Many ladies performing this illusion cannot help showing in their look the pain and suffering they are experiencing even when before their audiences, thereby spoiling the effect the illusion would have had if their features had been composed and the face wreathed with smiles.
The Aerial Suspension.
This trick has been before the public for many years, but when performed still causes considerable sensation. The apparatus required is, first, a kind of iron corset, for which the performer doing this trick must be properly measured and accurately fitted with it, according to his or her size and build. This corset is strapped upon the body, and attached to it is a rod passing down the right side from beneath the arm, almost to the right knee. Below the arm is a projecting piece so made as to fit into a socket, and almost in the shape of a crutch; and the rod passing down the side of the performer is so constructed that when a person has this apparatus strapped securely upon him or her, and the projecting piece under the arm is fitted into the socket of the pole, the body can be raised, and the toes in rising will describe an arc of about 90 deg., assuming the position shown in the figure. To effect this two poles are required of the same length, one made of wood and the other of iron; the latter being fitted into a socket in the stand, and having also a socket in the top, in which is fixed the projecting piece under the arm, and this rod therefore supports the whole weight of the body during the performance. The two poles are both painted the same color, and to the audience both appear to be the same.
The performer will have to provide a specially made costume to suit the working of the apparatus. The young lady (we will imagine that it is a lady who performs this suspension feat) is brought forward by the professor, and the two rods are shown, and a stool is placed on the stand on which the lady steps. The iron rod is now placed in position and fixed under the right arm, and the wood rod is placed under the left; the professor, now making a few passes with his hands, apparently sends the lady performer into a mesmeric sleep, and gently draws the rod from under the left arm and lays it down. Making a few more passes he gradually raises the body of the lady into a horizontal position, and she will appear to be suspended almost in the air. With a little practice the body can be placed into any position. When the lady has been suspended long enough, make a few more passes and gently lower the body until in an upright position, and again place the wood rod under the left arm and place the stool beneath her feet, and taking a handkerchief wipe the lady’s face, and she will appear to awaken and will step down from her exalted position.
An improvement has lately been introduced in the apparatus; the iron column is hollow, and through the center another rod is worked from beneath the stage, and in the socket of the iron rod at the top are placed a number of teeth which catch corresponding teeth in the projecting piece under the arm, and this being worked from below the stage will cause the body of the lady to slowly rise into a horizontal position without being so placed by the professor. This is certainly a very great improvement in the mode of working, as while the professor simply makes a few passes with his hands the body gradually rises, apparently to the audience without any visible means whatever.
The Ghost Illusion.
This illusion, which created so much sensation in London and first known here as “Pepper’s Ghost,” I will endeavor to explain, and make the working of it as clear as I possibly can to the reader. It is caused by the figure of a man or woman being reflected upon a sheet of glass, and the audience looking through this glass, apparently see the figure upon the stage, but in reality it is not so, being only upon the glass. In the first place a sheet of plate glass perfectly clear and without a blemish must be procured, and of such a size that it will show the image or reflection of the performer who impersonates the ghost. This glass is fixed at the front of the stage and inclined slightly toward the audience. In front and below the stage a chamber is made, completely concealed from the eyes of the audience, but having an opening at the upper part, through which the reflection of the person below is thrown upward upon the sheet of glass. The reader can understand the position better by referring to the accompanying cut. The body of the person to be reflected is against an inclined plane, which is covered with black cloth. This inclined plane is fixed upon castors, and the person leaning against it, moving this slightly with his feet, either to the right or left, will cause it to appear as if the ghost was either walking forward or backward. Below the stage a person is placed with a powerful lantern, and the light from it is thrown upon the figure representing the ghost, thus causing it to be reflected strongly and brightly against the glass fixed above. The stage must be darkened and dimly lighted, otherwise the ghost will hardly be visible. In making various motions of the body the ghost actor must reverse his movements; for example, if he raises his left arm the figure reflected above will appear to raise its right arm. The glass, as I stated before, must be without a blemish, and fixed at an angle of 20 deg., inclining forward toward the audience, and the nearer the audience are seated to it the larger the glass must be. The size of the glass depends upon the height of the figure to be reflected and the size of the stage and the theater or hall in which it is exhibited. This again will be understood by referring to the figure, in which A represents the eyes of that part of the audience seated in the lower portion or body of the hall, while B represents the eyes of those who are seated in the boxes or gallery, thus showing the angle by which the height of the glass is determined, as the angles of incidence are always equal to the angles of reflection; and the same angles of incidence are likewise equal to the corresponding angles of the reflected figure.
