Twenty-one Female Figures.
This beautiful spectacle is represented by twenty-one persons. Twenty
of the number should be young misses, of about six or eight years of
age, who will personate the stars, and one, a young and handsome
lady, who is to represent morning. The sides of the stage must be
arranged in the form of terraced banks, two feet wide at the bottom,
and four feet wide at the top; they should be built from the
footlights to within three feet of the ceiling, covered with cloth,
and painted to represent clouds. Blue cambric, with white clouds and
gold stars, will answer the purpose. In the centre of the stage, two
pieces of joist must be placed in an inclined position, running from
the footlights to the background. On these build a sliding platform,
four feet square, with a small seat, one foot high. This should be
made to run with ease from the top to the bottom of the joist; cloth,
painted in imitation of clouds and stars, can be extended across the
space between the two terraces and the joist, so that it will show a
smooth surface. Cover the moving platform with cloth, arranged in
drapery style, and paint in the same manner as the rest of the
scenery. A back scene should be placed at the top of the terraces,
leaving a space of three feet between it and the back wall; this must
be painted like the rest of the scenery, and made to open in the
centre, near the top of the joist.
The young misses' costume consists of a short white dress, decorated
with gold stars, and silver paper interspersed with spangles, white
hose and shoes, hair hanging in curls, and encircled with a band of
silver leaves, with a silver star on the forehead; a light blue sash,
covered with spangles, tied about the waist; and small gauze wings
fastened to the back of the dress. Each one should hold a small torch
ten inches in length, from which rises a blue flame; these can be
made of card-board, and covered with light blue paper, with the ends
tipped with gold. At the end from which the flame is produced, insert
a strip of tin, to protect the torch from the flames. The torches
should not be lighted until all the figures are in position. The young
misses take their position at each side of the stage, on the outer
edge of the terrace. They must lean forward slightly, and hold the
torch out from them. Their attitudes should be varied; those near the
top should be gazing upward, others looking down, and a few engaged in
conversation. The young lady who represents Morning must be costumed
in a loose white robe of tarleton muslin, cut low at the top, flowing
sleeves, skirt covered with three wide flounces, trimmed in front with
silver rays five inches long. The waist and sleeves decorated with
silver and gold spangles, and a satin belt, ornamented in like manner,
worn about the waist. The hair should be brushed back from the
forehead, and clasped with a band of silver, and allowed to hang over
the shoulders in long curls; the head is adorned with a band of gold,
with rays of silver radiating from the centre. The position is, seated
on the platform, head slightly inclined to the left, the right hand
raised over the head, the left rests on the waist; eyes directed to
the children in the foreground, countenance expressing pleasure. The
goddess Morning will be seated on the platform, behind the scenery.
A yellow fire must be burned in the ante-room, and so shaded that,
just as the curtain rises, a small portion of the light will shine on
the centre of it; this light should increase in brightness for a few
seconds, when the sky in the background must open, and the goddess
glide slowly down to the centre of the stage. As the platform moves,
the fire should increase in brightness; when she has arrived at the
centre of the stage, the yellow light should be thrown into the
foreground, and a red light thrown into the background. This can be
accomplished by placing the colored fires in large boxes furnished
with sliding covers and reflectors; and by drawing out the covers
gradually, the light will be thrown on to the picture in the proper
manner. The curtain in the background can be opened by attaching at
each corner, near the centre, a small cord, which can be passed
through pulleys, and attended to in the ante-rooms. The curtain or
scenery should be drawn up on the back side, and let down in its place
as soon as the platform has passed through. A small rope, painted
blue, must be attached to the platform, and pass through a block
fastened to the wall of the stage; this can be tended by a person
under the stage, who will allow the platform to move with exactness to
its stopping place. If the light from the colored fire is not
brilliant enough, a few of the lights at the same side from whence the
fire is produced can be lighted. Music soft and plaintive at first,
and increasing in power at the finale.