OUTDOOR FUN WITH HOME-MADE TETHER-BALL
WITH an outlay of a few cents you can make this entire tether-ball game
and make it well. The common hollow rubber ball should be two and a
half inches in diameter—about the size of a tennis ball. You will not
need any money for the two rackets, which are cut from old boxes or
shingles.
=The Pole=
may be a stationary clothesline post, a small, unused flagstaff, an
extra long clothesline pole, a long curtain pole, or a very long,
straight bean pole, and for smaller children the handle of an old
long-handled broom will answer.
Use strong, soft twine to make
=The Cover for Your Ball=
Cut twelve pieces, each twenty-four inches in length; place all the
lengths straight and evenly together; then tie a string around the
entire bunch, an inch and one-half from the centre (Fig. 270). In this
figure and several other diagrams the single strands of twine are not
drawn in detail, because, should every separate thread be outlined,
much confusion might ensue.
[Illustration: Fig. 270.—Tie all the strands of the string together.]
[Illustration: Fig. 271.—Tying the strings for the tether-ball
covering.]
[Illustration: Fig. 272.—The braid for ball loop.]
[Illustration: Fig. 273.—Untie and remove the string.]
[Illustration: Fig. 274.—Braid into one braid.]
After tying the lengths of twine together, separate the longest part
into three divisions of four strands each (Fig. 271). Braid these
strands together in one braid, beginning close to the string tied
around the bunch; continue braiding firmly and tightly for the distance
of two and a half or three inches (Fig. 272), then untie and remove
the string from around the bunch (Fig. 273); bring the two ends of the
braid together, and joining all the loose strands into three bunches
of eight strands each, braid all into one braid (Fig. 274). When this
larger braid is one inch long, with another string tie the loose ends
of it firmly together close up to the braid. You will then have a
braided ring on a braided stem. Wind the stem with an extra string;
then tie a hard knot and cut away the ends of the string (Fig. 275).
[Illustration: Fig. 275.—The strands are ready for netting the ball
cover.]
[Illustration: Fig. 276.—First step in tying string covering for the
ball.]
[Illustration: Fig. 277.—Tie the knots in this way.]
Divide the loose strands into bunches of three strands each, making
eight bunches (Fig. 275). Pin the stem down to something stationary and
firm; then take three strands, or one bunch, in each hand, and pass the
first finger of your left hand between the two bunches; hold it there
while you carry the bunch in your right hand across the bunch in your
left hand; this forms a loop. Do not take your finger out of the loop
until the entire double knot is made. Bring the bunch from your right
hand under and through the loop formed by the crossing of the bunches;
this will give Fig. 276. Pull the strings until the tie is a short
distance from the stem; then tie the same strands again to form a firm
knot. Fig. 277 shows the method.
Tie together two more bunches, and two more, until all the bunches have
been used and you have made four knots (Fig. 278).
[Illustration: Fig. 278.—First row of knots in ball cover.]
[Illustration: Fig. 279.—The uncovered tether-ball.]
[Illustration: Fig. 280.—The second row of knots in ball covering.]
[Illustration: Fig. 281.—Covering of tether-ball almost complete.]
Fit the network over your ball (Fig. 279), allowing the covering to
remain on the ball while you tie the bunches of strands into another
row of four knots below the first row. Look at Fig. 278. The bunches
are all numbered, showing how they are to be united. Corresponding
numbers must be tied together: 1 with 1, 2 with 2, and so on. The
result will be like Fig. 280.
[Illustration: Fig. 282.—Tying final knot on the bottom of the ball.]
Keep the ball in the net and make another lower row of knots, which
will give you Fig. 281.
Now turn the ball over and tie two opposite bunches of strands up tight
and firm against the bottom of the ball (Fig. 282 A). Bring together
the remaining two bunches, B and C, and tie them over the knot A. Again
tie in a hard, firm knot; then bind all the strands together by winding
with a separate piece of string. Fasten securely.
It is necessary for the ball to be covered, so that it may have a
strong yet harmless ring at the top, for no metal may be used on the
ball. [Illustration: Fig. 284.—The tether-ball court.]
[Illustration: Fig. 285.—Cut a notch near the top of the pole.]
[Illustration: Fig. 286.—The tether pole is erected and ready for the
game.]
[Illustration: Fig. 283.—Mark out the tether-ball court in this way.]
Before erecting the pole you must mark out
=A Court on the Grounds.=
Drive a stick in the earth where you want your pole to stand. On this
stick tie a piece of string close to the ground; then sharpen the end
of another short stick and tie the other end of the string on the
second stick near its top; let the string measure two and one-half feet
from one stick to the other stick. Pressing the point of the second
stick slantingly against the earth, run it around and around in a
circle until a circular line is distinctly marked (Fig. 283), then you
can pull out the stake and dig a hole where it stood at the centre, and
plant your pole. Mark a straight line across the centre of the circle
and extend this straight line beyond the edge of the circle six feet
on each side. On opposite sides of each of the straight lines running
out from the circle mark a cross about two and one-half feet from the
circle and two and one-half feet from the line, F and F (Fig. 284). The
cross designates the spot where the player on either side must stand to
serve the ball when the game begins. The crosses are called service
crosses.
[Illustration: Fig. 287.—This is the first step in tying the ball to
the pole-string.]
[Illustration: Fig. 288.—Second step in tying ball to pole-string.]
[Illustration: Fig. 289.—The tether ready to play.]
The length of the tether pole you are to use depends upon your height
and that of your young friends. Make the pole long enough to allow
being planted sufficiently deep to be firm and steady and extend up
above the surface of the ground, vertically, to the height of about
three feet above your head. Cut a notch near the top of the pole before
erecting it (Fig. 285). Tie one end of a long string fast around the
notch. The string must be well waxed, twisted and doubled and waxed
again, and it must reach within two feet of the ground. Tie the ball
on the loose end of the string and erect your pole so firmly that it
will not even tremble when you bat the attached ball ever so vigorously
(Fig. 286). Fig. 287 gives the first step in tying the ball on the pole
string. D is the end attached to the pole, E is the loose end. Pass
E under D, then around back again over D and through the loop (Fig.
288); repeat this stitch over and over, drawing the string very tight
each time. Finish by tying the E end of the string on the D end in
several knots. Examine Fig. 289. It will give you the process of tying,
but the knots are drawn loose that you may see how each is made. Paint
a red ring around the pole just above the height of your head. Make
=A Pattern for the Rackets=
of a piece of paper twelve inches long and five and one-half inches
wide; fold the paper lengthwise through the centre and cut according to
curved line in Fig. 290. Open the pattern and lay it over a shingle,
the handle at the thickest part; draw a pencil line around it and
carefully whittle out the racket. Smooth down the rough edges with
sandpaper (Fig. 291). Make a second racket in the same way. Now let us
thoroughly understand the meaning of the divisions of the court before
attempting the game. Inside the ground circle no one shall go, for it
is not allowable at any time during the game to step on, or within, or
reach over the circle line on the ground surrounding the tether pole.
The straight line is used to divide the ground into two courts, one on
each side of the line, making a separate court for each player.
[Illustration: Fig. 290.—Paper pattern for the racket.]
[Illustration: Fig. 291.—The finished racket looks like this.]
The cross in each court is intended to mark the spot where a player
must stand to “serve” or strike the ball when the game first begins.
The player must stand on the cross of the chosen court while serving;
at other times during the game she may go any place within her court,
but she must stay in her own court on her own side of the line.
=The Object of the Game=
is for each player to strike the ball on the end of the string in such
a way as to cause the string with ball attached to wind completely
around the pole above the red band.
The game is intended for two players, and it begins by each one, in
turn, tossing a small stone or piece of wood as near as possible to the
tether pole while standing at a spot, previously marked, ten feet from
the pole. The girl landing a stone nearest the pole has first turn and
choice of courts; the other player must go in the court on the opposite
side and beyond the circle.
The server holds the ball in her hand and, striking it with her racket,
endeavors to send the ball winding around the pole, but as the ball
approaches the other player or opponent, the opponent tries to stop the
progress of the ball with her racket and send the ball back to wind
around the pole in the opposite direction. As the ball returns toward
the first player, a second time she endeavors to strike it and wind the
string her way around the pole. In this manner the ball is kept going
back and forth between the two players until one player succeeds in
winding the entire string and ball above the red band; this wins the
game, and the girl winning the greatest number of games out of eleven
wins the set.
While playing the game the ball may be struck but once at a time, no
player being allowed to have two or more trials during one turn.
The turns shall alternate between the two players.
If a player fails to send the ball into her opponent’s court on its way
around the pole, the failure is called a fault, and the player making
the fault loses her turn. The lost turn goes to the opponent, who then
stands on the cross in her own court and has a free strike at the ball.
If a player strikes the ball more than once during one turn, she is
guilty of a fault, and loses her next turn. If a player over-steps the
boundary of her own court in any way, she is guilty of a fault and
loses a turn. When the string winds around the handle of the racket, or
winds about the tether pole below the red band, the player so winding
the string commits a fault and loses a turn.
All faults give the opponent a free hit from the cross on her own court.
When grown-up girls and boys play tether-ball, the pole must stand nine
feet high when erected. The red band on the pole must be six feet above
the ground. The circle on the ground around the pole must be three feet
in diameter. The straight line dividing the courts must extend ten feet
outward from each side of the pole, making the entire length twenty
feet. The ball must hang, when at rest, two and one-half feet from the
ground.
This game may be played by sides, of equal numbers.
PART II
MINIATURE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
CHAPTER XIX
THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT
IF you could have seen a certain little boy who lived so long ago that
it would make you dizzy to try to think back to the time when he ran
about playing and learning many things, you would have thought him a
queer looking little chap. He was not clothed like boys of our day, and
his skin was almost a copper color, resembling somewhat that of the
American Indian. His name was a very odd one, spelled C-h-e-o-p-s and
pronounced Ke-ops—possibly his comrades nicknamed him “Key” when they
played together on the sand. He had another name, Khufu, and it is hard
to tell which the boy liked better.
=Cheops’s Home=
was in Egypt, where there are more crocodiles than you can count, and
doubtless the little brown fellow, at a safe distance, enjoyed watching
the sleepy creatures while he vaguely wondered why crocodiles always
crawled up on the banks to lie so long and still in the sun. There were
many other strange animals and queer Egyptian things—unlike any you
have ever seen—that interested and delighted the child. When Khufu grew
to be a man he was
=A Great Monarch,=
an Egyptian King, and instead of watching crocodiles busied himself
watching and ruling a nation. The King did not bother greatly about the
house he lived in, but spent much energy and many years in building an
enormous pyramid, the largest ever erected at any time. When you grow
older you may possibly take a trip to Egypt and see this
=Wonderful Structure,=
built 900 B.C. It is made of huge stones, most of them thirty feet
long, five feet high and four or five feet wide. How do you suppose men
ever managed to lift such monstrous blocks to build the pyramid? Well,
they were obliged to labor very hard, for it took two hundred layers of
stones for the pile, and all the work was done with the utmost care and
precision.
You must also use care and precision in building your Egyptian
pyramids. Have them exact, and in place of the heavy stone blocks use
=Coarse Sandpaper=
If possible, get it of a tawny yellow hue, that the miniature pyramids
may be the same color as the originals, now that the outside casings of
the latter are off. King Cheops had an army of one hundred thousand men
laboring constantly during twenty long years to pile up his stones. You
can make your Khufu Pyramid in twenty minutes and need employ only ten
fingers instead of one hundred thousand men.
