CHAPTER III.

STAGE EFFECTS. The present chapter deals with the various effects which are liable to be called for in almost any opera or other dramatic production. It should be remembered that the effects of sunrise, moonlight, thunder, lightning, wind, rainbows, fires, etc., may be obtained in a great variety of ways, so that only an outline of some of the methods of producing the illusion can be given. Stage management is a constant study. Stage managers and stage machinists and property masters vie with one another in producing more and more realistic illusions. It is a curious fact that this business is largely a matter of invention, and it is little wonder that it is in the hands of exceptionally clever men. SCENE PAINTING. Scene painting is an art by itself. There is no other branch of painting like it, either in the variety of subjects embraced or in the methods employed. The scenic artist must be at home in landscape, marine, or architectural painting. He must be able to produce at any time the mountainous passes of Switzerland, the flat meadows of Holland, the palace of Versailles, or the Windsor Hotel. The method by which he works and many of the materials he employs are altogether different from those used by the ordinary oil or water-color painter. The scene painter works upon canvas. He first makes a pasteboard model of his scene and gives it to the stage carpenter or stage machinist, who builds the framework and secures the canvas to it. It is then ready for the “paint frame.” This is a huge wooden affair hung up with ropes with counterweights attached. It is usually placed against the wall at the back or side of the stage, and has a windlass attached by which it may be raised or lowered. The artist works upon a bridge built in front of this frame, the paint bridge usually giving a passage between the two fly galleries. A paint bridge is illustrated in Chapter I. of the present division of this work. By hoisting or lowering the paint frame the artist is enabled to reach any part of the scene. He is provided with plenty of brushes, ranging from a heavy two-pound brush, such as is used by house painters, to a small sharp one used for drawing fine lines. In addition to these he has several whitewash brushes for laying in flat washes and skies. The colors are kept in buckets, tin cans, and earthenware vessels. His other requisites are a palette knife, plenty of twine, and sticks of charcoal. He is then ready to go to work. His first duty is to “prime” the scenes. This is done with a plain coat of white. Distemper color is used in scene painting. The colors are mixed with sizing, which is simply a weak solution of glue. The priming coat is laid on with a heavy whitewash brush. After the canvas is primed and dry, the artist is ready to draw. After the rough charcoal sketch is made, it is carefully gone over with an ink specially prepared for the purpose. The architectural work must be done with precision; regularity of outline and accuracy are absolutely essential. The perspective requires to be laid off with the greatest possible care, as the effect of many scenes depends almost entirely upon it. The next step is the laying in of the groundwork. The sky is, of course, the first point. This is done with whitewash brushes. The principal point is to get it on thickly, and here the great advantage of painting in distemper is made plain. The color dries very quickly, thus affording the artist a high rate of speed in working; and, secondly, the color dries precisely the same shade it had before being mixed. Scene painters of different nationalities have various methods of working, some using a great deal of color, others very little. Some idea of the rapidity of working can be obtained when it is stated that a scene painter of the English school has been known to paint a scene of twenty by thirty feet in less than four hours. Some of the colors used cost as much as $2.75 per pound. Indigo is used in very large quantities by scenic artists. Ten pounds of indigo are sometimes used in a single scene. A scenic painter, however, is not confined to colors in producing effects. A number of other materials are of great importance in this kind of painting. Gold and silver leaf are freely used for certain kinds of scenes, as well as foil papers and bronze powders. Jewels in the wall of the Eastern palace cannot be imitated with a sufficient degree of realism to stand the glare of the light, so jewels are made of zinc and set in the canvas; they are made of all colors; they are often covered with colored lacquers, or the painted surface is lacquered. In ice scenes mica powders are used in large quantities to produce the glitter and sparkle. Nearly every scene painter has a large collection of stencils which are very useful for producing architectural decorations. The last thing the scene painter does before the introduction of a new play is to have his scenes set upon the stage at night in order that the lighting of them can be arranged. The artist sits in the center of the auditorium and minutely observes every nook and corner of the scene under the glare of the gas or electric light. Here a light is turned up and there one is lowered until the proper effect is obtained. The gas man or electrician takes careful note of his directions, and the stage manager oversees everything. SUNRISE EFFECT. The sunrise effect is obtained in several ways. A semicircular screen is placed across the stage and forms the background, as for mountains. Upon a platform immediately behind the center of the stage is placed an arc projector that