Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1867-02-16
gIfE FOoT-LIGIiTs.

Z
1 !t would sppear that wax lights were
| employed Of old 10 illuminate TIE Eliza
bethan theaters
o. Nor want there those, who, rs the boy doth
J B-tv S1 3 re- acts, viii ceusure the whole play
Ignr 7rlIfifllzss there 4re who judgement goes
/ Beod.oal lccorllI gao The actCrs' c'othes-'
As, however, the performances com
meuced at three o'clock in the afternoon,
and the public theaters of the period
! were open to the sky Except over the
stage and gailsriesl, much artificial
/ lighting could not gs rule, have been
requisite. Malone, in his account OF the
/ English stage prehXed 20 his edition OF
q" Shakespeare" describes the stage rs
/ formerly lighted Gy means Of two large
branches " OF g form similar TO those
now hung in Churches The pattern
I Of these branches may be seen IN
/ the frcntispiece to kiTkman's col
/ lection of dr0lls, printed in 1872,
/ representing a view of a theatrical
/ booth. Ia time, however, it was dis
! covered that the branches ObstTucted the
I view Of the spectators and We're other
I wise iucomm0uiJus they then gave
place 20 small circular wooded frames
/ furnished with candles eight Of which
were hung ou The stage, four on either
| side. The froutjspiece to the Dublin
edition of ChetwO1d's " History of the
Stage % I7435 exhibits the stage lighted
/ by hoops of candles I'm this way, sus-
I pended from the prOsceuium, and with
no fO0tIigh-s between the actors and the
musiciau- in the orchestra. & is prob
able that these candles were of WaN or
of tsllow, accordingly as the funds Of the
theatrical manager permitted.
Mr. Fspys iu his diary, l2th February,
1867, chronicle q conversation with
KilligreW, the manager of the Iheater
Royal IN DFIry lane: " He tells me that
. the stage is now by Lis pains a thousand
times better and more glorious than ever
/ heretofore. Nglr srIE candles C8d many
I Of them. than, uCf GJ0Cs three pom dS NJ
| tailor Now a things civil no rude
ness anywhere; then - i'm g bear gar
| den. Then two Dr three lioolers now
/ nine or zen Of the best. The tnOlhing
but ru-hes on the ground, and every
thing else mean now all otherwise
etc The body Of the house, according
70 Malone, was formerly lighted by
cresset- or large open lautAorus of nearly
The same size with those y hI1h are fixed
IN the poop Of q ship
The use of candies involved the en-
ploymeut of c8nGle-suuHeTs, who came
on al certain pausss ia ihe performance
10 tend and TectfF the lighting OF the
stage. GOltsmith's SJToliing-Fi Fiayer nar-
rates how he commenced his theatrical
career iB this humble cspacily. !
snu1ed the candles; and let noe tell you,
thai without a candle suuhar the piece
would lose bali is ubellisbments."
The illness 9f one oi tHe actors Eecessi-
tatsd tue pressing Of the caudle-suUtfer
into the company Of play eTs. learnt
my part, ~ De continues, with astOnish-
ing rapidly, and haie aGieu 70 sHudlng
candles ever after. I found that nature
had designed gre for more noble employ
ment, aud I was resolved 20 take her
when Ga the uumOr.H
But the duties of q csDdie-EuGGgr ii Hot
very honorable, were somewhat arduous
lt was the custom of Che audience, es4e-
5isIv among those fregueutng the gale
ries 10 regard am ss a butt, with whom
10 amusa themselves duung u.0 pauses
between the acts. Something Of this
habit IS yet extaHt. Even nowadays
the appearance OF g servant on the stage
for the necessary purposes OF tue per
furm8uce-JO carry chairs on or off, T.
spread or remove a carpet 5to--la ire
queutIv the signal for cries OF degislon
from the gallery. or Old the audience
proceeded 10 greater eXtTemiueSi even
10 hgrlirs missiles 8T various kinds
at The unfortunate candie-suuHGr. In
Foote's comedy Of lhe Minor"
Shift. one Of the character, de
scIihes the changing scenes OF bis lie
From a linkbOy outside travelling thea
Ter ne Was promoted to employment
within. &" i did tine ho2o-s Of the barn.
he says, d" by sweeping the stage and
clipping tbs candles. Here my skill and
address was so completeness, tH2t u pro-
cured NE The same Office the ensuing
winter, at Drury Lane, WheTeI acquired
iutrepidity, the crown of all my virtues.
