VENTRILOQUISM EXPLAINED. 171 



of ventriloquism which he has heard. This 

 opinion, however, is strongly opposed by the 

 remark made to Mr. Stewart himself by a ven- 

 triloquist, "that his art would be perfect, if it 

 were possible only to speak distinctly without any 

 movement of the lips at all." But, independent 

 of this admission, it is a matter of absolute cer- 

 tainty, that this internal power is exercised by 

 the true ventriloquist. In the account which the 

 Abbe Chapelle has given of the performances of 

 M. St. Gille and Louis Brabant, he distinctly 

 states that M. St. Gille appeared to be absolutely 

 mute while he was exercising his art, and that no 

 change in his countenance could be discovered.* 

 He affirms, also, that the countenance of Louis 

 Brabant exhibited no change, and that his lips 

 were close and inactive. M. Richerand, who 

 attentively watched the performances of M. Fitz- 

 James, assures us that during his exhibition there 

 was a distention in the epigastric region, and that 

 he could not long continue the exertion without 

 fatigue. 



The influence over the human mind which the 

 ventriloquist derives from the skilful practice of 

 his art is greater than that which is exercised by 

 any other species of conjuror. The ordinary A 

 magician requires his theatre, his accomplices, 

 and the instruments of his art, and he enjoys but^. 

 a local sovereignty within the precincts of his 

 own magic circle. The ventriloquist, on the con- 

 trary, has the supernatural always at his com- 

 mand. In the open fields as well as in the 

 crowded city, in the private apartment as well as 

 in the public hall, he can summon up innumerable 

 * Edinburgh Journal of Science, No. xviii., p. 254. 



