Letters on Natural Magic; Addressed to Sir Walter Scott, Bart.

LETTER VII.

Chapter 754 wordsPublic domain

Illusions depending on the ear--Practised by the ancients--Speaking and singing heads of the ancients--Exhibition of the Invisible Girl described and explained--Illusions arising from the difficulty of determining the direction of sounds--Singular example of this illusion--Nature of ventriloquism--Exhibitions of some of the most celebrated ventriloquists--M. St. Gille--Louis Brabant--M. Alexandre--Capt. Lyon’s account of Esquimaux ventriloquists 157