[Illustration: The Great Egyptian Pyramid Cheops, Made of Sandpaper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 292.—Cut one side of the pyramid of sandpaper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 293.—Gum narrow strips of muslin along the right
side edge.]
[Illustration: Fig. 294.—Join all the parts together.]
Cut one side of
=The Pyramid=
from sandpaper (Fig. 292); if the paper is not stiff enough, paste
it on a piece of cardboard; an old box-lid will do. Make two more
sides like the first and gum narrow strips of muslin along the right
side edge of each (Fig. 293). The dotted line shows the edge of the
pasteboard underneath the cloth. Join all the parts together by means
of these strips (Fig. 294). When making the fourth side, extend it
out into the projection (T, Fig. 294) and cut a corresponding slit in
the first side (U, Fig. 294). Place the pyramid down flat on a level
surface under a weight to dry. When ready remove it and cut off the
ends of the strips (S, V, O, Fig. 294); then bend the toy into shape
by bringing the first and fourth sections together and sliding T into
U (Fig. 294). The pyramid must stand erect and firm as in Fig. 295.
Remember that the four sides of the real pyramid are built upon
=A Perfect Square,=
and the base lines of yours should also form a true square. If you
can get some tough paper which will fold together in a flat crease
without breaking, you may make the pyramid of one piece instead of
four, by cutting it the shape of Fig. 296 and bending it evenly along
the dotted lines to form the four slanting sides. The loose ends must
be fastened together by means of extension and slit. If you have no
regular sandpaper make some. Give the paper a thin wash of glue, and
before it dries sprinkle it evenly with sand. An old kitchen pepper-box
filled with sand will make a fine sprinkler. If you cannot get the
pepper-box, take a small empty baking-powder can and punch tiny holes
in the cover by hammering a fine wire nail through the tin in many
places; use it as a sprinkler. You must prepare the paper and have it
evenly sanded before cutting out the design.
[Illustration: Fig. 296.—You may make the pyramid in one piece.]
In Egypt there are three famous structures in addition to the
Sphinx: the great pyramid, the middle-sized pyramid and the little
pyramid—like the big bear, the middle-sized bear and the little wee
bear in the story book. Each
=Pile of Stones=
was set up by a different king, and each one is named for the monarch
who built it. The largest is called for Cheops; the second is named
Chephren (pronounced Kefren) and the smallest has the longest name
Mycerinus (pronounced Me-ker-in-us). Make the colossal Cheops as large
as the dimensions of your paper will admit. The original is like a
mountain, measuring 746 feet each side of the square foundation and
reaching up 450 feet and nine inches in height.
King Chephren did not build his stones quite as high; he was satisfied
with a base, each side of which is 690 feet and nine inches and a
height of 447 feet and six inches. The last, King Mycerinus, must have
grown tired of playing with the stone blocks, for his pyramid is merely
a hill 203 feet high, with each side of the foundation 354 feet and
six inches, not nearly so tall as Cheops’s monument. Build your little
pyramid about half as high as the second one.
After making the Egyptian structures, naturally you might think that
they could be grouped as you pleased to place them, but these pyramids
are
=Different from Ordinary Toys=
and must always be fixed in certain positions. Stand them in a diagonal
row, each one facing exactly E. W. N. S. Fig. 297 gives their correct
positions. The first must stand to the northeast of the second, the
second to the northeast of the third, and the Sphinx east of the second
monument.
[Illustration: Fig. 297.—Stand the pyramids in a diagonal row.]
There, they are finished. Now that we have built the pyramids, let us
=Carve the Wonderful Sphinx=
with its body like a crouching lion and its head, like a man’s,
modelled from that of an ancient Egyptian. The original is an enormous
queer creature hewn from stone and made before the pyramids were built;
consequently, it is very old. It was on the plains more than 4,000
years before the birth of Christ. Little wonder that it now appears
worn and chipped and that, like your small sister’s doll its nose is
broken off.
[Illustration: Fig. 298.—Cut the Sphinx out like this.]
Begin carving the Sphinx by cutting a larger size from Fig. 298 of
stiff sandpaper. Mark the head with ink as nearly as possible like Fig.
299. Should you fail in this, find a print of the head in some old
paper or magazine, cut it out and paste it on Fig. 298. Bend the design
across the dotted line, and the Sphinx will be ready to crouch close
down on your sandy plain. There is no need of carving the body, because
that of the real Sphinx is entirely covered with sand, with only the
head above ground, and we want ours to look like the original.
[Illustration: Fig. 299.—The head of the Sphinx should look like this.]
In parts of Egypt the wind sweeps the sand in great masses against and
over all objects, so the people had their
=Buildings Made with Slanting Sides=
that the sand might slip off when it struck them. Try pouring some sand
on your pyramids and you will understand the reason of the peculiar
style of architecture. The land in Egypt on which the Sphinx and
pyramids stand is the plain of Gizeh; consequently, you must give that
name to the place where you set up your structures. The
=Tall Date Palm=
is a beautiful tree. The leaves are glossy and spread out in a graceful
crown; its stem is marked with old leaf scars, giving it a very
different appearance from the bark of our native trees.
[Illustration: Fig. 300.—Cut this from green paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 301.—The tall date palm.]
[Illustration: Fig. 302.—Bend the stem where it joins the base.]
Cut Fig. 300 from light-weight green paper, and mark it as Fig. 301;
then cut Fig. 302 of very stiff pasteboard. Paste Fig. 300 on the top
over the letter P; next bend the stem where it joins the base (Fig.
302) and plant the tree almost any place on your plain of Gizeh.
[Illustration: Fig. 303.—Enlarge this camel.]
[Illustration: Fig. 304.—Make the saddle of writing paper.]
Several date palms, either grouped or scattered, would look well and
tend to relieve the severity of the landscape. A thin layer of sand
sprinkled over the plain, the stand of the Sphinx and the paper roots
or stands of the trees will give the place a realistic appearance, and
the scene will then be ready for the camels and Arabs. You may own
=As Many Camels as You Desire;=
all you have to do is to use the old Egyptian method of squares, as
explained in Chapter XIV, and it will enlarge the camel in Fig. 303;
then cut out the figure, lay it down flat on cardboard and run a lead
pencil around its edge. Cut out this second animal and repeat the
outline as often as you want camels. You will then have fine camels
which will stand firm on four feet and be strong enough to carry
burdens.
[Illustration: Fig. 305.—Fold the saddle in this way.]
[Illustration: Fig. 306.—Cut out the Arab like this.]
=Make the Saddle=
of writing paper (Fig. 304). Paint or mark it as in Fig. 308, fold it
like Fig. 305 and fit it on the camel’s back.
[Illustration: Fig. 307.—Fold together at back in this way.]
[Illustration: Fig. 308.—Arab on the camel.]
Cut out the Arab (Fig. 306), being sure to make the short slit in the
back of the drapery so that the man will sit well on the saddle. Along
the dotted lines place a strip of paste and fold the figure at the
back, pasting the two sides together at the centre (Fig. 307). When
dry mark as in Fig. 308 and mount him on the animal. As a harness tie
a string on the camel’s head, ornament it with tiny tassels (Fig.
309) and give the end of the string to the Arab, threading the string
through the hole in his right hand (Fig. 308).
[Illustration: Fig. 309.—Fasten a harness on the camel’s head.]
The trees, animals and men must be placed some distance in front of the
pyramids, that the latter may seem to be a long way off; otherwise,
all your objects will be out of proportion, because when a live camel
stands close up to the Grand Pyramid it looks very small. Have several
=Camels with Men Riding=
them, some free from harness and rider, others held with the halter by
Bedouins seated on paper rocks, which you can make by bending a piece
of cardboard the right height.
All the objects given can be enlarged to any desired size by the system
of squares shown in Chapter 14, and the entire Egyptian scene may be
taken up, each piece folded flat and placed in a large envelope when
not in use.
CHAPTER XX
THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES
PRETEND this is not the twentieth century, but 288 B.C., and that,
with many other young people, your home is hundreds of miles away on a
little island in the Mediterranean Sea called Rhodes. Here the weather
is sunshiny and bright, and children do not have to remain indoors
because of the rain, for on this delightful island the sun comes forth
in all its glory nearly every day during the year. The people think so
much of the sun that they erect statues to it, which they call “sun
gods”; they even have the head of a sun god on one side of their coins,
and on the other side they print a rose, for the citizens of Rhodes are
almost as fond of that flower as they are of the sun. Such quantities
of roses grow on the island that all girls can have as many as they
wish.
Now, we will play that
=Your Name is Chares=
of Lindus, that you are a great sculptor and can model all sorts of
wonderful and beautiful objects, and that the city of Rhodes has
commissioned you to make a gigantic bronze statue of Apollo, their
sun god. So you must pretend that you have built two small islands at
the entrance to the port of Rhodes, and that on each island you have
erected immense stone pedestals fifty feet high, so that your Colossus
need not be obliged to stand in the water. The statue must be made
to span the harbor with “legs wide apart,” as Napoleon stands in the
pictures of history.
Apollo must be very large, about one hundred and eleven feet high, in
order that every ship entering the harbor may pass between the legs of
this
=Towering Colossus=
as a tribute to the god; and when sailors approach the statue and pass
beneath it they will marvel at the beautiful figure of polished metal
and carry news of it all over the world.
[Illustration: Fig. 310.—Enlarge this pattern very carefully.]
Make the Colossus of bronze filled in with stone. Use stiff fine lawn
or fine batiste as the outer bronze covering of the statue; let the
cloth be perfectly smooth, without a wrinkle. Take raw cotton batting
for the stone filling. Enlarge very carefully on stiff, smooth paper
the pattern (Fig. 310); make it measure nine and one-fourth inches
from the tip-top line to the bottom line; then cut it out and lay the
paper pattern down flat over a double fold of the cloth. With a soft
lead pencil run a line on the cloth entirely around the figure; be
particular about having all the curves of the figure correct. Baste
the two layers of cloth together and machine-stitch them around the
outside edge of the pencil outline.
[Illustration: Fig. 313.—Your Colossus of Rhodes will look like this.]
=Do not Sew the Lines Straight=
where they should curve; remember this and devote the best of your
talents to the work.
Leave a half-inch opening at the shoulder of the upraised arm A (Fig.
311). Pull off a bit of the soft, raw cotton and force it in at the
opening A (Fig. 311) between the front and back of the figure. With a
smooth, slender, dull-pointed stick push the cotton well up into one of
the points surrounding the head, which represent the rays of the sun.
When you have the cotton in the tip of the point, pack in another piece
and continue to stuff the point with cotton until it is filled out
firmly. Stuff all the points and the head in the same way; then fill
the opposite shoulder and upper part of the arm which is held down at
the side, and next the uplifted hand and arm, and the body.
[Illustration: Fig. 311.—This is the way to build the Colossus.]
=Begin at the Sole=
of the left foot and stuff the lower half of the partially filled
hanging arm, then the lower part of the body and the entire length of
the leg, and fill in the other leg. Before stuffing the feet take two
strong, stiff hat-pins and break off the heads. If you bend the ends
in removing the heads, hammer them out straight again; the pins must
be perfectly straight. Very carefully work a pin, broken end first, up
each leg well into the body. The dotted lines along the legs in Fig.
311 represent the pins placed inside; the points of the pins extend
not less than an inch and a half below the feet B, B (Fig. 311). C, C
(Fig. 311) shows the raw cotton, which has not yet been packed into
the feet. Lift the figure by the two pin points, and if it is firm
and stiff finish stuffing the feet; if it bends when held by the pin
points, carefully twist out the pins and insert them again, adjusting
them until they keep the figure stiffly upright when held by the points.
