Part 121

Some disturbance has caused a nervous gentleman to dress in a hurry in his night-cap, morning gown, and red slippers. With a blunderbuss under one arm and a night candle in one hand, he proceeds with a horse pistol in the other to look warily about, when suddenly appears before him an old grey mare eating hay--the unconscious intruder on his peace and quiet.

The mare in this instance is the only spectre, and the whole scene is due to a well-known engraving of such a subject.

28.--THE DOUBTFUL VISITOR.

A lady is informed that a strange lady has called upon her. They meet in the drawing-room, courtesy to each other, and finally take their seats on a couch. Soon afterwards they rise, but the stranger rudely drops her cloak, parasol, reticule, gloves, veil, &c., and runs off. The lady in astonishment attempts taking up the cloak and other things, which to her infinite terror seem to be swallowed up by the floor, so she in her turn makes her escape.

29.--A PANTOMIME.

Supposing the stage to appear as if supplied with real scenery, which should only after all be phantasms, it is clear that the feats of harlequins would be infinitely more surprising than with interposed wood and canvas. Such a scene as jumping through the mouth of a large mask could in no other way be represented. Fire may be held to the person without danger, outvieing the red-painted poker so amusing to youth in all such wild gambolling scenes. The kicks and cuffs that might be bestowed on a spectre actor, actress, horse, or dog, without disturbing the gravity or person on whom bestowed, is of itself sufficiently ludicrous. In fairy and goblin scenes the rapid appearance and disappearance of such visitors form an essential part in their introduction, and when they are grotesque, their phantom-like character would encircle them with all the sparkling attributes of a lively jest.

30.--GHOST OF CHINA.

Among other parts of any suitable scene, large china jars, dishes, jugs, plates, or other earthenware and glass, may appear so placed that on the actor falling on the floor the audience shall hear the crash of china and glass, and see the whole fall upon him, yet shall he rise unhurt, as though nothing had happened.

This is obtained by means of communicating wires or cords between the two stages, so that the one cannot fail to act in concert with the other.

31.--PILGRIM AND SAINT.

The worthy saint is seen with outstretched sandalled foot, and a pilgrim with pointed iron-shod staff standing beside him. Wishing to show the holy man some relics he strikes his staff into the ground to release his hand in the act of opening out his treasure. But, behold! he has pinned the saint’s foot to the earth with his pilgrim’s staff.

32.--THE SPECTRE’S KISS.

Two young ladies enter a drawing-room from opposite ends, courtesy and dance; when their performance is over they approach and kiss each other, and then seem to be attempting to shake hands, but in vain, on which one falls down while the other slowly and almost imperceptibly vanishes.

In many other devices, as in this, the same means for effecting a near approach may be resorted to, nothing more being required than a piece of glass supported on a black pole, which, as ascertained beforehand, exactly distances the two heads, the lips approaching the glass on an opposite side, in opposite directions, far apart.

It must not be overlooked that these various scenes require different modes of action, a leading one being the peculiar property that this phantasmagoria affords of uniting as one body a phantom with a substance, whether alike or unlike in form and colour. This is a feature so important that it will not be out of place here to dwell upon it more at large, to impress so important a property on the attention of all who may desire an intimate acquaintance with the subject.

As a preliminary step, let a few chromotographic experiments be made. Set a yellow cube before the mirror and a blue one behind it, in a model apparatus, employing the sun’s light. Blue and yellow it might be supposed would give a cube having a green tint, instead of which it will be snow white. Again, for blue, substitute a deep pink; and for yellow white, when the pink will disappear all but the faintest possible tinge--the shadow or phantom appearing to overwhelm the coloured substance. These effects are so surprising, simple as they appear, that, unless tried and seen, description alone must fail to convince any one of the full force of the results stated.

Acting on this property of matching one body into another, so as to all appearance to absorb it into itself, many curious dramatic effects may be produced, whether the subjects be animate or inanimate. And this mode of procedure is always in demand where the phantom is required to touch, handle, and repeat the actions of an ordinary actor.

