Ventriloquism is divided into two classes: Mimicry, or “Near”; and Natural or “Distant” Ventriloquism. There are many successful ven¬triloquists who make no pretence whatever at using anything except ” near ” in their perform¬ances. This is so when mechanical figures are used, and the wit and humor of the dialogue— together with the comical appearance of the fig¬ures—are alone relied upon to hold the attention of the audience.
These puppets are so constructed that by plac¬ing the hand at the back of the neck or within the hollow body and moving a lever with the thumb, the mouth will open and shut, thus making a movement very much like that of a person in speaking. Sometimes the eyes and arms are also made to move, and if the voices used are characteristic of the people represented by the figures, a very enjoyable entertainment, running from fifteen minutes or less to a half hour, can be given without resort to anything more diffi¬cult than mimicry. A large variety of charac¬ters can be used in a performance of this kind, such as Irish, colored, old man and old woman, little girl, etc., although of course there is a limit to the number which can be used advantageously by a single performer at one time.

As practical working ability in this branch of the art is easier to acquire than facility in natural ventriloquism, we will in the next chapter give definite instructions for becoming a successful figure worker.

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