Sew up all the openings and
=Cut Out the Statue,=
then slowly punch open the centre of the divisions between the rays
around the head and the uplifted arm, with the point of a blade of the
scissors. Enlarge each hole by twisting the pointed end of a penholder
around and around until the opening is sufficiently large. Turn the
Colossus over on the other side and carefully cut away the fringe
of cloth that surrounds each opening. In like manner open the space
between the body and the arm extending down the side.
When stuffing the figure, use the cotton soft; do not roll it into
hard wads, and be careful not to run the end of the stick through the
cloth covering and tear it; the same care must be taken when inserting
the pins up the legs. With thread and needle stitch an outline between
the fingers and around the lower portion of the raised hand. Filling
in the figure with cotton will give you an idea of the labor your
great-grandmothers expended upon their bedquilts when they stuffed
elaborate designs of grapes and vines on the coverings. Such quilts
are now highly valued. Give Apollo an
=All-over Coat of Varnish=
When the statue is perfectly dry bronze it with liquid bronze, and
if the small openings by the side of the arms seem partially to have
closed, twist the end of the pen handle through each one to enlarge the
spaces.
[Illustration: Fig. 312.—Cut a strip of cloth for drapery.]
Cut a strip of cloth according to Fig. 312 for drapery. Hold one end
against the figure at the side where the arm joins the body and fold
the cloth loosely across the front and around the back of the figure,
bringing the other end of the drapery forward through the space between
the arm and the body. Fasten it in place with a pin (Fig. 313). Bronze
the scarf so that no portion of unbronzed cloth is visible; then
allow the statue to dry, and with sharp scissors trim off any little
ravellings along the edges of the stitching. With pen and ink
=Mark the Features=
on the face. The chin being held up foreshortens the face; this means
that the position causes the features to look as if they were closer
together than they actually are, and that the eyebrows are nearer the
top of the head, which makes all the features seem higher than when
the chin is held level. Do not forget this while inking the face. Draw
rather high on the forehead two curved lines for the eyebrows; under
these mark two curved oblongs for the eyes, a curve for the nose, with
two elongated dots for nostrils, a larger curve for the mouth and a
little one for the lower lip. Practise drawing the face on a piece of
paper before attempting to ink it on the bronze head.
[Illustration: Making the Colossus of Rhodes]
Find or make two boxes of heavy cardboard each about two and a half
inches high, an inch and a half wide, and two and a half inches deep.
Open the boxes and give the outside a thin coating of glue. While the
glue is wet sprinkle with sand, and, when dry, replace the covers and
the boxes will be two stone pedestals for the statue.
=Erect Apollo=
upon the stone foundation by pushing the projecting pin points through
the tops of the boxes; work a cork on the end of each pin point, having
the cork large enough to rest firmly on the bottom of the box after
it is attached to the pin point; then, holding each cork in place,
fasten them in turn to the bottom of the box by pushing a common pin up
through the bottom of the box into the cork. Fig. 314 shows the inside
of the sanded box with the point of the hat-pin firmly planted in the
top of the cork, while the cork is held securely to the bottom of the
box by means of the pin run into it from the outside of the box. Apollo
must stand firm; the statue and foundation boxes should be so securely
fastened together as to seem made in one piece.
[Illustration: Fig. 314.—Fasten the statue’s feet to the boxes in this
way.]
There, the famous Colossus of Rhodes, one of the renowned Seven Wonders
of the World, is completed, and now that you have made the statue you
can never forget it. Pretend that Apollo towers in the air at least
one hundred and fifty feet when on the pedestals. Of course, such a
remarkable piece of sculpture could not be constructed in a moment’s
time, so make-believe that you, the sculptor, Chares, of Lindus, have
been twelve years at work on the wonderful bronze figure. Get a sheet
of blue tissue paper to serve as the water, stand Apollo on it, and
make two or three
=Tiny Paper Boats with Masts;=
set them on the water under the bronze statue that the vessels may be
sailing beneath the statue into the harbor of Rhodes (Fig. 313).
When you have erected the Colossus on a table and everything is ready,
invite the girls and boys in to see the work; tell them all about the
statue’s being one of the “Seven Wonders of the World” and what fun
you had making Apollo, and that you intend to make another of the
“Wonders,” which you will show to them.
Play that the Colossus has stood guard over the harbor of Rhodes for
fifty-six years; then make an earthquake
=Tumble it Down=
Double up your hand and give a hard knock on the under side of the top
of the table, exactly beneath the spot on which Apollo stands. With a
little aid of the imagination the noise produced will sound like the
rumbling of an earthquake, and the shock will cause the earth, or the
top of the table, to tremble and quake violently, and down will fall
the Colossus.
Make believe that
=The Statue is Broken=
in many pieces and that the people of Rhodes allow the fragments to lie
scattered on the ground, for you know that after the real Colossus had
been thrown down, it remained where it had fallen for many centuries,
until the year 656 A.D., when Rhodes was conquered by the Saracens, who
sold many of the pieces of the bronze sun god to a Jew of Syria Edessa.
This man had nine hundred camels carry the fragments on their backs to
Alexandria.
Nearly three centuries after the disaster, Pliny saw the pieces of
the Colossus still lying where it fell: “And even as it lies there
prostrate,” he reports, “it stirs to wonder. Few men can clasp its
thumb with their arms; the fingers alone are greater than most statues;
vast caverns yawn in its shattered limbs; within one sees blocks of
stone by whose weight the builder established it.”
=The Colossus=
cost about $500,000, which was obtained from the sale of the engines
of war presented to the Rhodians by a man named Demetrios Poliorketes,
after they had made him give up the siege of their city, 303 B.C.
There were several thousand statues in Rhodes but none so large as
the Colossus, which is said to have weighed 720,900 pounds. The
famous Laocoön and the Farnese Bull were both modelled in Rhodes. In
Roman time Rhodes was thought the fairest city in the world and is
described by historians as superior to all other cities of its era,
for the beauty and convenience of its ports, streets, walls and public
edifices, all of which were profusely adorned with works of art. Among
the students in its university were Brutus, Cassius, Cæsar and Cicero,
and the first Greek grammar, the one which became the model of Greek
and Latin grammars, was written in this city, so you find that Rhodes
has played a very important part in the world. But the island of Rhodes
is no more a powerful state; it is now a possession of Turkey, and
is ruled by a pasha, who holds office for life, governing also the
adjoining islands belonging to Turkey, and collects the revenues. We
will have interesting news from time to time from this same island, for
one of the newspapers has stated that a Danish scientific expedition
will go to discover all that remains of the Colossus of Rhodes. You
must be on the lookout, therefore, to know how much they find of the
statue and how the pieces look; then you will wish to compare your
Colossus of Rhodes with the facts stated and any pictures which may be
published on the subject to see how closely your Apollo resembles the
original “Wonder” of the world.
[Illustration: Cardboard Pharos of Alexandria]
CHAPTER XXI
THE PHAROS OF ALEXANDRIA AND THE MAUSOLEUM OF HALICARNASSUS
PLAY that you are Sostratus of Cnidus, a great architect, and that you
live in the city of Alexandria, on the coast of Egypt. Here there is
a King called Ptolemy, who desires you to erect a building different
from any ever known; he wants something grand, original and unique, an
immense structure adapted to an entirely new purpose. You must make it
of white stone and do your very best, for you are to have the honor of
building the “Pharos of Alexandria,”
=The First Lighthouse Ever Known=
Think what that means: When it is finished the people from other
countries will see your Pharos and wonder why it never occurred to
them to build a lighthouse, and they will hurry to erect similar
structures on their coasts, that sailors on all the seas may have
guides in times of danger and not be dependent upon bonfires burning
at the entrances of harbors. These chance watch-fires are now the only
kind of lighthouses the people have, so get ready your material and
make preparations for building, that you may help the poor sailors.
Remember, though, that we are living in the third century B.C., and
that we are not in the United States but on the island of Pharos.
[Illustration: Fig. 315.—Foundation of Pharos of Alexandria.]
Select the eastern extremity of the island for
=Your Building Lot=
It happens that your lighthouse will be on an island in the identical
Mediterranean Sea in which the Colossus was reared, only not on the
same side of the water. The island of Pharos has a neck of land, built
by men, which stretches through the water to the city of Alexandria,
making it easy to go back and forth for building material. You must
have plenty of ground space for your new style of beacon-light, because
the foundation is to be very large, about six hundred feet square, and
the building will be many stories, growing smaller and smaller in
size as the stories extend upward. The lighthouse must be five hundred
feet high, that the light may be seen miles out at sea.
[Illustration: Building the Pharos of Alexandria]
Stiff, white paper will answer for the stone.
[Illustration: Fig. 316.—Begin with a piece of paper like this.]
[Illustration: Fig. 317.—Run a line across one side.]
[Illustration: Fig. 318.—Make another line on the opposite side.]
=Cut the Foundation=
piece like Fig. 315 with a square centre measuring five inches along
the dotted lines on each of the four edges. Near two of the edges are
long slits (A A). Extending out from the centre square are the four
sides of the square, each an inch and a half in depth. On one end of
each side there is a flap, C, at the opposite end a slit, B, and two
of the sides have an extra extension, or bottom flap, D. Cut all of
the heavy lines and carefully crease the dotted lines. The best way to
make Fig. 315 is to cut a piece of paper eight inches wide and eleven
inches long (Fig. 316). Run a line lengthwise across one inch and a
half from the outer edge (Fig. 317); repeat the same on the opposite
edge (Fig. 318); then mark a line across each of the ends three inches
from the edge (Fig. 319). Make another line midway between this line
and the edge at each end, which will bring the division one inch and a
half from the edge E, E (Fig. 320). Crease all the lines, bending them
inward. Open out the paper after each folding, and when all lines have
been creased and opened you will find it very easy to mark and cut the
sides and flaps of Fig. 315.
[Illustration: Fig. 319.—A line across each end.]
[Illustration: Fig. 320.—Another line will divide the space at each
end.]
[Illustration: Fig. 321.—First story of Pharos of Alexandria.]
[Illustration: Fig. 322.—Second story of Pharos of Alexandria.]
[Illustration: Fig. 323.—Third story of Pharos of Alexandria.]
[Illustration: Fig. 324.—Fourth story of Pharos of Alexandria.]
Cut three more papers for
=The Next Three Stories;=
divide them with lines like Figs. 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, and cut them
like Figs. 322, 323, 324. The centres of these must each be smaller
than the last, measuring respectively four, three and two inches
square, but the depth of the sides remains the same. The size of your
second-story paper will be ten by seven inches, the third, nine by six
inches, and the fourth, having the bottom flaps, measure one instead
of one and a half inches, as do the others, requires paper seven by
five inches. Figs. 321, 322, 323, 324 are given to show the relative
sizes of the four stories when the paper is cut and laid out flat; the
diagrams are also intended to explain the cutting of the slits on the
centre squares. Notice that in the first story (Fig. 321), as in the
additional three stories, neither of the ends of the left-hand slit
reaches to the edge of the square, while the right-hand slit (H H, Fig.