On this peculiarity of matching one body into another so exactly depends the striking character of “The Haunted Man,” where the actor himself is so placed; so likewise “The Miser,” with several others, where furniture, chairs, or any other things or vessels require to be so conjoined. In “The Bachelor,” the article used is a box, which is carried and moved about, but ultimately fixed in a pre-arranged spot. It would not be easy to perform such parts with animals or with children, as they would not be likely to keep sufficiently quiet and immovable. Whenever the actors on the opposite stages have to play similar parts, then such duplicates of solid and shadow or reflection must always be employed. Two couches are required to make it appear that two persons are sitting on one couch, although in reality each couch has only one occupant; but in the acting the only spectre that appears is the actor, while the spectral couch is absorbed into and hid by the real couch. So likewise in sitting to a table--two tables and two persons must act the part, and the result that follows is the same as before; but if only _one_ of these actors places anything on the table, then the opposite actor cannot touch it, unless its duplicate is already placed there for the purpose, behind a black screen, by which means flowers, letters, books, &c., may appear to pass from hand to hand.

The necessity of corresponding stops and marks on the two stages is shown in “The Duel.” A mark on the floor directs where to place the feet; slender black rods, set in a weighted foot, mark places for the body, feet, or hands; and suspended wires or cords answer the same purpose. But such marks may be, as in the case of “The Milliner,” some part of the furnishing of the apartment, as there we see taking place with mere clothes’ props; or, indeed, as in “The Gipsy’s Promise,” the very person of the actor.

As the entire person is, sometimes, not required to be seen, it is always easy to exclude any portion by employing a black dress, screen, or curtain, as in “A Hand seen Writing.”

A curious result is obtained by appearing to give animation to the inanimate. This may be seen in “The Otranto Picture,” where the actor standing within a framed recess has all the appearance of a painted full-length portrait, the stepping of which from the canvas realises a romantic story of “The Castle of Otranto.”

The absence of all machinery or trap-doors to get rid of “The Ghost” can be rendered strikingly obvious in two ways: first, by the very gradual dissolving of the vision until it becomes thoroughly transparent; or, secondly, by placing in the hand some very bright object, either a dagger, sword, censor, or small enclosed light. By using a night light, having a paper or ground-glass shade, the same will appear as though floating in the air after entirely losing sight of every other spectral object.

Yet trap-doors and machinery may become accessories in many scenes. “The Wizard’s Incantation” requires a duplicate caldron, which on the spectre stage is merely an upright circular frame around a trap-door, through which the spectre actor has to be raised to be presented to the audience by reflection. So also in “The Spectre Workman,” simultaneous action is produced by an underground shaft, which in some cases may be otherwise produced; even bell-wires, cords, and the like serving for many purposes, as illustrated in “The Ghost of China.”

The method of double acting is shown in “The Witch’s Laundry,” producing some strangely startling results. One or both of two actors may, by changing to the opposite stage, become alternately spectral or solid. What they are seen acting as real actors becomes wildly ridiculous when converted into spectral acts. If after two actors going through performances decidedly requiring mutual intercourse, one adroitly passes to the spectral stage, then his friend, or his adversary, cannot any longer succeed in friendly intercourse, or commit any fatal act by means of sword or pistol.

Advantage may be taken in many scenes of the marvellous property of the phantom to overpower and conceal the colour and features of a corresponding substance. In “Metamorphoses,” this is made evident by the facility shown in causing the human figure to take the form of a branching tree, which the wizard can readily disenchant, reproducing a living actor or actress. By such means the classic stories of Ovid, or the sprightly and wonderful creations of the Arabian Nights, may be set before an admiring audience; and when the changes cannot be exactly thus realised, the mechanical arrangements for turning one actor from and another actor into view, aided by screens, is so exceedingly simple as to render minute details superfluous. Actors may appear to dress and change with the rapidity of lightning; age may become youth, and _vice versâ_; and even, a gorilla might step forth an altered creature to trip the “light fantastic toe!”

