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A Brief Look At The History Of Ventriloquism

Ventriloquism is almost as old as the world,described were such as having always been
or at least as old as intelligible spokenpeculiarly identified with ventriloquism, the
language, but just when and where in the dimpractice of this art by unscrupulous priests
and misty ages of the past it had its originwould seem to afford a natural solution of
will forever remain unknown. Unlike otherthe  mystery.
arts it was not brought to perfection through
the slow development and accretion of years.This explanation might also be applied to the
From its very nature it must have sprung intophenomenon attending the dawning of a new day
existence full grown, like Venus from theupon the colossal statue of Memnon, which
sea. Under various guises its practice may bestood near Thebes in Egypt on the bank of the
traced by the student in those venerableNile, and became renowned as the "Vocal
chronicles which faintly echo theMemnon." According to ancient tradition, this
long-vanished  life  of  antiquity.statue when first touched by the rays of the
rising sun emitted a musical tone, like the
Although proof positive is wanting of thesnapping of a harp string, which the
fact, it is fair to assume that many of theimaginative Greeks conceived to be the voice
occurrences involving the assistance of anof Memnon greeting his mother Eos (the dawn).
apparently super-natural voice, by which manyAlthough the particular cause and character
of the old superstitions were fostered amongof the sounds have never been satisfactorily
the early races, were feats of ventriloquism.explained, the state of expectancy with which
the silent and probably awe-struck worshipers
At one time this belief in a "second voice,"awaited the sunrise, and their sublime faith
or "familiar spirit," as it was so oftenin the reality of the phenomenon, were
called, took the form of divination by whichdistinctly favorable to the production of a
the supposed spirit was evoked and consultedventriloquial illusion by an attendant
as to the right course of conduct onpriest.
important occasions; and this divination,
which was practiced in a variety of waysIf there is any doubt as to the part
among the different semi-barbaric races ofventriloquism played in this divination by a
the ancient world, can be traced through afamiliar spirit, there can be none in the
long  period  of  time.method employed by the Greeks, which was
termed gastromancy. In this the voice of the
By the Mosaic Law, which was given about"spirit" made its oracular replies apparently
fifteen hundred years before Christ, the Jewsfrom the priest's belly, the diviner himself
were forbidden from consulting those havingstanding in the meanwhile with impassive
familiar spirits. So accustomed, however,countenance  and  immovable  lips.
were the Hebrews, who had evidently become
acquainted with the voice during theirComing down to modern times, we find that
captivity in Egypt, with this mode ofLouis Brabant, valet de chambre of Francis I,
divination that one of their prophetswon for himself a rich and beautiful heiress
compares it to the power of sanctifiedby aid of his wonderful talent as a
utterance where he says (Isaiah 29: 4): "Andventriloquist; and the works of M. L'Abbe La
thy voice shall be as one that hath aChappelle, published in 1772, contain
familiar spirit out of the ground, and thyreferences to the astonishing ventriloquial
speech  shall  whisper  out  of  the  dust."achievements of Baron Menge at Vienna, and
those of M. St. Gille, a grocer living near
Just where the Egyptians obtained theirParis. Another famous performer, M.
knowledge of the art is uncertain, but in theAlexandre, was also so great and adept at
performance of the "mysteries" whichchanging his countenance, that at one time he
accompanied their worship of Osiris, thecompletely deceived a sculptor, before whom
judge of the dead in the lower world, ahe sat five times in the borrowed character
seemingly unearthly voice, proceeding eitherof a famous clergyman of Abbotsford, with
from the earth or from overhead, played nowhom the sculptor was well acquainted.
unimportant part. Inasmuch as the voices



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