321) touches at one edge. In the second story (Fig. 322) the right-hand
slit not only runs to the edge of the square, but there turns at right
angles and extends through the edge of the paper (G G). The right-hand
slit of the third story (Fig. 323) differs from the other two; it
runs within a short distance of the edge of the square, where it turns
at right angles, making a straight line to the adjoining side of the
square, there turning again at a sharp angle; the slit reaches entirely
through the edge of the paper H, H (Fig. 323). In the fourth story
(Fig. 324) the slits are cut like those in the first story I, I (Fig.
324), being the long slit. Fig. 325 gives the diagram for the fifth
story, which is the top one.
[Illustration: Fig. 325.—Fifth story of Pharos of Alexandria.]
[Illustration: Fig. 326—The pitch-wood fire.]
=This Room=
has large openings in the four sides to allow the beacon-light to shine
out into the dark night. The centre of the diagram (Fig. 325) is one
inch square; two of the sides have slits cut near each side edge of the
windows; on the other sides of the squares are extending flaps. Cut
all the heavy lines, and bend inward and crease all the dotted lines,
then put the top story together in proper form by sliding the four
side edge flaps through the slits, which will bring the edges of the
sides together, forming the four corners of the room. Bend back and
crease down the portion of the flaps which extend inside of the room;
do this to make the fastenings secure. Use strips of bright-red and
orange-colored tissue paper cut into fringe on one edge and twisted
together into a bunch, as in Fig. 326, for the
=Pitch-Wood Fire=
which is to gleam out upon the treacherous approaches to the harbor.
Having fuel for the make-believe fire, and white stone, or paper, cut
ready for building, your lighthouse may be erected in a few moments.
Pierce a small hole in the exact centre of Fig. 324 C, and bend down
the sides, allowing the side flap of each to extend around the corner
and on the outside of the adjoining side. Slip the end of each flap
through the slit which it covers, shown by B, Fig. 315, and bend back
the end that comes through on the inside; fit the end of the fire (Fig.
326) tightly into the hole C on the top of Fig. 324 and the work will
resemble Fig. 327. Through the two slits on each side of the fire slide
the two bottom flaps of the fifth or top story; flatten the ends of the
flaps up tight to the under side of the top of the fourth story. Be
sure to keep the front side of each succeeding story directly under the
front side of the one over it, that the steps may fit in place. Fasten
each lower story to the one above in the same way that you attached the
fourth to the fifth.
[Illustration: Fig. 327.—Fourth story with pitch-wood fire ready for
fifth story.]
When the Pharos is finished make the three flights of
=White Marble Steps=
leading to the top of the lighthouse. Cut the top flight (Fig. 328)
of stiff white paper. Let it measure one-half inch in width and four
and one-half inches in length, including the top landing. The side
extension K of the landing should be three-quarters of an inch long.
Fold the flat, straight strip of paper back and forth many times,
in fan fashion and crease firmly to form steps (Fig. 329). Slip the
extension K into the slit I on the right-hand side of the top of the
fourth story, and slide the bottom of the stairs into the slit H on
the left-hand edge of the third story. Make the next flight of steps
like the top ones, only longer—five and one-half inches in length
before being creased. Place the end of the platform extension over the
bottom of the top flight; run it through the slit H which turns at
right angles from the edge and fasten the bottom of the steps in the
right-hand slit edge (G) of the second story. Attach the third flight
of marble steps diagonally across the second story in the same manner.
The paper strip for these last should measure when flat seven inches in
length.
[Illustration: Fig. 328.—Top flight of marble steps.]
[Illustration: Fig. 329.—Top flight with steps creased ready to attach
to lighthouse.]
The real Sostratus of Cnidus had a
=Natural Island=
on which to erect his lighthouse, but you may have the fun of making
one for your Pharos. Find a box a little larger than the lighthouse and
cover it loosely with any kind of stiff cloth; have the cloth smooth
and tight only over the space on which the Pharos is to stand. On
all the other portions of the box the covering should be irregularly
placed, so that it will jut out in places; fold in others and have as
much the appearance of an immense rough rock as possible. If the box
is of pasteboard, sew the cover on with a stitch here and there; if of
wood, tack the cover on. When ready glue or
=Tack the Island=
on a foundation of wood or one of heavy pasteboard covered with
sea-blue cloth or paper to represent the waters of the Mediterranean
Sea; give the island a very light coat of varnish or glue, except the
central space reserved for the lighthouse. Be careful not to allow the
glue to dampen the cloth sufficiently to make it limp. While the glue
is moist, sprinkle generously with sand. When dry, glue on the Pharos.
Turn inward the down-hanging bottom flaps and glue them down securely
to the stone. Draw the statue (Fig. 330) on white paper and cut it out.
Then cut a slip up through the centre of its stand, bend the stand at
the dotted line, one half of it forward, the other half backward, and
paste the statue upright on top of the building.
[Illustration: Fig. 330.—Statue.]
If you would like to do just as the real architect Sostratus did, write
your name in this way:
SOSTRATUS OF CNIDUS TO THE RESCUING GODS, FOR THE BENEFIT OF
SAILORS
on one side of the first story of the Pharos; then paint over it with
white paint so that the name cannot be seen. After the paint has dried,
write over the white paint, “King Ptolemy.” Sostratus of old carved his
name deep on the stone wall of the building, then plastered over it
and set the King’s name in the plaster. Instead of the plaster you have
used paint.
Now place the Pharos in the bright sunlight; let it stand between
you and the light, with the corners of one of the front edges toward
you, and see how well it appears, and how closely the colored tissue
resembles real fire burning and shining brightly from the top openings.
Make tiny paper boats, not over an inch in length, with wee paper
sails, and scatter them on the make-believe water. The contrast in size
of the Pharos and boats will give a faint idea of the huge proportions
of the lighthouse. Call in
=Your Friends=
and let them enjoy the lighthouse with you; tell them they must pretend
that the structure is gigantic in size, that the laborers were paid
only twenty cents a day, and even with such low wages, the Pharos cost
over a million dollars. Explain to them how all lighthouses of the
Roman world were named Pharos, after your building, because yours was
the first and marks an epoch in the world’s history. Say to the boys
and girls that this white building you are showing them is one of the
Seven Wonders of the World, and beside being very beautiful, it is one
of the most useful of all the “Seven Wonders.” You must make believe
that your Pharos was completed in the year 282 B.C., and remained
standing sixteen centuries.
[Illustration: Fig. 331.—The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.]
=The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus.=
Turn a square or nearly square pasteboard box upside down. On the
centre of the top glue a pasteboard cella made like the one in the
Temple of Diana, Chapter XXIII. Surround the cella with paper pillars
made in the same manner as those in Chapter XXIII, and glue them along
the four edges of the box. Cover all with a pasteboard ceiling glued
on; then make a pyramid of white pasteboard, similar to the Egyptian
pyramid, but let this one have a flat top. Fasten the pyramid on top of
the ceiling and paste four paper horses with chariot and driver on a
small box on top of the pyramid. Glue the structure on a board and make
two small boxes for each ground corner. Fasten these in place and paste
a paper horse with rider on top of each box, then your Mausoleum will
be finished (Fig. 331). The building should be white. The original was
a monument in memory of Mausolos, and was built by his wife Artemisia.
It stood in the city of Caria on the southwestern tip of Asia Minor in
the year 353 B.C.
[Illustration: Fig. 345.—Your Little Statue of Zeus]
CHAPTER XXII
THE STATUE OF ZEUS AT OLYMPIA
IMAGINE that you see before you a majestic white statue of gigantic
size, made of ivory, seated upon an immense throne of ebony, ivory,
gold and precious stones, and wearing upon his golden hair a crown of
enamelled green olive leaves. Over one shoulder is thrown a mantle of
glittering gold, embroidered in white lilies, which falls down over his
ivory body across the knees. In one hand he holds the winged figure of
Victory, in the other a long, slender sceptre crowned with an eagle,
and on his feet are rich golden sandals. There: Was not that worth
seeing? You have been looking at Zeus of Olympia, the most beautiful
and wonderful statue ever made by Phidias, who lived ages ago and
modelled Zeus about the year 439 B.C.
[Illustration: Fig. 332.—Make Zeus of a doll.]
You can make a little statue of Zeus, but you must pretend that
=You Are the Sculptor Phidias=
and that you are actually modelling the real giant statue. Make believe
that hundreds of elephant tusks have been sent to you from distant
regions to supply enough ivory for the work, and that you have an
abundance of gold, precious stones and ebony. Make Zeus of a doll (Fig.
332) five and one-half or six inches in length. Pry off its wig, then
give the doll a coat of varnish. Should the arms be flat, round them
out with a layer of raw cotton glued on and paint the doll white all
over. You must make the entire doll absolutely white.
[Illustration: Fig. 333.—Gild hair, beard and mustache.]
[Illustration: Fig. 334.—Gild hair at the back.]
[Illustration: Fig. 335.—Gold sandals on the feet of Zeus.]
[Illustration: Fig. 336.—Fold the paper for cutting crown of olive
leaves.]
[Illustration: Fig. 337.—The crown of olive leaves.]
[Illustration: Fig. 338.—Zeus is ready for his robe.]
[Illustration: Fig. 339.—Make the throne like this.]
=Gild Hair, Beard and Mustache=
on the head (Figs. 333 and 334). Gild the sandals (Fig. 335). Make a
crown of green tissue paper olive leaves. Fold and cut like Figs. 336
and 337, and fasten together on the back of the head with glue. Bend
and bind Fig. 338 into a sitting position with feet crossed; keep the
statue so until you glue it on the throne. Cut the
=Throne of White Cardboard=
(Fig. 339); the back, seat and front from top of centre ornament to
extreme edge of front are six and three-quarter inches. The seat is
one and one-quarter inch wide and two and three-quarter inches long.
The arms are one inch high and the top of arm half an inch wide; the
length of arm is an inch and a quarter. The front is one inch wide,
the feet G and F, on each side are half an inch long not including the
flaps. Length of back of throne is four and one-half inches. Each side
is an inch and one-quarter wide; their greatest length, counting the
entire length of one of the feet, is an inch and a half. The width of
back piece (Fig. 340), not including X and X, is two and three-quarter
inches. The sides X and X are one and one-half inch in length, as they
fit exactly the under side of the throne sides J and J.
[Illustration: Fig. 340.—An extra back-piece for the throne.]
=Lightly Score,=
then bend dotted lines and cut heavy lines. Bend inward the side part A
(Fig. 339) including D and L; then bend forward the top part B; slide
C through D from outside and bend inward the box-like arm at E. Bend
the other arm likewise. Bend backward the sides extending along the
dotted lines F F and G G, then the front along dotted line H; at the
same time slide I and I against the inner sides of the throne J and J.
Bend forward the back of the throne at K. Bring forward the arms and
run L and L through M and M, then pass L and L forward through N and N,
and slide them back through O and O. Bring the extension P, including
T and Q, across the front; run the tongue Q through R. Bend the left
side, passing S through T and U, which fits directly under T; S must go
through the two slits to the under side of the chair.
=Use the Blade of a Penknife=
in sliding tongues and flaps through slits and use it to straighten out
the points of tongues after they are through the slits. Bend down and
backward W and W (Fig. 340); then bend back X and X and fasten Fig. 340
to the throne by sliding V through Y on back of throne. Rest the seat
of throne over W and W and the sides J and J (Fig. 339) over X and X
(Fig. 340). Attach the throne to the
=Upper Dais=
by lower flaps. Fig. 341 shows the upper dais. The four sides are each
one inch high, its top is three and one-half inches on each of the
sides; all four extensions are one inch and a quarter long, tongues not
counted, and the four slits are each an inch and one-quarter from the
edges of the sides.