In some scenes the peculiarity may consist in the spectre passing off undiscovered, and only be traced by its phantom accompaniments, as in “The Doubtful Visitor,” who sitting on the same couch with a lady, departs without any other strangeness of action than leaving behind some portions of her phantom dress.

In pantomime and legerdemain the Optical Illusions eclipse every extravaganza hitherto conceived for making the “eyes the fools o’ the other senses.” And what is still more remarkable, this portion of the subject is so exceedingly simple to perform that, although short, yet sufficient directions will be found in the description of scenes under the respective titles of “Pantomime” and “Jugglers.”

These few observations appeared requisite to impress on the general reader that each of the preceding scenes involves some peculiarity in arrangement to produce the effect described, and that, therefore, they are not all on one model. Some show the actors apart, some together, and afterwards separate; some with and some without machinery of any kind; some with phantom actors, others with only phantom dresses or furniture; and others again employing animals, as the horse, dog, &c.

The mechanical portion of the arrangements are too various to enter upon in minute description, but they are generally of such a nature as any practical workman employed on theatrical machinery will readily understand. The modes of arranging the transparent mirror are as numerous as in the employment of ordinary mirrors. It may be used framed, or for some purposes without any frame whatever; it may be suspended and slide on framework placed above, by means of pulleys, thus leaving the stage floor free from any grooving or any raised portion. Or, it may be made to swing like a hinged door, whether hinged at top, bottom, or either side. Or, it may turn on centres, so as to be half in and half out, when turned to right angles with its common position, being thus capable of regulation to any desired angle. It is also obvious that the position of the mirror necessitates a corresponding change in the placing of the spectre stage, so that the one shall always be opposite the other. As it is not requisite to cover the entire front of the stage with one or more mirrors, their use may often be artistically concealed by pillars, trees, or similar devices, in which case the spectral effects will be limited to such mirrored portions. When out of use, these large mirrors can be made to slide, sink, or rise, as done with the scenes in general use.

=Games.=--Space being limited, choice is made here of a few games not generally known.

_Bézique_ (Polish).--Polish bézique, sometimes called open bézique, or Fildinski, is played by 2 persons in the same way as ordinary bézique, except in the following particulars. The tricks are not left on the table at Polish bézique, but are thus disposed of: 7’s, 8’s, 9’s, and 10’s (except the 10’s of trumps) are turned face down on the table as soon as a trick containing any of them is completed. These cards must not be looked at again during the hand. Other cards, which are cards that can be used in declaring, are taken by the winner of the trick, and placed by him face up on the table close in front of himself, in rows, consisting of aces, kings, queens, and knaves, and of the 10’s of trumps. At the end of the hand all cards that can be used in declaring are thus exposed or open on the table. Having been once played, they can only be used in declaring, and cannot be played a second time. Whether declared or not, they remain open during the hand and the play of the last 8 tricks.

Declarations can only be made from open cards, and never from cards held in the player’s hand. This is the fundamental difference between Polish and ordinary bézique. As soon as a trick is won containing a card or cards that can be used in declaring, those cards are transferred to the open cards (if any) already in possession of the winner of the trick, and as soon as a card is won that completes a scoring combination, the declaration is made and the score marked.

For example. A. has 3 open queens, and he wins a trick containing a queen. Before drawing again, he places the fourth queen in the row which contains the other 3 queens, and scores 60 for queens.

The 7 of trumps can be exchanged for the turn up when a trick is won with it, but not when a trick is won with another card by a player who holds the 7 in his hand. Similarly the 7, if not exchanged, can be declared when a trick is won with it. If the 7 of trumps is played, and is won with a higher trump, the winner of the trick declares or exchanges the 7. The principle is the same throughout, viz. that declarations are made only out of cards won, and by the winner of them.

