It is probable that no man ever lived who had a more sensuous effect
upon his hearers than Ingersoll. In a literal and a physical sense he
charmed them. I never heard him talk in a loud voice. There was no
"bell-like" quality. It was not an "organ-like" voice.
The greatest feat of modern speech, in its immediate effect, was Henry
Ward Beecher's speech to the Liverpool mob. A gentleman who heard that
speech told me that, notwithstanding the pandemonium that reigned
around him, Beecher did not shout, nor speak at the top of his voice,
a single time during that terrible four hours.
It is true that AEschines spoke of Demosthenes' delivery of his
"Oration on the Crown" as having the ferocity of a wild beast. I do
not see how that can be, however, because Demosthenes selected Isaeus
as his teacher for the reason that Isaeus was "business-like" in
method.
This, however, is common to the voices of nearly all great speakers;
they have a peculiar power of penetration that carries them much
farther than the shout and halloo of the loudest-voiced person. They
have, too, a singularly touching and tender quality, which, in a
sensuous way, captivates and holds the hearers.
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