 

 loud sounds will be the habitual results of strong feelings. 

 That they arc so we have daily proof. The pain which, if 

 moderate, can be borne silently, causes outcries if it Lc- 

 comes extreme. While a slight vexation makes a child 

 whimper, a fit of passion calls forth a howl that disturbs 

 the neighbourhood. When the voices in an adjacent room 

 become unusually audible, we infer anger, or surprise, or 

 joy. Loudncss of applause is significant of great appro 

 bation ; and with uproarious mirth we associate the idea of 

 high enjoyment. Commencing with the silence of apathy, 

 we find that the utterances grow louder as the sensations 

 or emotions, whether pleasurable or painful, grow stronger. 

 That different qualities of voice accompany different 

 mental states, and that under states of excitement the tones 

 are more sonorous than usual, is another general fact ad 

 mitting of a parallel explanation. The sounds of common 

 conversation have but little resonance ; those of strong 

 feeling have much more. Under rising ill temper the voice 

 acquires a metallic ring. In accordance with her constant 

 mood, the ordinary speech of a virago has a piercing qual 

 ity quite opposite to that softness indicative of placidity. 

 A ringing laugh marks an especially joyous temperament. 

 Grief unburdening itself uses tones approaching in timbre 

 to those of chanting : and in his most pathetic passages an 

 eloquent speaker similarly falls into tones more vibratory 

 than those common to him. Now any one may readily 

 convince himself that resonant vocal sounds can be pro- 

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