At Polish bézique compound declarations are allowed, i.e. all the scores that can be made when cards are added to open cards are made at once, and the same card may be declared more than once (in combinations of a different class), without waiting to win another trick. The ordinary rule that a card once declared cannot be again declared in combinations of the same class, e.g. a king once married cannot be married again; a fifth ace added to 4 aces already declared does not entitle to reckon aces over again.

As examples of compound declarations take the following: A. wins the queen of faintest possible tinge--the shadow or phantom appearing to overwhelm the coloured trumps with the king. He has in his open cards 3 kings, 4 queens, and the ace, 10, knave of trumps. He declares royal marriage (40), 4 kings (80), but not 4 queens, as he cannot again reckon any of the 4 queens already declared in that class of combination, and sequence (250), in all 370.

Again, the ace of spades is turned up, and the ace of hearts is led. The second player wins the ace of hearts with the 7 of trumps, and exchanges the 7 for the turn up. He scores 10 for the exchange, and 10 for each of the aces he adds to his open cards--in all 30. If at the same time he were in possession of 2 other open aces, he would score 100 more for 4 aces.

At Polish bézique aces and 10’s must be declared as soon as the trick is won, and not at the end of the hand, a mode of scoring preferred by some players at ordinary bézique.

In the play of the hand it is not compulsory to follow suit nor to win the trick, and a player may win the trick by trumping notwithstanding that he holds a card of the suit led. But in the last 8 tricks suit must be followed if the second player has one of the suit led. The trick in the last 8 tricks must also be won by the second player if he has a higher card of the suit than the one led. If he has none of the suit led, and has a trump, he must win the card led by trumping.

Declarations do not cease at Polish bézique when playing the last 8 tricks. They are made just as in the early part of the hand after winning a trick and before leading again.

Polish bézique is generally played 2000 up, as the average scores are considerably higher than at ordinary bézique.

_Block._ Implements.--A board as in Fig. 105, the figures not being necessary, except when the game is played by correspondence--they are placed here to simplify the examples--16 pegs, and 2 King pegs; 12 pegs and the King pegs being required for play, the 4 remaining pegs are a reserve force of 2 for each player.

Play.--Divide the pegs, one player taking the White, the other the Black. The first to play is decided by lot. Each player then places a peg into one of the holes in turn, occupying those which he may consider the most advantageous, until the 12 pegs and the 2 King pegs have been placed. Then each moves one of his pegs in turn, but only one hole at a time, and as the lines run.

Points of the Game.--To Block, to Force, and to Make a Line.

(_a_) To block is to get a peg on each side of one of your adversary’s: this, if an ordinary peg, is its capture, and it is immediately removed off the board.

Example.--Black having a peg in 1, and White playing a peg in 2, Black captures that peg by playing a peg in 3; but White having a peg in 4 can capture Black’s peg in 3 by playing another peg in 2; or White having pegs in 1, 10, and 24, and Black a peg in 9 could block Black’s peg by playing peg 24 either into 17 or 16.

But to block the King peg, the other holes surrounding him must be filled, though it is of no consequence by whose pegs. To block the King peg is game. His only means of escape is by immediately capturing one of the pegs blocking; if he cannot do this, and cannot move, the game is over.

Example.--Black’s King peg being in 3, and White having a peg in 4, is not blocked by White placing a peg in 2, because the hole 11 is unoccupied. Or supposing Black to occupy 11 (King peg), and 3, and White 2, 12 and 19, the game would be lost to Black by White playing 2 to 10, which blocks the King; but if Black had a peg in 17, 16 or 1 to immediately play into 9 he would capture 10, which is one of the blocking pegs, and so liberate the King peg. The other blocking peg is 12. Capturing 19 would be of no avail, neither would moving his own peg 3.

(_b_) To force is to get 2 pegs on a line with one of your adversary’s, in which case you force him to move that peg to the first vacant hole on its square, in whichever direction it may occur, and in the event of there not being one vacant on its square, to whichever square has the nearest.

