The Arkansaw traveler., 1886-04-17

l going on, the next is being set and ar ranged, and when the curtain falls this ascends and takes the place of the first In this theatre the orchestra is placed in d gallery over the curtain.
 All the great theatres are furnished with an apparatus ofhuge counterpoises, and in elaborate pantomimes-particI lar4y the transformation scenes-they are indispensable These travel up and down beside the walls, the cords passing over pulleys close to the ceiling We notice with what smoOthness and ease the great drop-scene of, say, Drury Lane Theatre, weighing many tons, glides aloft or descends.. To wind it up would re- quire the united strength of many men, and at the slightest relaxation the weight would overpower them and the whole come crashing down As it is a single man can raise or let it down This is contrived by the counter-weghts which balance it almost to niccty and a small windlass can dc the rest In the grand transformation scene of our Christmas es--triumphs of beauty and mechanism--we all recall how the scene opens, to reveal another, and yet another beyond that; how some portions glide l pand their leaves and discover lovely beings-or what appear to be so-repos- ing on the leaves; how these come gld- ing down to the front; and how beyond them are revealed rows of still more lovely and celestial creatures, rising slowly on clouds, the whole crowned by a central fairy perched in apparent SC curity on a golden spherc There is no | t,,I i are daMled All this is contrivcd by the counter-weights. A long platform, the whole length of tn" stage. is pre- pared, suspended at each end by ropes passing over pulleys, and balanced by weights. At rehearsal the young ladies are placed on the platform, and sutii- cient weights are added until the whole is balanced nice. Then single work man can wind them up or down The young ladies who appear to be floating in the air or reclining on clouds OF branches of trees, often forty or fifty feet from the ground, are strapped securely to what are called the irons-long branches of the toughest metal. As it may be conceived this duty requires a good head, But there are always plenty of volunteers for the post; perhaps from a laudable desire for exhibition, which is the life of the stage; for who will not say that young lady ill the air has a much better chance of appreciation than q young lady on tcrra trma
 Many will recall the ghost scene in the Corsiean Brothers which SO yividly impressed the public from its mysterious effect. One of the brothers is writing at his table; it is midnight the other brother is seen in his blood stained shirt, gliding along toward him in a slow, tlcsh-creeping style. As he moves along he rises the head only be- ing visible at first. He seemed to pass through the ground, yet there was noth- ing of the trap-door or other contriv- ance It was contrivcd in this way An inclined plane, on which were rails, ran underneath the stage through its whole length On this travelled little carriage which was drawn slowly up by windlass. There was slit in the stage through it's whole length in which were flexible boards made like the shutters used for shop windows, one of obese be ing in front, the other behind the actor The one in front was drawn away as he advanced, and was rolled up on cylin- der; the one behind him advanced as
  another cylinder The ingenious fea- turc was that all these mravclings, windingS up, etc, were performed by a single windlass, so that all moved har- moniously together The greatest care had to be taken to keep all free and smooth, as the slightest hitch would i'm peril all; for, as we know, there is but one step between the sublime and the ridiculous
 There was a wonderful effect produced in the opera of the Africaine" in Paris, when the whole stage represented the deck of huge vessel, and the audi ence saw it rise and fall is if it sea This was contrived by balancing the central position of the stage on pivot-for by means of nicely arranged weights this segment could be swung up and down in a see-saw sort of style, and the eye, being deceived, imagined that the whole stage was moving Ships are often brought on the stage, and with effect, though sometimes they are ludicrous failures.
 Some years ago there was play by the late Mir Robertson, in which was represented the going down of the Birkenhead,' when the soldiers so gal lantly kept their discipline and went down with the vessel. The scene dis closed vessel as she appeared sailing with the blue waves about her, man at the wheel. while marine walked up and down on guard. As the whole yes sel was shown, and the stage was small one, 1t might be calculated that this transport, with it's seven or eight hundred men below. was some fifteen l feet long about the size of n fishinr hOat However, as the vessel struck the rock "a sound produced by springng a rat tie and the stroke of the big drum--at least halfa-dozen soldiers stood to arms in their ranks on the contracted deck, | and at the signal were let down through the open trap to their watery gravel
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