is maneuvered by hand, and throws a luminous disk upon the canvas of the screen. Upon the stage are suspended colored incandescent border lights. In other suitable places there are arranged groups of lamps provided with reflectors of special form. These lamps may be introduced successively into the circuit. Colored gelatine plates may be slid over the reflectors so as to give the light the color desired. Our engravings show the various systems of lighting employed, showing the cords, pulleys, and other devices for turning the gelatine shades around or raising them so as to give the desired effect. The electrician first puts into the circuit the group of lamps that produce the blue light, and at the same time turns the blue shades over the lamps. At a given signal the operator pulls the rope so as to bring the red colored shades in front of the lamps. When the signal is given to him, the operator in charge of the arc lamp places a red glass in front of the lenses of the projector and switches the current on to the lamp. The resistances in the circuit of the various incandescent lamps are successively withdrawn so as to heighten the red light of the rising sun. In some theaters colored incandescent lamps are used, as at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, as described in Chapter I. of the present division of this work. This system is, of course, preferable in many ways. To return to the sun-rising effect: after the sun has risen above the mountains the red light is diminished, the red glass placed before the aperture of the projector is gradually removed, and the color screens are removed from in front of the lamps. Motion is given to the sun by means of an inclined plane up which the arc lamp is carried by means of a winch which is slowly manipulated by the assistant. [Illustration: COLOR SCREEN CHANGING.] [Illustration: COLOR SCREEN CHANGING.] [Illustration: BUNCH OR SIDE LIGHTS.] [Illustration: SUNRISE EFFECT.] SUN EFFECT. The stage effect which we are about to describe is produced by the mechanism which was formerly in use in the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. The electrical sun was a big glass disk with an arc lamp of two thousand candle-power behind it. It showed through a hole cut in a drop curtain, and was set firmly in a frame covered with colored gauze to represent the various hues which the sun imparts to the atmosphere, and the colors it projects upon the clouds, during ascension and declination. It is very effective in many operas, as in “The Prophet” and “Tannhauser.” CHANGE FROM DAY TO NIGHT. One of the most beautiful effects produced upon the stage is the change from day to night or from night to day, especially the former. This is accomplished in various ways, as the following: To produce the proper effect the back drop is made nearly double the height of the usual scene; the upper half is painted to represent a sunset sky, and the lower half to represent moonlight. It is hung so that the upper half alone is visible. The scenery of the distance is then painted upon a separate piece, which is profiled--that is, cut irregularly--to represent trees, mountains, or houses. This piece is placed immediately in front of the sky drop. A few feet further in front is held what is known as a cut gauze drop. This has sides and a top of canvas painted as the case requires, while the center is filled with fine gauze which lends an aërial effect to the distance. Red lights are employed to give a soft sunset glow to the scene. At the proper moment the back drop is slowly and steadily raised. While the red lights are slowly dimmed, the green lights are slowly turned on. The moon effect is obtained in different ways, as we will shortly describe. The moon is sometimes made in the night-half of the sky drop and rises with it. When it rises above the distant horizon, the green lights are turned on to their full power. STARS. The star which we illustrate consists of a single sixteen candle-power incandescent lamp fixed to a metal frame set in a drop curtain; only the star itself, with a covering of red gelatine tinctured with blue, showing through. [Illustration: STAR.] MOON EFFECTS. There is hardly any illusion on the stage which is seen as often as the moonlight effect, and there is nothing which can be as well counterfeited on the stage as moonlight scenery. The artist usually begins his task by painting a moonlight scene; by daylight such a scene is ghastly, being painted in cold grays and greens, in which Prussian blue and burnt umber play an important part, and the lights are put in with white, slightly tinged with emerald green. The strong moonlight of the foreground is produced by a calcium light thrown through a green glass. A fainter light upon the scenery at the back of the stage is obtained from what are called “green mediums”--lamps with green shades. They are placed upon the stage just in front of the main scene, and are “masked in” by scenery. A row of them is often suspended from the flies in order to light the top of the scenes. In this case they are hidden from view by what are called the sky borders; thus a soft green light is given to the entire stage without the source of it being visible. The position of the moon being determined upon, immediately under it a number of small irregular holes are cut in the drop, beginning at the horizon. These are covered on the back with muslin, and are painted over on the front to match the rest of the scene. Behind these holes is placed an endless towel about eight feet in height, running around rollers at the top and bottom; the