When the next full
expiration follows, the mouth is slightly closed, and the lips,
from causes hereafter to be discussed, are somewhat protruded;
and this form of the mouth, if the voice be at all exerted, produces,
according to Helmholtz, the sound of the vowel _O_. Certainly a
deep sound of a prolonged _Oh!_ may be heard from a whole crowd
of people immediately after witnessing any astonishing spectacle.
If, together with surprise, pain be felt, there is a tendency to
contract all the muscles of the body, including those of the face,
and the lips will then be drawn back; and this will perhaps account
for the sound becoming higher and assuming the character of _Ah!_
or _Ach!_ As fear causes all the muscles of the body to tremble,
the voice naturally becomes tremulous, and at the same time husky
from the dryness of the mouth, owing to the salivary glands failing
to act. Why the laughter of man and the tittering of monkeys
should be a rapidly reiterated sound, cannot be explained.
During the utterance of these sounds, the mouth is transversely
elongated by the corners being drawn backwards and upwards;
and of this fact an explanation will be attempted in a future chapter.
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