VENTRILOQUISM. 



hear from a man in that position. When 

 it is his own turn he speaks with a full, clear 

 voice, which serves well to bring out by con- 

 trast the faintness of the other. The matter 

 of his remarks and of his interlocutor's bears 

 out the suggestion to the full. The one weak 

 point in the deception might have been that 

 the voice supposed to come from the man on 

 the roof comes really from the man on the stage 

 that is, from the wrong direction ; but, the 

 ear being no judge of direction, and the mind 

 being supplied with materials for judging the 

 direction wrongly, this is not a weak point in 

 practice. 



Incidentally, it may be mentioned that the 

 word " ventriloquism " speaking from the belly 

 is not a good one. The ventriloquist has to 

 conceal from the audience the fact that when it 

 is his interlocutor's turn, he is himself really 

 speaking. To this end he employs various 

 artifices. By pointing and other gestures he 

 directs the eyes of the audience from himself 

 elsewhere. Bending down sideways and putting 

 up his hand to his ear, ostensibly to listen care- 

 fully, he contrives to hide his lips to a great 

 extent from view. When unable to hide his 

 face he limits the movements of the lips to the 

 very least that is necessary for speech, and it 

 is surprising to see how little facial movement 

 will suffice a skilled performer. It is a help in 

 this matter that the circumstances of the case 



255 