lower roller has a crank by which the towel is turned. In the towel are cut a number of holes similar to those cut in the drop. A strong gas burner is placed between the two sides of the towel. When the crank is turned, the flashing of the light through the passing holes in the towel and the stationary ones in the drop scene produces a fine effect. Instead of a towel a large tin cylinder may be used. Other interesting moon effects are described in the chapter entitled “A Trip to the Moon,” in the present work. [Illustration: ELECTRIC MOON.] We now come to the moon proper, which is produced in a number of ways. The form which we illustrate is one in use in the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. It is about eighteen inches in diameter, and is made of porcelain or milk glass and is oval in form. Within are six incandescent lamps of sixteen candle-power, connected with a rheostat. It is very effective in many operas, as in “Tannhauser.” The moon is moved by means of a batten, a thin piece of wood let down from above, the course being marked for the operator by the apparent, though exaggerated, movements of the moon as we see them in an orrery. The mimic sun moves behind the drop, but the moon moves before it, and therefore to keep up the illusion the wires it draws after it must be colored the same as the drop. RAIN EFFECT. The rain machine is usually placed high up in the flies. A hollow wooden cylinder five feet in circumference and four feet in length is provided. Upon the inside are placed rows of small wooden teeth. A quantity of dried peas are placed in the cylinder, and a belt is run around one end of it and down to the prompter’s desk. By turning these cylinders the peas run down between the teeth, and the noise produced by them makes a good imitation of rain falling upon a roof. Traveling companies often have to go to small theaters where such luxuries as “rain machines” are unknown. A sufficiently good substitute is, however, easily obtained. A sheet of heavy brown paper is pasted over a child’s hoop and a handful of bird shot is placed upon the paper. The hoop is tipped from side to side, and the shot rolls around the paper, producing a fairly good rain effect. [Illustration: RAIN MACHINE.] Our engraving shows a French form of rain machine. It consists of a wooden box seven or eight feet long, divided into compartments, as shown in our engraving, by oblique pieces of tin which transform the interior into a tortuous passage for the dried peas. The quantity of peas is regulated at the top, and the violence of the drops of rain depends upon the quantity of peas and the inclination of the box. RAINBOW EFFECT. In the last scene of “Rheingold” the gods enter Walhalla over the rainbow bridge. The rainbow is a magnificent stage illusion, and is produced as follows: The prisms are fastened one above the other in front of an electrical projector. The light from it passing through the prisms produces the various colors of the prismatic spectacle due to the influence of the raindrops. As in nature, there appear to be two arches, the primary and the secondary. [Illustration: RAINBOW EFFECT.] WIND EFFECT. Wind is very useful in heightening the effect of stage storms, especially in melodramas. Where the effect is well done the pitiless blast is very realistic. The wind machine is portable, and may be placed anywhere the property master wishes. The wind machine is made in various ways, of which the following is one: A heavy frame is made in which to set a cylinder provided with paddles, and resembling very much the stern-wheels seen on Ohio River towboats. Across the top of the cylinder is stretched as tight as possible a piece of heavy gros-grain silk, but canvas is often substituted instead. The rapid passage of the paddles over the surface of the silk or canvas produces the noise of the wind. Often traveling companies are in theaters where there is no wind machine. In this case one of the stage hands selects a heavy piece of flexible hose and whirls it around his head. The extraction of wind from the hose is not entirely satisfactory, however. [Illustration: WIND-PRODUCING MACHINE.] Our engraving shows a French form of machine for imitating the noise of the wind. It consists of a cylinder mounted on an axle. The staves are triangular in shape, and end in a sharp point. Instead of running these staves over silk or canvas, cords are substituted. The cords are secured below, so that they can be tightened so as to cut into the staves. The cylinder is turned by a crank, and by turning it rapidly the friction of the cord produces a good representation of wind. THUNDER EFFECT. The thunder and lightning effect is somewhat complicated, especially the thunder, which may be regarded as the result of the combination of a number of effects. First a large piece of sheet iron is shaken, which produces an imitation of sharp, rattling thunder. This fails to give the dull roar, a reverberation which is usually heard in storms. To produce this effect a heavy box frame is made, and over it is tightly drawn a calf skin. Upon this the stage hand operates with a stick, one end of which is padded and covered with chamois skin. This is called the thunder drum, and when accompanied with a flash of lightning produced with the aid of a magnesium flash torch renders the illusion very realistic. Often two thunder drums are used at the same time. Then the “rumble cart” is also used. The rumble cart is a box filled with some heavy material, and mounted upon irregularly shaped wheels. [Illustration: RUMBLE CART.] Our engraving shows