The two slits marked, one with a square, the other with a diamond, hold
the flaps of the footstool (Fig. 342) marked with same designs. In the
diagrams of footstool and dais the slits are marked with designs like
the designs on flaps and tongues, which slide through them.
[Illustration: Fig. 341.—The upper dais of the throne.]
Bring the two correct parts of the upper dais (Fig. 341) together by
matching them, as heart to heart, etc. Cut heavy lines, lightly score
and bend dotted lines of the upper dais and put it in shape. Make the
top of
=Footstool=
(Fig. 342) an inch and a half long and one inch wide; let the front,
back and sides each be half an inch high, the back extensions one inch
long, the two side flaps each one inch long, front extensions an inch
and a half long, not including tongues. Cut heavy lines, score lightly
and bend dotted lines and slip tongues through slits.
[Illustration: Fig. 342.—The footstool for the feet of Zeus.]
=Attach the Stool=
to upper dais by bottom side flaps; bend the flaps up flat against
the under part of the dais. In the same way fasten the throne on the
upper dais by sliding the four down-hanging extensions through the four
remaining slits on top of the upper dais marked with the same designs.
Bend and put together the lower dais (Fig. 343) and fasten the upper
dais on it. Make the lower dais five inches square on top and one inch
high. Glue the bottom flaps of lower dais down on stiff cardboard or
thin wood, in size about eight by ten inches.
[Illustration: Fig. 343.—The lower dais.]
=Inlay the Throne with Ebony=
by painting a black band across the top, down each side of the back and
down the front of the arms; keep the lines straight and neat. Gild the
centre and two side ornaments on top of the throne.
[Illustration: Fig. 344.—The lion panel for the throne.]
Trace the panel with the two lions (Fig. 344), gild the lions and gum
the panel on the front of footstool; then unbend Zeus and place him on
his throne, bringing him well to the front that his feet may rest on
the footstool. Fasten the statue firmly in place with glue and pins.
Pin one folded end of a strip of smoothly ironed starched cloth on the
back of Zeus, bring the cloth up over the left shoulder down across the
knees in folds like those in Fig. 345, the statue of Zeus, and with
glue and pins
=Fasten the Drapery=
loosely here and there, then gild the entire strip of cloth. Make the
sceptre of a headless hat-pin. Trace the gold eagle from Fig. 346; gild
and cut it out, then taking a stitch through the eagle’s body with the
hat-pin, slide the eagle up to the top of the pin and glue it in place.
Make Zeus grasp the eagle-crowned sceptre by binding his hand and
sceptre tightly together with thread. Add a little glue to make sure
they stick fast; steady the sceptre by running its point down into the
small needle hole that has been previously punctured in the dais, and
paint the sceptre white.
[Illustration: Fig. 346.—Cut out a gold eagle.]
Trace and cut out the
=Winged Figure of Victory=
(Fig. 347), glue it to the empty hand of Zeus and glue the hand tight
on the top of the arm of the throne. Then, to give an idea of the
immense size of the statue, place a one-inch doll in front of the
throne, glue a bit of drapery on it, and let the doll represent a
worshipper at the shrine of Zeus. Play that the ivory, gold and ebony
throne is glittering with precious stones and golden pictures from the
stories of the gods, and that the arms of the throne are supported by
two sphinxes.
[Illustration: Fig. 347.—The winged figure of victory.]
The real statue was in the chief temple of Olympia in Greece, where the
Olympic games were held every fourth year, and Zeus was so large, it
was said, that
=Should He Rise from His Throne=
he would lift the roof off the building; also, that the statue was the
supreme masterpiece of art. Everyone was anxious to see it. The people
believed that should one stand before the figure and gaze upon it, he
would immediately forget all worry and care. Possibly this charm may
be transmitted to your little Zeus. The next time you are worried, try
it, and see if you do not find yourself smiling as you contemplate the
little statues.
You might let your young friends come to see your Zeus for four
successive days and play that each day is a century, because for four
centuries the real Zeus attracted crowds of people, as it was held a
calamity to die without having seen Zeus of Olympia.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE TEMPLE OF DIANA AT EPHESUS
MANY white marble columns, twenty-eight in all, will be needed for
Diana’s Temple, but the columns are so easy to make, that you will
think it fun and wish more were required. Use stiff white paper,
pretending it is marble, and cut all the columns according to Fig. 348.
Keep strictly to the given dimensions, being careful to cut each column
exact and true and perfectly even. Slash up the bottom and roll the
entire column on a long pencil to make it curve, then take it off and
spread strong glue or paste along the marked edge and wrap the column
around a smooth, straight stick two inches in circumference, lapping
the unmarked lengthwise edge over the glue-covered edge of the column.
Press the edges together until they cling tight, then remove the
column; bend out the slashed bottom and roll the two top extensions as
in Fig. 349. Now
=Look at Your Column;=
see how gracefully the capital curves into a roll on each side,
reminding one of a blossom on the end of a stem. The column you have
made is called Ionic, and when you examine the columns or pillars of
buildings, you will easily recognize those with Ionic capitals. It
was principally because of the beautiful rolled capitals crowning its
columns that the temple of Diana was known as one of the Wonders of
the World, for it was the first structure that utilized this beautiful
style of architecture.
[Illustration: Fig. 348.—Cut all of the columns like this.]
[Illustration: Fig. 349.—The finished column.]
[Illustration: Fig. 350.—Ground plan of Diana’s temple.]
Find a piece of extra stiff white cardboard, nineteen by eleven inches,
and on it draw
=The Ground Plan=
of your temple (Fig. 350). The distance from the outside edge of one
ladder-like strip to the outside edge of the other is nine inches. The
strips are each sixteen inches long, two inches wide and divided into
six spaces. Make the spaces by folding a sixteen-inch strip of paper
exactly crosswise through the centre, then folding each half of the
paper three times. Place this strip along the edge of the sixteen-inch
lines on the ground plan and mark the spaces. Draw the oblong for the
cella on the centre (Fig. 350). Make it four inches wide and ten and
one-half inches long, leaving half an inch space between this oblong
and the inner sides of the ladder-like strips. Take one column at a
time and glue the slashed portion firmly on the ladder-like strip.
Begin at A, Fig. 350, and
=Erect the Outer Row of Columns,=
allowing each column to stand immediately along the inside of the outer
line AB, Fig. 350, with its exact centre over the short cross-line, as
in Fig. 351 (circles indicate columns). Each column must stand erect
and plumb. Place the next row of columns just within the long inner
line as in Fig. 352. In the same way erect the second double-columned
row on the opposite side of the foundation and glue together the sides
of the rolled capitals which touch at the top of each pair of pillars
on both rows.
[Illustration: Your Miniature Temple of Diana.]
[Illustration: Fig. 351.—Circle shows where to place first column.]
[Illustration: Fig. 352.—Position of first double row of columns.]
For the oblong centre,
=Make a Cella=
of a coverless white cardboard box minus the two ends (Fig. 353). Let
the cella be four inches wide, ten and one-half inches long, and five
and one-half inches high. When making any article of cardboard, always
lightly score every line intended to be bent; this is very important to
insure good work. Glue the cella or inner temple on the boundary lines
marked for the purpose on the centre of the foundation board, and glue
the outside of the two walls firmly to the edges of the rolled capitals
of the columns which touch them.
[Illustration: Fig. 353.—The cella.]
Cut the dais of cardboard five by three inches, and bend it like Fig.
354; have it three-quarters of an inch high and glue it on the floor of
the cella (Fig. 353) two inches from the back edge with its open sides
facing the walls of the cella. Trace on cardboard and
=Cut Out the Goddess Diana=
(Fig. 355). Bend the extension beneath Diana’s feet half forward and
half backward, then glue Diana on top of the dais in the centre at the
back.
[Illustration: Fig. 354.—Make a dais for Diana.]
Build on the ceiling and roof of the temple. Make the ceiling of
cardboard ten by sixteen inches, and cut the two gables, one for each
end of the roof, like Fig. 356, two and three-quarter inches high and
ten inches long, not counting the extensions on the three sides, which
must be bent and glued to the ceiling and roof. When the gables are
fastened securely on each end of the ceiling, cut the roof of white
cardboard seventeen by twelve inches, bend it lengthwise through the
centre and glue it on top of the ceiling by fastening the ends tight
to the upright gables. Allow the roof to extend a trifle beyond and
over the edges of the ceiling and also project half an inch over front
and back of the temple. Fit the roof-covered ceiling over the top of
the temple; see that everything is properly placed, then remove the
ceiling; drop a little glue on top of each roll of the capitals on all
of the pillars, again adjust the roofed ceiling and hold it steady
until it adheres firmly to the temple.
[Illustration: Fig. 355.—Statue of the Goddess Diana.]
[Illustration: Fig. 356.—The gable.]
Take a box eleven inches long, nine inches wide and three inches high;
turn it bottom side up and glue your foundation with its stately temple
securely on the box.
Use white passe-partout strips to fasten the box down tight on a
light-weight board, twenty-seven by sixteen inches.
Get medium light-weight, smooth white water-color paper, for making
=The Marble Steps=
on each of the four sides of the temple. Each flight must be made in
two pieces or sections. In all there will be eight sections. Cut paper
for the right-hand section of front steps nine and one-half by six
inches, the left-hand front section nine by six inches. Make the two
sections for back steps the same.
Cut the right-hand side steps in sections thirteen by six inches, and
twelve and one-half by six inches. Make the other side sections the
same.
Now be very careful in your measurements. If your measurements are not
exact your steps will not fit together. Divide each section of paper
lengthwise from side to side into half-inch spaces by drawing twelve
lines across, beginning half an inch from the top of the paper. This
will make thirteen spaces (Fig. 357) which, when creased backward and
forward, fan fashion, will form seven steps, counting top and bottom
landings or treads. Take the longest section of the front steps and
square off one end with lines half an inch apart and of varying lengths
running down across the first line (Fig. 357).
=Begin at the Top=
square, C, and draw a diagonal line across it; continue the diagonal
lines across every other descending square (Fig. 358). Cut away the
squared marked paper from the diagonal lines and the squares marked D
D D D D D in Fig. 358 as shown by heavy line in Fig. 359. This makes
the corner of the stairs. Lightly score all the horizontal lines, then
crease the steps backward and forward along the horizontal lines. Make
the other half section of front steps same as first, with the exception
that the corner must run out to the left instead of the right hand, so
draw the vertical lines (Figs. 357, 358, 359) at the left side of the
section and make that corner like the right-hand one, only reversed.
[Illustration: Fig. 357.—Vertical lines mark the end of the steps.]
[Illustration: Fig. 358.—Draw diagonal lines across.]
[Illustration: Fig. 359.—Cut away the squares as shown here.]
[Illustration: Fig. 360.—Brace for centre of steps ready to be cut.]
=Make a Brace=
for the centre where the two sections join, of a two and one-half
by three-inch piece of cardboard ruled in half-inch squares and cut
like the heavy line on Fig. 360. The steps on this must be cut still
deeper, each one-half inch, according to the heavy lines in Fig. 360,
and the extensions bent over at dotted lines as in Fig. 361. Fit and
glue the straight edge of the left-hand front section of steps on this
brace; have the brace flush with the edge of the steps. The brace
should not reach to the tops as the tread of that step lies upon the
foundation of the temple. When the brace is on, lap the edge of the
right-hand section over the left-hand section half an inch; glue the
two together, and the front flight of steps will be finished.
Make the back flight in like manner.