For I think, sir, he that daTes stand the
zhotof the gallery iu lighting snu1ing and
sweeping ihe llst night C.. a new play,
may bid defiance to the pi!lory with all
it's customary compliments. But an
unlucky crabappie applied TO my right
eve bv 9 patriot gingerbread baker from
the boIOagh, who would not suler three
darcsEs from Switzerland because he
hated the French, forced me 10 q precipi-
tate reJreatn
Garrirk. in 1868, after his return from
Italy, according 30 Jaek,on's History
Of the Scottish Stage introduced va
riOus imgrDvgments in the theater, and
amongst them the employment OF row
of fOUJliEhts ia lieu Of the old circular
chandeliers overhead. Tie labofs Of the
candles -uuflers in front Of the curtain
were probably brought TO a conclusion
soon afterwards when oil lamps took the
place of csudIas. The suufier then found
his occupation gone. Probably the trim
ming of the lamps beoahe his next
duty; and then as time Went ON he de
vel0ped into The "gas man, that most
indispensable attendant OF the modern
theater
ThacEeray, iu his novel Of 1.-THE Nir-
giniaHs," hus some Eery opposite re-
marks upon the limited state "a illumj-
nation la which our ancestors were con
tent iO dwell. " lu speaking Of the
past, % he Wi es, "i think the night life
Of society a hundred years since was
rather a doBt lie. There was not one
wax candle for ten which We now see in
q lady's drawIugToOm, let alone gas sud
the wOndr0u- new iilumiuatiuus OF
clubs. Horrible gathering tsll0w
smoked and stunk in passages.
The C8uIle--uuflgr was a notorious
OfircT iu Tie tEaates. See HsUaTlh's
uictUrp- how dark they arc, and how
his fgast9 are, as it were, teErimmed
with ta!l0wl In Marriage q la Mode, iu
Lord Nisc0Unt SgGandefield's grand ss-
looms. where he and his wife are sitting
yawuing before the horr0r-striclen stew
ard, when their party is over, there are
bat e. ght caudles-one on each table and
half a dozen iu brass chandelier il
Jack Brrfie7s cOuvoked his friends 10
oysters and beer IN his chambers, Pump
Court be would have twice as many.
Let RS comfort ourselves by thinking
that Louis Quat5TZa iu an his glory held
h- revels IN the dark, and bless Mr.,
Price and other luciferou- benGiactors Of
mankind for abolishing the ab0muable
mutton Of our youth.
The first gas lamp appeared in London
in the year lS07; Pail Mall being the
first and for some years the only street
so Illuminated. Gradually, however,
the new mode Of lighting made way,
and stole from the streets into msnufac-
tories and public buildings, and, finally,
into private houses. The progress was
not very rapid, however; for we find
that gas was not introduced into the
Mall Of st. James park until the year
lS22.
Il is difficult 10 fix the exact date when
gas foOtlights appeared up0n the stage.
But i'm the year lh2S an explosion took
place in Coyeut Garden theater by which
two men lost their lives. Great alarm
was excited. Tie public TTere afraid I'd
re-enter the theater. TheN Arrangement
pun,..=hed an address in which ID was
stated that the gas fittings would be
entirely removed from The interior Of the
house, and safer methods OF illumination
resorted 70. u order 20 effect the neces-
saTy alterations The theater vas closed
for a fortnight, during which the Coveut
Garden company appeared at the English
oDera house, or Lgceum theateT, and an
address was issued on behalf Of the
,Ti6ows Of the men who had been killed
bv tbe explosion. In due time, however,
tie world grew bolder on the subject, snd
gas reappeared upon, the scene. Some
-t.iesod Nv the conditions Of theirlesses,)
5,.t.va T-erv tardy IN adopting the new
49,, ~ lighting Mr. Benjamin
2Eebster in his speech in the year 1858,
npon his resigniDg the management Of