The Morning herald., 1875-09-01

axlea springs ratchets. tnbes, leve.
screvs membpnes, elastic 6osds, airpips
::1beiicws, or aif-compressors, and 70 forth
. flute player, . tambourine player, due
that could quack and sobble almost like
| live duck etc. Our aineseenh centur
artists have shown thai, with much simpl.
means. they can, produce not merely
wooden-peg at the end Of sheath or sock
ct but q piece Of nschanism aanirsbl
initiating the Living leg, knee, ankle, in
step. and foot. There is something NOR
than mere trade cpmpetioa here Eacl
artist takes an artists pride in his bea
productions, and MI. So-aad-So's leg &C
quires fame analogous in characte
Though, of course, humbler in degree) t.
that of the dainty works Of. "a sculptor
painter, or engraver. The movements o
a natural leg, especially of the ankle ant
foot, ART beautifully adapted to the servi.
ces required. Lsudable attempts have
been made to initiate these movements by
mechanism, and the success of the attempts
has been so great as to render most well
come aid to persons who have had the
hard fate Of being subjected to the ampu-
tation of leg. ....
How the real artist studies well-formed
leg, bandy-leg, knock-kneed leg (if such
vulgar terms are to be permitted) is very
instructive. 1t would be bad architecture
to produce a handsome straight leg as a
companion to one irredeemably crooked.
The socket into which the amputated
stump is to be fitted is an important part of
the mechanism; seeing that, if this is not
we'll adapted In size and shape, all else will
fail. We must not run away with the idea
that this sheath is merely aleather case,
like the top Of a military boot
the true artist wouldscorn such clumsiness.
He first takes a cast Of the stump in wax,
much in the same manner as dentist
takes cast Of the gums for brand new
set of teeth and wooden model is made
from this cast in a singular way.
Mr.. Gray, one of the. leading artists in
his line, being once in the studio of Mr..
Noble. the sculptor, watched the action of
he pointing machine-a contrivance which
greatly facilitates the shaping of the rough
block of marble from which statue or
'lst is to emerge. The machine has the ac-
ion of a pantograph-transferring from a
lay model to marble block the more pro-
linent undulations, curvatures, protuber-
noes, depressions, and Irregular.
les. An assistant-an artist workman
this apparatus, transferring,
l rough way, the features of bust OF
CURE to block of marble, leaving to the
aster sculptor the finishing chiselling
hich gives expression to all. Well, the
tificial leg-maker, watching the manner
which this machine works, conceived
e idea of adopting similar appliance
r shaping his stump-sockets. He devised q
e means of copying, OH the inside of a
'llow block of wood, all the Irregularities
the model, 80 as to prod,see a concave a
Hex of a convex object. Even the position p
any prominent veins and leaders on the
imp coald be transferred by this means s
d the patient be thus shielded from all c
due pressure.
The Marquis Of Anglesea's leg was for II
ne years almost as famous as the chival- h
lib Marquis himself so far superior was
to anything that had previously been
'duced for a similar purpose. This gal "
It officer had a leg shattered bv zcannon-- IL II
II at the battle of Waterloo; h's under ~
Mt two ampusations-one on the battle
d., by an array surgeon, the ether by =. =
:. afterwards Sir Edward Home, after - =.
: return to Eagland. Then Mr.. Gray ~
towork. He took cast in WAX Of the
mp of the poor unfortunate leg, trans II
red the impression to tough and light u
sicated willow and ingenieusly intro a 7
,ed strings Of cstgut to repressat that
-ealled) tendon ST Achilles whia& gives til
sticity and proEe4ling power. ItSs a Oh
ut thing to say hat the leg reta5ned its ne
,d position for nearly forty-years, until
Marquis, as venerable Field Marshal, bo
sed bis career afthe age of eighty five .ur
the same leg, Of course for anlartifcial go
like boot, Will wear out in, course of
e. As experience grew, and. further 49,
ervations were made, the original An ~
sea leg gradually made way fora better. a., a.