=The Side Steps=
have no square corner extensions like Fig. 359; the corners are cut
according to the heavy line in Fig. 358. Each of the side flights of
steps must have its central brace, the same as the front (Fig. 361),
and the two sections of each side must be joined together as you joined
the front flight.
[Illustration: Fig. 361.—The finished brace.]
[Illustration: Fig. 362.—Brace for corner of steps ready to be cut.]
[Illustration: Fig. 363.—Corner brace finished.]
Make four more braces, one for each corner, by dividing with horizontal
lines a piece of cardboard for each into six half-inch spaces, then
crossing these lines by vertical lines wider apart, the width being the
exact diagonal distance across a half-inch square, for they must fit
the diagonal edges of the steps at the corners of the four flights.
There must be five of these wider spaces (Fig. 362).
Cut along the heavy lines and bend down the point along dotted lines
(Fig. 363).
=Fit and Glue=
one of these braces at each end of the two side flights, then glue
the side flights on the sides of the temple foundation and the ground
board. Fasten the extensions D D D D D D (Fig. 359) of the corners of
front and back steps to the side steps by binding them over and pasting
them on the side steps. At the same time glue the front and back steps
on the temple foundation and ground board.
Set the temple up on a double pile of books placed on a table. The
temple must be elevated that your friends may look in at the open front
and behold the Goddess Diana. Your beautiful little classic temple will
give some idea of the grand original structure rebuilt in Asia about
356 B.C., whose marble columns numbering one hundred and twenty-seven,
were sixty feet in height and each the gift of a king.
[Illustration: Fig. 377.—The Hanging Gardens of Babylon You Can Make.]
CHAPTER XXIV
HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON
MAKE believe that you are in a singular place; the city is square,
filled with square lots, on which are square houses, built of square
bricks, and, strangest of all, by the side of the king’s magnificent
square palace there stands a wonderful garden. The garden is also built
square in four mighty steps or platforms, one above the other, each
supported by arches.
These are the famous Hanging Gardens and you are in the ancient city of
Babylon where Nebuchadnezzar is king, and the time is about the year
580 B.C.
=The King’s Wife, Amytis,=
used to live in the mountainous country of Media, and when she married
and came to Babylon, she longed for the sight of a hill, so her
husband, King Nebuchadnezzar, had the Hanging Gardens built for her.
Pretend that
=The Queen Has Invited You=
to explore the gardens with her. Up, up the many flights of marble
steps you go to the tip-top of the beautiful hill, and standing there
by her side you have a splendid view of the surrounding flat country as
well as of the River Euphrates, which divides the city into two equal
parts, half on the east and half on the west side of the river. The
Gardens are built as high as the walls of the city (three hundred feet)
so you can readily look over the walls to the stretch of land on all
sides.
[Illustration: Fig. 364.—Cut a piece of pasteboard exactly square.]
If you will find some very
=Stiff Pasteboard=
we can go to work immediately and build toy Hanging Gardens. Cut a
piece of the pasteboard exactly square, measuring on each of the four
sides eighteen and one-half inches (Fig. 364). Of this we will make a
box-like foundation. Draw a straight line three inches from each edge,
as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 365. Take each line in turn and,
placing the edge of a straight ruler along it, score the line; that
means, run the knife-blade along the pencil line at the edge of the
ruler, cutting the pasteboard only partially through. As each line is
scored, raise the pasteboard and bend it _away_ from you along the
scored line, then allow the pasteboard to lie out flat again.
[Illustration: Fig. 365.—Mark it off like this.]
[Illustration: Fig. 366.—Cut like this.]
After all the lines are properly scored, cut the lines A A and B B
(Fig. 365) only far enough inward to meet the lines C C and D D (Fig.
365). Allowing a scant half-inch extension at each corner on the lines
C C and D D, cut the corners out as in Fig. 366. Bend the four little
extensions, then the sides E and F (Fig. 366). Cover the extensions
with strong glue and, bending the remaining sides G and H (Fig. 366),
glue the extensions, one at a time, securely on these sides.
=Hold Each Extension Tight=
to the side until it sticks fast. In this way the cardboard will be
made into a large, square box, which, when perfectly dry, must have
openings cut through all the sides that it may resemble closely the
foundation platform of the real Hanging Gardens.
=To Make the Twelve Openings=
on each of the sides of the foundation platform, cut a strip of
cardboard twelve and one-half inches long, and three inches wide.
Across the entire length of the strip draw lines half an inch apart,
as I I (Fig. 367). Cross these short lines by a long line running
lengthwise one inch from the top edge, J J (Fig. 367). Between this
line and the upper edge draw another line, running lengthwise, a
quarter of an inch from the line J J, as K K, Fig. 367. You now have
a strip of cardboard twelve and one-half inches long and three inches
wide. Across its entire length you have run two long lines, and across
the entire width many short lines.
=Begin with the Second Division=
from one end of the strip marked by the short lines, and make a dot
on the centre of the line K K (Fig. 367) where this line crosses the
second division. L (Fig. 367) shows the dot.
[Illustration: Fig. 367.—To make the twelve openings.]
[Illustration: Fig. 368.—Stand the box on one side.]
The diagram Fig. 367 is merely intended as a guide, giving only
portions of the twelve and one-half inch strip you are making. Begin at
the lower corner of the small division under L (Fig. 367) and draw a
curved line up to L; draw another curved line from the opposite corner
of the same division up to the same point. The two lines will
=Form an Arch=
as in M (Fig. 367). Skip one division and draw another arch on the
fourth division in the same way that you drew the arch of the second
division. In like manner draw an arch in the space between the lines K
K and J J of every other division on the strip. This will make twelve
arched divisions, leaving a solid division or pillar at each end of the
strip and also between each opening. With the point of your knife-blade
=Pierce Holes=
around the edge of all the arches as shown by the arch N (Fig. 367);
then with scissors cut the two sides of the second division up to the
arch and, holding the cut piece with your thumb and first finger, bend
it backward and forward until it breaks away from the strip, leaving
an arched opening. Smooth the rough edge of the arch by cutting away
the uneven particles. Cut all arches in like manner O O (Fig. 367) and
cut the least bit from across each end of your strip—not more than
a sixteenth of an inch—that the strip may slide inside of the box
foundation. The strip will be a guide in making all of the arches of
your Garden.
=Stand the Box on One Side=
and slip the strip inside of it; lay the strip down flat on top of the
lower side of the box (Fig. 368) and, holding it firmly in place, mark
the divisions and arches on the box by running a pencil line around
the edge of each opening arch of the strip. Remove the strip, and one
side of the foundation will be marked ready for the twelve archways to
be cut out. Repeat the markings on each of the four sides of the box
foundation, cut open the archways as you cut those in the strip and you
will have made a garden foundation like the first story of Fig. 369.
=The Babylonians=
used arches to support their enormously heavy structures because arches
are the strongest kind of foundations. Make another box of a perfect
square of pasteboard measuring thirteen and one-half inches on each
of the four sides, to form the second platform. Mark off the two and
one-half inch sides and your box will be eight and one-half inches
square, with a height of two and one-half inches. After the glue of
this is thoroughly dry, cut the arches. Use the same strip for a guide
that did duty for the first platform arches. Cut four arches from one
end of the strip and shave off the outside edge of the solid fifth
division which forms the end of the strip where the portion has been
taken off. The strip will now
=Fit in the Second Box Platform.=
When this is all complete, make a third box still smaller, of
pasteboard nine and one-half inches square. Measure off a two-inch
border on every side to form the sides of the platform. The box should
be five and one-half inches square and two inches high. Cut arches in
this platform with the aid of the same guiding strip of open archways
after first cutting off three additional openings to make it fit the
new box. You can also trim off the bottom of the pillars along the
lengthwise lower edge of the strip that it may be narrow enough to fit
more perfectly in the third platform.
[Illustration: Fig. 369.—Foundation of the Hanging Garden.]
Make the fourth and
=Last Platform=
of pasteboard six inches square. When finished let the box measure
three and one-half inches square and one and one-quarter inch high.
Two more openings must be cut from your arched strip to shorten it
sufficiently to fit in the last box platform, for this platform must
also be cut into open arches. Build up the four platforms one on top of
the other, as in Fig. 369.
Place the centre of each platform exactly over the centre of the one
beneath it.
=To Find the Centre=
take each platform in turn and lay a ruler very lightly on its top that
no pressure may bend the arched sides; draw a pencil line across from
the upper right-hand corner to the lower left-hand corner P, Q (Fig.
370); cross this line with another drawn diagonally across the square
from the other two corners R, S (Fig. 371). The exact centre of the
square top of the platform is at the dot T (Fig. 371), where the two
lines meet and cross each other. Find the centre of each platform and
very carefully puncture a hole through the centre with a coarse darning
needle. You will have use for these centre marks when fastening the
platforms together.
=The Four Different Floors=
of the original Gardens were supported by pillars and arches, as you
have made yours, only the real platforms had more pillars under them.
Between the pillars which formed the square of the first lower platform
twelve arched passageways ran, entering from each of the four sides
and dividing the ground beneath, equally between pillars and passages.
There were rows and rows of pillars and arches that gave the effect of
a honeycomb with open-sided cells. The arches proper were formed at the
top of the many pillars which supported them, and all were built of the
=Queer Square Bricks=
which had the king’s name stamped on them, with other writing in a
square bounded centre. The bricks were twelve inches long, twelve
inches wide, and three inches thick and looked like Fig. 372. You must
pretend that your pasteboard pillars between each opening are made
of just such bricks and that there are many, many more brick pillars
throughout the entire space beneath the floors.
[Illustration: Fig. 370.—To find the centre.]
[Illustration: Fig. 371.—Cross this line with another.]
[Illustration: Fig. 372.—A Babylonian brick.]
=Cut Light-Green Tissue Paper=
into strips wide enough to extend a trifle over the edge of the
platforms while reaching in across the top far enough to have the inner
edge of the strip covered by the platform resting over it. The tissue
paper should form a flat green band bordering the entire top ledge of
the first three platforms.
Cover the entire top of the fourth and last platform with the green
tissue paper.
Before you can
=Plant the Shrubs and Trees=
you must dig holes in the earth for their roots. Take each platform in
turn and, with a coarse darning needle, puncture holes entirely through
both green paper and pasteboard. Let the holes be in straight rows;
make them on the projection or step of each platform, midway between
the extreme edge and the walls of the next higher story. On the first,
second and third platforms the holes should be an inch and a half
apart. Pierce three holes through the top of the fourth platform, one
at the back on the extreme left-hand corner and one on each side of
that hole, but much nearer the centre.
=You Will Need Ground=
upon which to erect your Hanging Gardens. Get a piece of heavy, stiff
pasteboard which will not bend, or a light board about seventeen
inches wide and nineteen inches long. Cover it with green blotting
paper, allowing the paper to extend over all the edges. Paste the four
turned-over portions of green paper on the under side of the board or
ground.
Now build up the Gardens. First
=Stick a Long Hat-Pin=
through the centre of the fourth or top platform. Then run the hat-pin
through the centre of the third platform; slide this up next to the
top platform, keeping the sides straight and parallel. Add the second
and the first platforms to the others, running the pin each time
through the centre of the top of the platform. Place the structure on
the ground with one of its sides flush with—that is—along the edge
of the ground, and its adjoining side two inches from the adjoining
edge of the ground, leaving about five inches of ground in front and
four inches of ground at the other side of the Gardens. Then stick
the hat-pin firmly down into the ground and leave it there until the
structure is all glued together. In fitting the building on the ground
be certain that it is turned so that the back of the top platform on
which you have pierced the hole at the extreme left-hand corner lies
along the back edge of the ground O (Fig. 373).
