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194 THE FINE ARTS. 
each side of the rail, in which the halliards } 6 run; these are fastened to 
the foot of the rail, and pass over the rollers ¢ ¢ in the head of the carriage, 
from which they go to the windlass. When the halliards } } are drawn 
tight or slacked up, the rail with the shifting-piece must rise or fall. 
h. The Illumination. Until quite recently, and even at present with but 
few exceptions, the stage has been lighted by means of argand oil-lamps, 
arranged partly in front of the proscenium along the orchestra, and partly 
behind the frames of the side-scenes, and above and in front of the drop- 
scenes. When isolated lights are needed, as e. g. for the moon and such 
like appearances, they are placed in closed boxes, so as to give no light from 
the sides. 
When the foot-lights consist of oil-lamps, the lamp ladder isa movable trap ; 
when night is to be produced, it is let down below the stage. Changes of light 
to imitate sunset or moonlight are produced by mediums, which are provided 
with red or green glass, or similar colored silk stuff; these are usually kept 
below the stage, and are raised by a separate contrivance to such a height 
as to shade the light of the lamps. The lamps at the wings are ranged one 
above the other, and before them is placed a half cylinder (pl. 26, jig. 4), 
in which the space between every two lamps is divided into four parts. 
One of these parts is entirely open for imitating daylight; the second is 
entirely closed for night; the third is shaded with red for sunrise and sun- 
set; and the fourth is shaded with green for moonlight (£ and Z). This half 
cylinder works up and down at m on long pintles, and is raised by machinery, 
which is also connected with the foot-light ladder, to such a height as to 
bring that part of the cylinder before the flame of the lamp which corre- 
sponds to the light of the foot-light medium. In many theatres there are 
only three divisions in the half cylinder, black, green, and red, and for day- 
light it is thrown back, a contrivance which is certainly superior to the 
other. 
In the better class of theatres, however, gas is now employed for lighting 
the whole stage, and is likewise introduced into the great chandelier of the 
spectatory ; this has great advantages over the old mode. In this mode of 
illumination the gas passes first from the gasometer to the place of the 
inspector, or of some one charged with the matter, and from there it is con- 
ducted through various sets of pipes to the gas-ladders, the lights above the 
stage, and the great chandelier. ‘The main pipe from which all the other 
pipes proceed is furnished with a graduated cock ; and the director is able, 
by partially cutting off the gas, to gradually reduce the entire illumination 
from the greatest brilliancy to almost total darkness, so that for the purpose 
of imitating night no other contrivance is necessary. Accordingly, as is 
shown by the section of the gas-ladder (pl. 26, jig. 23), the lamp ¢ with its 
support }, and the gas ladder a, are fixed to the beam g of the stage, and 
only the shades for changing the quality of the light, a 6 ¢ (jig. 22), are 
raised and lowered as occasion requires. The lighting of the side-scenes 
occasions rather more difficulty, on account of the wing-carriages being 
movable. ig. 4 contains a front view and jig. 5 a section of the con- 
trivance here employed. The supply-pipe hangs above on the right corner 
578 