a rumble cart as used in the Paris Opera House. With this a little wind is added from the wind machine, and the rain effect is sometimes worked simultaneously. The result of this complicated effect is very good, and, of course, the effect may be varied as the stage manager may think proper for the opera. In large opera houses a more complicated system is employed than those which we have just described. It is usually placed against the wall of the third fly gallery. It consists of a kind of cabinet with five or six slanting shelves. On each shelf are kept a half dozen cannon balls which are retained in place by hinged doors. When the signal is given, the stage hands open the doors of one or more compartments, and the balls drop down into a zinc-lined trough, which is some twenty feet long. The trough being built with inequalities of surface, the effect is enhanced. At the end of the trough the balls drop through the flooring to the gallery below by means of special slants. Arrangements are provided by which the balls can be stopped before they pass through the floor. It will readily be seen that by regulating the number of balls almost any thunder effect can be produced. LIGHTNING. Lightning is produced in a number of ways, of which the following is an example. A metal box having a large opening in the top is provided. At the bottom is placed an alcohol lamp having a wide-spreading flame. Immediately above the flame is a shelf or partition punched with fine holes. This is, of course, heated very hot by the flame. The mixture which is used to give the effect of lightning consists of three parts of magnesium powder and one part of potassium chlorate. This is poured upon the heated grill, through the top of the metal box. The sudden combustion of the composition produces very vivid flashes of lightning. A similar device has long been used by photographers for taking instantaneous photographs in dark places or at night. [Illustration: APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING LIGHTNING.] Another method of producing lightning flashes is to secure two large files to an electric circuit. The files, when they are rubbed over each other, produce a series of brilliant flashes. [Illustration: THE MAGNESIUM FLASH PISTOL.] [Illustration: LIGHTNING PROJECTOR.] The magnesium flash pistol, which we show in our engraving, is very useful for producing lightning flashes. It consists of a barrel which is slotted. The barrel is filled with asbestos which is soaked in alcohol. When the lightning effect is to be used the alcohol is lighted and magnesium powder is projected into it by means of the blower on the top of the pistol. It is worked with the thumb. When a thunderbolt is to strike an object, a wire is run from the flies to the object which is to be struck. A rider runs on the wire. The rider consists of a section of iron pipe. Around it is secured asbestos by means of wire. The asbestos is soaked with alcohol, and is lighted just at the instant when it is to be projected upon the object. It is usually held by a string, which is cut. It rushes flaming through the air, and produces the effect of a ball of fire striking the object. Our engraving illustrates still another method of producing lightning. It consists of an electric projecting lantern with attachments for giving the effect. The lightning and the clouds are scratched and painted on small pieces of glass. Devices are provided for rotating them so that they produce the effect of clouds rolling across an apparently immense expanse of sky, as the operator revolves the disks one over the other, and the forked lightning seems to shoot across the heavens. SNOW EFFECT. The effect of snow is obtained in a number of ways. Sometimes pieces of paper, linen, or white kid are thrown from one of the intermediate bridges, if the theater is provided with them. If well done the effect is very pleasing. The flakes of snow are usually illuminated by the electric light. It is often necessary to have the actors appear with traces of snow upon them. One way of doing this is to sprinkle them with soapsuds by means of a birch broom before they appear upon the scene. Of course, the soapsuds disappear in a few moments, corresponding to the melting of the snow. In the case of rich costumes it is impossible to use soapsuds, so that bone shavings or ground corn are used instead. This forms a light coating which resembles snow. It adheres to the hair, the shoulders, and the creases in the clothing, and produces no ill effects upon the costume. WAVE EFFECT. An ocean of heaving waters is usually made as follows: Each wave is cut out separately. The first row is set up at a distance of three or four feet between each billow, and the second row is set so as to show in the openings left by the first; small boys are usually employed to furnish the motive power. The waves are rocked back and forth, not from side to side, and the effect is very good. The noise of the surf upon the beach is obtained by allowing two or three ounces of bird shot to roll around in a box of light wood lined with tin. This is a variation of the rain machine we have already referred to. CRASH EFFECT. The noise on the stage is produced by what is called the crash machine, which is one of the oldest implements of imitation on the stage. It is similar to the wind machine in construction. It consists of a wheel with paddles set at an angle of about forty-five degrees. Upon the top of the wheel one end of a stout piece of wood is placed down by fastening the other end to a portion of the framework. When the wheel is