Fig. 65.—Diagram of Blue Room
It is needless, perhaps, to explain that the suit of armor which becomes endowed with life has a man inside of it. When the curtain rises a suit of armor is seen in the Blue Room, at H, (Fig. 65). At I is a second suit of armor, concealed behind the proscenium. It is the duplicate of the visible one. When the mirror G is shoved diagonally across the room, the armor at H becomes invisible, but the mirror reflects the armor concealed at I, making it appear to the spectators that the suit at H is still in position. An actor dressed in armor now enters behind the mirror, removes the suit of armor at H, and assumes its place. When the mirror is again withdrawn, the armor at H becomes endowed with life. Again the mirror is shoved across the apartment, and the actor replaces the original suit of armor at H. It is this latter suit which the master of the house takes to pieces and casts upon the floor, in order to quiet the fears of the servant. This most ingenious apparatus is capable of many novel effects. Those who have witnessed Prof. Kellar's performances will bear witness to the statement. When the illusion was first produced in England, a sketch was written for it by the famous Burnand, editor of "Punch." It was entitled "Curried Prawns." A plethoric old gentleman who had been indulging in a midnight dish of curried prawns goes to bed, and is visited by a soul-terrifying nightmare. Mephistopheles suddenly appears to him, and introduces him to the mysteries of the nether world.
Levitation.—The performer places a board on the tops of two
Fig. 66.—Levitation Act chairs. A lady is laid on the board, and pretended mesmeric passes made over her by the magician. The chairs are now removed one after the other, and the lady is seen floating in the air (Fig. 66). The performer then walks completely around her. In order to show still more conclusively that she is not supported by any arrangement of wires, etc., he passes a large solid iron hoop, previously given for inspection to the spectators, over her; beginning at her head. This seeming miracle, vaunted as a Hindoo mystery, is accomplished in the following manner: The board, A, A (Fig. 67), upon which the lady reclines, is about three feet distant from the back scene. This background is provided with a slit through which an assistant pushes three iron rods (c, d, e), beneath the board. Another important part of the apparatus is a small car, to which the rods are attached, the construction of which is explained in Fig. 67 and Fig. 68, which gives a side view of the car. Nos. 1 and 2 are the
Fig. 67.—Top View
of Apparatus wheels on which the car is propelled. The iron bars, of which only one is shown in the diagram, run in front over a roller, 3, and at the back between two rollers, 4 and 5, so that the assistant can easily push the bars under the board, c, which holds the lady. The extreme ends of the bars, at the back, are counterbalanced in order to equalize the weight. To enable the performer to go behind the floating lady, also to pass
Fig. 68.—Side View
of Apparatus the hoop about her, the assistant pulls away the iron bar at one end. As soon as the performer and the hoop have cleared the first bar, it is pushed back into place again, and the next bar withdrawn, allowing free passage to the third bar, which is also withdrawn, after the centre bar has been pushed back. The arms of the lady overhanging the board and her dress conceal effectually the iron bars from view of the audience.