Example.--Black, occupying hole 1, could force White from hole 3 by placing a peg in hole 2 in which case White’s peg 3 would have to move to 4; or by occupying holes 11 and 19, when White would have 2 holes at equal distance--4 and 2; and could move into either unless the forcer gave the preference.

If the King peg be forced, a peg is thereby gained from the reserve which is placed in the hole vacated by the King.

(_c_) To make a line is to get 3 of your pegs on one line in any way but diagonally, in which case the third or last peg moved to make the line can be at once removed to any vacant hole on the board.

Example.--By occupying holes 1 2 3, 2 10 18, 9 10 11; in fact any way but from corner to corner as 1 9 17 or 19 11 3.

If your adversary insists upon maintaining a peg in a hole to your great disadvantage, play your pegs so as to force him from it, having first prepared a hole for him to move into. That is to say, be careful that the hole you force him into does not attack your position, as--Black’s pegs in 2, 4, and 7; White’s pegs in 1 and 6; now Black, moving peg 4 to 3, forces White’s peg 1, which is compelled to move to hole 8, and so captures Black’s peg 7. On the contrary, if Black occupied holes 2, 6, 7, 9, 11, and White holes 1, 4, 5, by Black playing peg 11 into 3, White’s peg 1 is forced into 8, and it being Black’s next move, he occupies hole 1 with his 9 peg, or 2 peg, and so captures the peg he forced. The great point is to place the pegs in a good position at the commencement of the game.

Rules.--1. Each player places one peg in turn, and when all are placed, moves in the same manner, but only as the lines run, and one hole at a time.

2. A force made during the placing of the pegs does not interfere with that player’s turn; that is to say, if White in playing the pegs occupies hole 1, and Black hole 3, Black would be forced by White taking hole 2 and would have to move, but would immediately afterwards place his peg as was his turn.

3. The placing of a peg gained from the reserve into the hole vacated by King peg does not count as a move, consequently any advantage so gained is _nil_.

4. The playing a peg when forced counts the same as its move, and reaps any advantage gained by occupying the hole it is forced into.

5. A forced peg, having the preference of 2 holes to move into, can be compelled by the forcer to occupy either.

6. A made block or made force is of no advantage; that is to say, if Black occupied holes 1 and 3, White could put a peg in hole 2 without being captured; or Black possessing holes 1 and 2, White could place a peg in 3 without being forced. The same applies to a peg when forced into such a position.

7. Any advantage gained in a move, and not noticed before the next move, cannot be counted.

8. A person drawing a peg is compelled to move it, and on the event of its being placed in a hole, must there leave it.

9. A peg played to force or block cannot claim the advantage of a line if it make one by so playing, for instance, Black in 1, 6, 8, and 23, a white peg being in 15; Black by playing 6 to 7 can either take it as a line or block 15, but not both. Neither can 2 pegs be forced or blocked in the one move. The player has the preference in each case. A peg can, however, block and force in the one move.

Example.--White occupying holes 9 and 8, and Black holes 15 and 24, Black by getting a peg into 16 forces both 8 and 9; he therefore compels his adversary to move whichever is most to the forcer’s advantage. Or white in 10, 19, 13, with Black in 9 and 12, captures peg 12, and forces peg 9, by moving from 19 to 11.

10. A player, whose turn it is to move, having his pegs so surrounded that he cannot--draws the game.

11. A player having the whole of his pegs (9) on the board can gain no more by forcing the King.

12. A game being reduced to only 3 pegs on the board can be drawn, if not won in 20 moves. (H. E. Heather, _Amateur Chess Magazine_.)

_Chancery._--This new round game at cards requires no tuition, and can be played by the smallest child, and by any number.

If the company does not exceed 5 or 6, one pack of cards is sufficient; if it does exceed that number, extra cards are preferable.

A pool is then subscribed, say 5 counters by each player; that is generally enough to keep it floating for some time, though should it run out another subscription is called for immediately.