turned, the slats passing under the stationary piece produce a rattling crash. The principle of the machine is illustrated by a boy running along a picket fence with a stick, allowing it to slip from picket to picket. In many theaters a gigantic rattle is used in place of a machine of this kind; it is more portable. FIRE AND SMOKE EFFECTS. Conflagrations are produced in a number of ways, and if proper precautions are taken, they are perfectly safe. Usually the buildings which are to be destroyed by fire are constructed of separate pieces of stage carpentry, through which the painted canvas is attached. They are raised and lowered by means of hinges, slides, cords, and pulleys, so as to give the effect of tumbling down. The fire proper consists of chemical red fire and powdered lycopodium used separately, the former to give a red glow and the latter to represent flames. Variously colored electric lights and small pieces of fireworks simulate the leaping of the sparks. In some cases the shutters on the houses appear to burn off and fall down upon the stage; this is accomplished as follows: They are secured to the scene with a preparation called “quick match.” This is made of powder, alcohol, and a lamp wick. The window frames and sashes are made of sheet iron. They are covered with oakum soaked in alcohol or naphtha. These sashes and frames are not fastened to the canvas scene at all, but are placed a short distance behind it upon platforms. The quickest possible touch of flame ignites the oakum, and in a moment the fire runs around the sash, and nothing is apparently left but the blackened and charred wood. Steam is used to represent the smoke, and one method of using it is described below. An occasional crash, followed by the ignition of a little powder, produces a sudden puff of smoke which gives the spectator the idea of a fall of a rafter. Apparatus for producing the smoke of a conflagration is more complicated than that for producing lightning. Steam is largely used for producing smoke, and is conducted to a place where the smoke is to appear, by means of rubber hose; but this is apt to cause considerable noise when it escapes into the air. This difficulty has been surmounted in at least one stage illusion which we illustrate, this being the “Magian,” the opera of Massenet. It was particularly necessary in the case to have the smoke produced as noiselessly as possible, because the orchestral music at the moment of the fire is relatively soft and low. The difficulty was surmounted as follows: The steam, generated by a boiler in the Paris Opera House, was led to special devices shown in our engraving, the steam being admitted to triangular boxes at the apex opposite the base of the triangle. The boxes at the point of attachment with the steam pipe have a considerable thickness, which gradually diminishes as the base of the triangle is approached, so that the steam, which is distributed throughout the whole extent of the box, escapes without any noise through a narrow orifice between the two faces of the apparatus. In the interior of the boxes there are pieces of felt, the principal object of which is to absorb the drops of water which are carried along mechanically or which may condense. The advantage of this arrangement is that it permits of the disengagement of the steam everywhere where it is necessary. The boxes are easily manipulated, and hooks fastened to them permit of their being attached to the scenery with ease. After a simple coupling pipe has been connected with a steam pipe, the apparatus is ready to operate. In the opera we have referred to, twenty-nine double boxes are employed; seventeen are distributed over the stage at different points, and nearly up to the pipe of the soffit curtains. The twelve others are beneath the stage, and the orifices through which the steam escapes are flush with the floor. [Illustration: APPARATUS FOR IMITATING THE SMOKE OF A CONFLAGRATION ON THE STAGE OF A THEATER] [Illustration] The realistic fire clouds and flame in the last act of “The Prophet,” when the Prophet, learning that he is betrayed, orders the fire of the palace of Münster, are done by concentrating the arc light upon colored gelatine; usually, first yellow for the fumes, then yellow and white, then yellow and red, red and white, and red and black. The sandstorm in the last act of the “Queen of Sheba” is done in yellow and black and pink gelatine before the light, and the rain by parallel scratches on a black surface, the arc light being dimmed and brightened alternately, and the glass turned this way and that, so that the parallelism of the drops shall follow a supposed changing of the direction of the wind. GRADUAL TRANSFORMATIONS. One of the greatest triumphs of Wagner’s scenic art is his method of scene shifting, which is carried almost to perfection. He was very much opposed to sudden changes of scenes, which are so frequent in Shakespearian plays, as he was desirous of avoiding everything which broke the continuity of the dramatic action. In the greater part of his operas he lets a single scene suffice for the entire act. Once in a great while he was obliged to provide for a shifting of a scene during an act, but in “Rheingold” the curtain remains, or should remain, raised during the whole of the performance. These changes are usually accomplished in plain sight of the audience, or else the setting of the new scene is hidden behind clouds. These effects are accomplished by means of successive gauze curtains which are raised and lowered, and by the clever use of light which is gradually diminished until