[Illustration: Fig. 373.—Place the building on the ground in this
position.]
[Illustration: Fig. 374.—Paste the strip to the side of one box and the
top of another.]
=To Bind the Different Parts=
of the structure firmly together and fasten the whole building to the
ground, cut sixteen strips of white writing paper two inches long and
a scant half-inch wide; fold each strip crosswise through the centre;
then, paste half of one strip on the fourth platform upward from the
right-hand lower corner; bring the free half of the strip out flat on
top of the next platform, which extends immediately beneath it, and gum
down securely (Fig. 374). Bind the other three lower corners of the top
platform down to the top of the next platform in the same manner; then
fasten the third to the second and the second to the first platform,
also the first platform to the ground. When the paste is perfectly dry,
cautiously remove the hat-pin.
[Illustration: Fig. 375.—Cut the first flight of steps like this.]
=Build the Four Flights of Steps=
from stiff white writing paper. Cut Fig. 375, for the first flight of
steps; make them exactly according to the dimensions or sizes of the
different parts given. You will find that the stairs themselves C, C
(Fig. 375) must be four and one-eighth inches long and an inch and
one-eighth wide. The height of the side of the stairs D, D (Fig. 375)
is three inches. The length of the bottom of the side of the stairs D,
E (Fig. 375) is four inches. The top of the side of the stairs D, F
(Fig. 375) is one inch, and the width of the back, one and one-eighth
inch; this should be the same width as the stairs C, C (Fig. 375)
because it is intended to fit on and over the flap H that turns down
from the top landing and is the same width as the stairs C, C (Fig.
375).
[Illustration: Fig. 376.—Your stairs will stand alone.]
[Illustration: Making Our Hanging Garden.]
The height of the back is three inches. The
=Top Landing of the Stairs=
(L, Fig. 375) is one inch by five-eighths of an inch. Cut all of the
heavy lines of the stairs and bend backward all of the dotted lines
except that along the flap G at the bottom of the side which must be
bent forward that it may lie flat on the ground. Open out the stairs
flat and with pen and ink draw straight lines from side to side of C
C; the lines will serve for steps. In like manner make lines on each
of the three other flights of steps. Bend down the two flaps H and J
on the top landing (Fig. 375), then the line F E along one edge of the
steps; turn outward the flap G, bend down the line F L at the head of
the stairs, which will bring the flap J under the top of the side D F.
Turn back the line D D that the back may cover the flap H. Crease
down the flap K tight and flat; let its top M extend around and lie
flat against the under side corner N of the flap H, and your flight of
stairs will be able to stand alone (Fig. 376).
=Gum the Extension=
of the top landing securely along the front edge of the extreme
left-hand corner of the first story of your Gardens and fasten the
flap G to the ground. Make three more flights of stairs in the same
way, only let the second flight run in the opposite direction from the
first, as shown in Fig. 377. To do this, simply bend the dotted lines
forward instead of backward, except the lower flap at bottom of the
side, which should be bent backward; this method of folding turns the
stairs around, bringing the under side of the paper topmost after the
stairs are bent into shape. Let the second flight of stairs measure
in length from C to C (Fig. 375) three and one-half inches, in width
seven-eighths of an inch, height from D to D two and one-half inches,
length D E three and one-eighth inches, length of top of side D F
three-quarters of an inch, height of back two and one-half inches,
width of back seven-eighths of an inch; top landing, three-quarters of
an inch by three-eighths of an inch.
Fasten the
=Second Flight of Stairs=
at the right of the second story as you glued the first on the left
hand of the first story. Crease the third stairway in the same way as
the first, for it is to run in the same direction. Let these stairs
measure in length from C to C (Fig. 375) two and seven-eighths inches,
in width five-eighths of an inch, height from D to D two inches, length
D E two and one-half inches, top of side D F half an inch, height
of back two inches, width five-eighths of an inch; the top landing
one-half inch by one inch. Fasten this stairway at the left-hand corner
of the third platform.
[Illustration: Fig. 378.—Cut out the stone bulls by this pattern.]
Make the fourth and last stairs turn in the same direction as the
second. These are the smallest: Length from C to C (Fig. 375) one and
three-quarters inches, width three-eighths of an inch, height from
D to D one and one-quarter inch, length D E one and one-half inch,
top of side D F one-quarter of an inch, width of back three-eighths
of an inch, height of back one and one-quarter inch. Top of landing
one-quarter of an inch by five-eighths of an inch. Bend into shape and
glue this flight of steps at the right-hand corner of the top platform
of the Gardens.
Now go to work on the
=Stone Broad-Fronted Bulls=
which are to stand in pairs at the landing of each stairway.
Make Fig. 378 of white paper and with ink draw the wings, face and
hat like Fig. 379. Then cut out the strange animal, part bull, part
bird, and part man. Bend at dotted line on top of wings (Fig. 378);
bend outward all four of the extensions under the hoofs and stand the
creature at the top of the first stairway. Paste the extensions out
from the hoofs firmly to the platform. Carve or cut out seven more
stone bulls and place two at the head of each stairway as in Fig. 377.
Gum each stone bull securely in place. One more bull is needed which
must stand up high on top of a stone shaft (Fig. 380). Height of shaft
is three and one-fourth inches, not counting flaps or bull; width of
same pattern at top fully two and one-half inches, width at bottom
three and one-fourth inches. Height of bull from top of wings to bottom
of feet one and one-fourth inch. Mark and fold it along dotted lines
like Fig. 381, sliding the two flaps P P (Fig. 380) through the slits Q
Q; crease the flaps backward to form paper hooks that hold fast. Turn
out the extensions R R, which must be pasted down flat near the right
hand on the back part of the top of the third story. The shaft will
extend up high above the fourth story, as in Fig. 377.
[Illustration: Fig. 379.—The stone bull who will guard your stairway.]
[Illustration: Fig. 380.—The bull on the shaft is made in this way.]
[Illustration: Fig. 381.—Stone shaft and bull.]
[Illustration: Fig. 382.—Use writing paper for the statues.]
[Illustration: Fig. 383.—A tree in the garden of fringed paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 384.—A palm tree.]
[Illustration: Fig. 385.—A tree in the garden.]
=Make Two Statues=
a little larger than diagram and glue one at the right-hand corner of
the front of the first platform, and the other on the right-hand corner
of the back of the first platform as in Fig. 377. Use two pieces of
white stiff writing paper for the two statues (Fig. 382). Cut all the
heavy lines and bend back all the dotted lines except the extensions
V V; bend these forward. Slip the flap S through the slit T; bend down
and fit in the top U; then glue the statues in place. Color all of the
white extensions of stairs, bulls, and statues with green paint or with
green tissue paper pasted over them.
[Illustration: Fig. 386.—Make fringe like this.]
The Garden will now be ready for
=The Shrubbery=
Use different tones of green tissue paper for the three varieties of
trees (Figs. 383, 384, 385). Make several trees of each kind and have
all of the same variety, made of one tone of paper. For Fig. 383 fringe
the paper as in Fig. 386; have four layers of paper for the fringe and
one layer for the unfringed part; begin with the plain strip and roll
it around and around a slender stick (Fig. 386). Bend the top over to
prevent its unrolling (Fig. 383).
=Plant This Tree=
in the hole you dug for it on the first platform just back of the front
statue (Fig. 377); alternate these trees with the palm trees, extending
the line entirely around the top of the first platform of the Gardens.
Fig. 387 gives the pattern for the palm; cut the six leaves and strip
all in one piece, fold each leaf lengthwise through the centre W, and
fringe as in X; unfold the leaves and double the strip on dotted line Y
and roll it on a slender round stick as you did the first tree.
[Illustration: Fig. 387.—Pattern for the palm tree.]
For the other tree use six layers of fringe which you have cut like
Fig. 386, and afterward crimped with a blade of the scissors. This time
begin at the top of the stick instead of the bottom and with the narrow
top of the fringe roll the paper down to the pointed end of the stick.
This gives the tree a bushy foliage (Fig. 385).
[Illustration: Fig. 388.—Cut circles of green paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 389.—Fold and cut like this.]
[Illustration: Fig. 390.—The circle cut and opened.]
Cut circles of dark olive-green paper to
=Make Plants=
like Fig. 388. Fold the circle evenly four times and cut like Fig.
389, stopping at dotted line before reaching the centre. Unfold and
the papers will resemble Fig. 390. Hold each of these at the centre,
and twist a few times to make the stems (Fig. 391). Plant the shrubs
between the trees on top of the second platform. Cut a number of light
sage-green tissue paper shapes like Fig. 392 for plants. Holding each
of the plants at the centre, crease by drawing it lightly through the
fingers of the other hand, twist the stems (Fig. 393) and plant between
trees.
[Illustration: Fig. 391.—A shrub for the garden.]
[Illustration: Fig. 392.—This is for a plant.]
[Illustration: Fig. 393.—Twist the stem of the plant.]
[Illustration: Fig. 394.—In formal rows.]
=Arrange Your Plants=
in precise formal rows, a tree then a plant, next a tree and so on
allowing a tree in a higher platform to come between two plants in the
platform beneath as in Fig. 394.
Make vines of rather long, very finely cut and crimped tissue paper
fringe; paste the vines between the row of trees on the first platform,
allowing portions of the vine to hang over the edge. Make a number of
palm trees and plant the roots or ends of the tree trunks in button
moulds. Glue the moulds at equal distances apart and in a straight line
along the ground on the three sides of the gardens.
Play that in the highest platform of the pyramid
=An Engine Pumps up the Water=
from the river Euphrates, that runs along below on one side of the
structure, to supply the garden with fountains which you can make
believe are sparkling and dashing here and there among rare shrubs
and many-colored, fragrant flowers. You must pretend that the spaces
between the arches on the different platforms are made into magnificent
apartments and banquet rooms and below in the vaulted corridors the
money changers and politicians ply their trades, while outside on the
terraces are to be found the simple, sweet pleasures of wholesome
Nature.
PART III
THINGS TO MAKE FOR HOME, GIFT DAYS, AND FAIRS
[Illustration: The Tissue Paper Christmas Greens Look Very Natural.]
CHAPTER XXV
NEW CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS
WREATHES of the spiked leaf holly, branches of white berried mistletoe
and yards of evergreen rope can be made of tissue paper to look so
natural it is difficult to believe Mother Nature did not provide the
material.
=Paper=
enough for the making of Christmas greens to decorate an ordinary room
quite lavishly may be bought for fifty cents or less. One sheet of
tissue paper will make thirty-two holly leaves. One sheet of tissue
paper will make a large bunch of mistletoe and one sheet of tissue
paper will make one yard of evergreen rope. Complete success in this
work depends largely upon the paper used and great care must be taken
in selecting the colors. The quality should be good, else it will lack
the necessary crispness and staying properties.
For the holly and evergreen choose a dark moss-green paper, which is a
yellow green with no tinge of blue. For the mistletoe you must have a
light gray-green, also of a yellow tone, a light cardinal red for the
brilliant holly berries, white for the waxy mistletoe berries and dark
gray-brown for holly stems. One sheet each of the red and white paper
will probably be sufficient for all the berries you will want, and one
sheet of gray-brown will answer for the stems. Besides the paper you
must have a spool of fine wire or coarse thread for winding and some
natural bare branches or twigs, or a roll of heavy bonnet wire for
stems.
