5. That the human speech is _somewhat obscured_, chiefly in the
consonant sounds.
It must be remembered that the ventriloquist makes the sound, not as
it is heard at its source, _but as it is heard after travelling from a
distance_.
Too much attention cannot be bestowed on the _study of sound as it
falls on the ear_, and an endeavor to imitate it as it is heard, _for
the secret of the art is, that as perspective is to the eye, so is
ventriloquism to the ear_. When we look at a painting of a landscape,
some of the objects appear at a distance, but we know that it is only
the skill of the artist which has made it appear as the eye has seen
it in reality. In exactly the same manner a ventriloquist acts upon
and deceives the ear, by _producing sounds_ as they are heard from any
known distances.
We have given the acoustical theory of the effect on the auric nerve,
and the means are the organs of respiration and sound with the
adjoining muscles. The organs and muscles used are the diaphragm, the
lungs, the trachea, the larynx, the pharynx, and the mouth.