almost total darkness reigns. The effect is largely enhanced by the orchestra, which symbolizes the changes which are taking place. The two best examples of this perfection of scene shifting are probably those in “Parsifal,” when the magic garden changes to the sanctuary of the Holy Grail; and the other effect is in the third act of “Götterdämmerung,” when the warriors place the dead Siegfried upon the bier and carry the body up the rocky path, while the orchestra is playing the funeral march of unearthly beauty. As the procession gradually disappears, mists rise from the Rhine. The mist gradually thickens into fog, then clouds rise upward, hiding the whole scene from view. Then the clouds rise and dissipate into mists which finally disclose the moonlit hall of the Gibichungen. The effects are produced by steam and a series of gauze curtains. The clouds really serve as a screen to prevent the scene shifters being viewed by the audience. A satisfactory effect can only be obtained when every detail is carried out with the greatest care. The superiority of this method over the conventional curtain is apparent. Sometimes the gauze curtains are not dropped from the flies, but are run across from the side. They are “profiled,” or, in other words, they are irregular in shape, so that they help to produce the effect without any noticeable line of demarcation between the two halves of the curtain. The steam curtain is often very effective, especially in Wagnerian operas. The steam is admitted through a perforated steam pipe in a sink cut, the floor being perforated. As the steam curtain is in a straight line, the effect is apt to be a little formal. BATTLE SCENES. Battle scenes are particularly effective upon the stage when they are well produced, and in the midst of a desperate battle a shell is seen to fall and burst, carrying death and destruction in its wake. Our engraving shows the method of obtaining this result. A _papier maché_ shell is formed of separate pieces glued together. This contains the quantity of powder sufficient to separate the pieces and produce the bursting. In the powder there is an electric primer which is ignited by a current. The primer is connected by wires which go back of the scene. At one of the sides of the stage, out of sight of the spectator, there is a charge which is also ignited by electricity at the same time that the bomb is exploded. At the proper moment a man throws the shell and touches the button, the bomb bursts, and the spectators, hearing the loud report of the cannon at the same instant, imagine that the harmless paper bomb is the cause of the formidable explosion. [Illustration: BOMB EXPLOSION EFFECT.] THEATRICAL FIREARMS. The accidents on the stage caused by firearms have been many and numerous. In melodramas, after great battles, the auditorium becomes filled with dense smoke and a peculiarly disagreeable odor of burnt powder; and, owing to the great precautions which are necessary to prevent danger of fire, the illusion is seriously injured. On account of these drawbacks, a French dramatic author and pyrotechnist, M. Philippi, endeavored to produce a successful imitation of the effects of firing guns, that is to say, the noise, fire, and smoke, while at the same time avoiding the dangers and annoyances that have already been pointed out. The charge consists of a small quantity of fulminate prepared so as to give a red fire and a light smoke which quickly clears away, leaving no disagreeable odor, and not affecting the throat. The preparation is held in a cavity formed in a small cork which is introduced into the extremity of the gun barrel. The firing pin passes through the barrel, as shown in Fig. 1 in our first engraving, causing the charge to explode through a simple blow. By the very simple contrivance of the spring, as shown in Fig. 1, it is possible to fit almost any gun, wooden or otherwise, which the stage director may wish to use. [Illustration: THEATRICAL GUNS AND PISTOLS.] Our second engraving represents a mitrailleuse formed by the juxtaposition of a number of short barrels of thin copper arranged in the same manner as in the guns described. The firing pins are left to the action of the spiral springs, when the hooks, _a_, in which they terminate, are driven from the catches by means of slider, _c_, which moves along a rod, placed back of the barrels, to which it is affixed by a screw, in order to prevent its acting while the apparatus is being carried. A movable bar, _m_, prevents the springs from being set free while the charging is being done, and after they have been set. In order to manipulate, it is only necessary to cause the slider to move along the rod. Firing by platoons is imitated with great exactness. As soon as the cork makes its exit from the barrel, it is thoroughly pulverized, and the discharges received at the end of the muzzle cause no inconvenience. [Illustration: THEATRICAL MITRAILLEUSE.] THE IMITATION OF ODORS. The imitation of odors upon the stage is not very often attempted. In some plays where a dinner is in progress, more realism is given by introducing such things as a French coffee machine. The penetrating odor of the coffee is soon experienced by the audience, and it adds considerably to the effect. An English impresario adopted a rather novel plan of imitating the salt odor of the ocean for a marine scene. He took a large number of old salt-herring casks and disposed them in the flies and behind the orchestra. There is little doubt that they produced the desired effect, as the persistence of the perfume of this delicacy is well known.