the larynx of some one else. In this
case, the person to be operated upon sits facing the sun, the head
slightly bent backwards, and the mouth wide open. If he has not
sufficient control over his tongue to prevent it from arching up, he
must gently hold its protruding tip with a pocket handkerchief between
his thumb and forefinger. The mirror is now slightly warmed to prevent
its becoming dimmed by the moisture of the breath, and then, holding it
like a pen, the operator introduces it into the throat so that it
touches the uvula. This must be done lightly yet firmly, care being
taken not to bring the mirror into contact with the base of the tongue.
The rays of the sun falling upon the mirror are reflected downwards into
the voicebox, the image of which is clearly visible in the mirror. In
making observations upon oneself, a second mirror in the shape of an
ordinary hand looking-glass is necessary to reproduce the image in the
small mirror. This is the way in which the renowned professor of
singing, Senor Manuel Garcia, made those famous "Observations on the
Human Voice," communicated to the Royal Society by Dr. Sharpey, on May
the 24th, 1855. Similar attempts had been made before; for instance, in
1827 by Babington, in 1838 by Baumes, in 1840 by Liston, and in 1844 by
Warden and Avery. But they had all ended in failure, an occasional
glimpse of some parts of the voicebox being the only result obtained.
Garcia, however, brilliantly succeeded where all his predecessors had
failed, and was the first not only to see the vocal ligaments, but to
see them in the act of singing, and to see them so clearly as to be able
to give an account of their minutest movements. The instrument has since
been greatly improved, and the process of investigation has become a
science. Medical men all over the world have laid hold of it, and
suffering humanity is daily benefited by it. But Garcia is the man who
produced the first results, and to him, therefore, is due the credit of
being practically the inventor of the laryngoscope.

It is almost incredible, but it is true, that this splendid invention
was received coldly and with distrust in this country, and had it not
been for Dr. Johann N. Czermak, Professor of Physiology at the
University of Pesth, the matter would, in all probability, have been
forgotten. But this gentleman recognized the value of Garcia's
invention, and he at once went enthusiastically to work, and pushed on
vigorously in