[Illustration: Fig. 395.—Cut a sheet of tissue paper in half.]
[Illustration: Fig. 396.—Fold the half sheet of paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 397.—Fold again.]
Begin with the
=Holly=
and cut one sheet of the dark moss-green tissue paper in half (Fig.
395). Fold the half sheet according to the dotted lines through the
middle and you will have Fig. 396. Fold Fig. 396 through the middle as
shown by the dotted line and there will be Fig. 397. Bring the two ends
of Fig. 397 together, folding at the dotted line, and it will give you
Fig. 398. Again fold along the dotted central line and you will have
Fig. 399. Fold through the middle, along the dotted line, for the last
time and there will be an oblong, one and three-quarter inches wide by
five inches long.
[Illustration: Fig. 398.—Bring the ends together.]
[Illustration: Fig. 399.—Fold once more.]
[Illustration: Fig. 400.—The paper is folded and leaf cut out like
this.]
[Illustration: Fig. 401.—Sixteen leaves like this.]
[Illustration: Fig. 402.—Begin at the top to twist the points.]
[Illustration: Fig. 403.—Pinch the underside to form the mid-rib.]
[Illustration: Fig. 404.—The finished leaf will look like this.]
With a soft lead pencil draw the outline of a half holly leaf after the
pattern (Fig. 400), the fold of the paper forming the straight edge of
the outline. Cut along the pencil line, open the fold and there will
be sixteen leaves like Fig. 401. The dotted line running lengthwise
through the middle of the leaf shows where the paper was folded. Have
a damp sponge ready and slightly moisten the fingers of your right
hand on the sponge—never with your lips in handling green paper. Take
one leaf in your left hand and with the moist fingers of your right
hand twist each point of the leaf into a sharp spike, beginning at the
top of the leaf as in Fig. 402. Twist the lower part of the leaf into
a stem (Fig. 403) and, refolding the leaf down the middle, pinch the
underside of the fold to form the mid-rib, bringing your two hands
together and puffing the paper a little as you do so (Fig. 403). The
finished leaf should resemble Fig. 404. The crinkled appearance given
by pinching and twisting adds much to the natural look of the leaf. You
may vary the size, making some leaves smaller than others, but keep as
nearly as possible to the pattern, for experiment has proved it to be a
good one.
Before putting your leaves on the stems make the
=Holly Berries,=
for they must be fastened on first.
[Illustration: Fig. 405.—Place the cotton in the centre of the paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 406.—Draw the paper around the ball.]
[Illustration: Fig. 407.—Wrap the three stems together.]
[Illustration: Fig. 408.—Cut off the ragged ends.]
[Illustration: Fig. 409.—Fasten the berries to the end of a twig.]
[Illustration: Fig. 410.—Beginning to wrap the stem.]
[Illustration: Fig. 411.—The stem is wrapped with paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 412.—Fasten the leaves to the stem.]
From your red tissue paper cut a number of pieces two and a half inches
square, make a little ball of raw cotton a trifle larger than a good
sized pea and place it in the centre of one of the squares of paper
(Fig. 405). Draw the paper up and around the ball, completely covering
it, then twist the remainder of the paper into a stem (Fig. 406). Make
three berries, twisting their stems as tightly as possible and bunch
them. With your fine wire or thread, wrap the three stems closely
together (Fig. 407) and cut off the ragged ends (Fig. 408). Take up a
natural branch and wrap the stems of the berries to the end of a twig
(Fig. 409). Cut a strip of the gray-brown paper half an inch wide and
about four inches long, and, beginning close to the berries (Fig. 410),
wrap the stem with the paper as shown in Fig. 411. Fasten three leaves
to the stem close to the berries as in Fig. 412, and place other leaves
about one inch apart, alternating first on one side then on the other
side of the stem (Fig. 413).
[Illustration: Fig. 413.—Place the other leaves about one inch apart.]
When the holly is to be made into
=Wreaths,=
the branches should not be large and a small wooden or wire hoop should
form the foundation of the wreath. Upon this hoop the small branches of
holly must be bound, overlapping one another and extending out beyond
the hoop to form a generous wreath. A bright red ribbon bow, fastened
at the top of the holly wreath, gives it a still more realistic effect.
[Illustration: Fig. 414.—Bring the two ends of the strip together.]
[Illustration: Fig. 415.—Cut out the mistletoe leaf in this way.]
[Illustration: Fig. 416.—The twin leaves.]
=For Mistletoe=
cut the gray-green tissue paper into pieces eight and one-half inches
long by one and a half inches wide. Bring the two ends of a strip
together, folding through the middle, to form the oblong (Fig. 414).
Fold Fig. 414 lengthwise through the middle along the dotted line and
on it draw the outline of half of a mistletoe leaf, with the straight
edge on the long fold and the stem end on the short fold of the paper
(Fig. 415). Cut along this outline, open the folds and you will have
twin leaves like Fig. 416. Bring the two open leaves together and twist
the connecting part into a stem like Fig. 417. Make a number of white
mistletoe berries according to the directions given for the red holly
berries and wrap them together in pairs; then nestling a couple close
in between two leaves (Fig. 418) wrap them on the stem. The
=Stems=
of the mistletoe should be very irregular and branching, and it may be
necessary to make them of bonnet wire in order to produce the proper
shape.
[Illustration: Fig. 417.—Twist the connecting part into a stem.]
[Illustration: Fig. 418.—Nestle a couple of berries in between two
leaves.]
Fig. 419 shows the branching irregular stem and the position of leaves
and berries. Some of the twigs should be left bare, as they are so
often on the natural mistletoe branch.
Fasten on the leaves and berries by wrapping with fine wire and then
cover the stems with strips of the gray-green tissue paper, wrapping it
as directed in making the holly branch. The only difference being that
while the holly stem is wrapped with paper only far enough to cover
the red stems of the berries and the leaves are put on afterwards, the
mistletoe leaves must be fastened on with the berries and the entire
stem then covered with the paper. You will remember that the stems of
the natural mistletoe are as pale in color as the leaves, so no dark
wood must show in your branch.
[Illustration: Fig. 419.—Put the leaves and berries on the stem.]
Hang your bunch of mistletoe from the chandelier and you will find that
no one will stop to examine it too closely, and the Christmas games can
be played just as merrily under the paper as under the real mistletoe.
There now remains but the
=Ropes of Evergreen=
to complete the time-honored Christmas decorations.
[Illustration: Fig. 420.—Cut this oblong into a fringe.]
[Illustration: Fig. 421.—Begin the evergreen rope in this way.]
[Illustration: Fig. 422.—The evergreen rope is made like this.]
Fold a sheet of the dark moss-green tissue paper crosswise, then fold
again and you will have an oblong a little less than four inches wide
and the length of the paper’s width. Press the folds down flat and
cut them open with a paper knife, then, keeping the strips together,
fold crosswise through the middle; again fold crosswise through the
middle and there will be an oblong like Fig. 420. Cut this oblong into
a fringe, bringing the slits to within one inch of the top edge and
making each strip not more than one-quarter of an inch wide (Fig. 420).
Unfold and separate four pieces to loosen the fringe, then place the
top edges of the four pieces together once more and, taking a long
piece of strong twine, curl the right hand upper corner of the heading
of the fringe over the twine near the end (Fig. 421). From this start
to wrap the fringe around and around the twine forming the rope shown
in Fig. 422.
When you have almost reached the ends of the first four strips of
fringe, paste the ends of the headings of four more strips on to the
first and continue to wrap as before. In this way you may make your
evergreen rope as long as you wish.
There is just one word of caution which must go with the assurance of
the real beauty of these Christmas decorations and that is: Remember
to hang your wreaths and ropes where they will not be exposed to
the flames of gas, candle or lamp, for while they are scarcely more
inflammable than the natural greens, it is not well to take any risks
and neither is it at all necessary. With this in mind your rooms may
be inexpensively, prettily and safely decorated with the tissue paper
Christmas greens.
CHAPTER XXVI
DOLL HOUSE OF PASTEBOARD
COUNTRY houses are very attractive, even the toy ones possess a certain
charm. Here is a great, big, beautiful, country doll house for the doll
people to live in. It has window shutters to open and close, doors that
will open and shut, and the doors have little door knobs like real
ones. Each room has a different, colored frieze around the walls, and
the floor of the living-room is covered with a handsome rug. All the
windows are curtained, and the house is ready to furnish. You can make
any and all kinds of furniture with empty spools of different sizes and
pieces of pasteboard cut in various ways. As a hint, just to show how
easily the furniture is made, glue a round piece of pasteboard on top of
=A Large Spool=
and you will have a pretty little table; paint it a red brown to
resemble mahogany. If you need more suggestions, spool furniture may be
found in “What a Girl Can Make and Do.”
[Illustration: Fig. 423.—First pasteboard box for doll house.]
[Illustration: Fig. 424.—Front and right-hand side cut from box.]
[Illustration: Fig. 425.—Second box with corners left on front.]
To make the doll house. Get three stiff pasteboard boxes about fourteen
inches long, thirteen inches wide and six and one-half inches high
(Fig. 423). Cut the thirteen-inch front and the right-hand side from
the first box (Fig. 424). Take the second box and lay the fourteen-inch
front down flat on top of an old, common wooden table which can be used
without fear of injury, and with the aid of a ruler, draw two straight
lines across the front on the inside of the box; let each line be about
one and one-fourth inch from the side. Keep the box as it is while you
score the lines with a sharp penknife; then cut out the front, leaving
the upright pieces to form the corners at each end (Fig. 425). Cut
the thirteen-inch front and left-hand side from the third box (Fig.
426). Mark two high windows (Fig. 427) on the inside, near the front
of the left side of the first box (Fig. 424). Make each window two and
one-half inches high and two and one-half inches wide, leaving a space
of three-fourths of an inch between them. Lay this left side of the box
flat down on the table and use the sharp penknife to score the dotted
lines and cut the heavy lines. Always cut and score from the inside of
the box, otherwise the shutters will turn inward.
[Illustration: Fig. 426.—Third box with front and left-hand side cut
off.]
When the window is scored and cut, throw
=Open the Shutters=
and look out through the little opening of the doll’s kitchen window
(Fig. 428).
[Illustration: Fig. 427.—Two high windows marked in left wall of first
box.]
[Illustration: Fig. 428.—Look through the open windows.]
In the second box (Fig. 425) cut a door five and one-half inches high
and three inches wide through the left side wall, one and three-fourths
of an inch from the back wall. The two high windows, each two and
one-fourth inches wide and two inches high and the one ordinary large
window, four inches high and two and one-fourth inches wide, must be
marked on the back wall (Fig. 429) and cut (Fig. 430). Cut another door
in the room through the right-hand side wall near the front (Fig. 431)
and bend it wide open (Fig. 432).
=Make Doorknobs=
of large-sized beads, and fasten one on each side of both doors with
a strong, heavy piece of broom-straw run through and glued in a hole
punctured through the door with a coarse darning needle or hat-pin.
Slide a bead on each end of the broom-straw and glue them securely in
place. Strengthen the hinges of each door with a narrow strip of thin
white cotton cloth pasted lengthwise on the open door, half on the door
and half on the wall.
[Illustration: Fig. 429.—Two high and one ordinary window in back wall
of second box.]
[Illustration: Fig. 430.—Windows in second box opened.]
[Illustration: Fig. 431.—Door in right-hand wall of second box.]
In the third box (Fig. 426) cut a large window through the back wall
four and one-half inches high and three and one-fourth inches wide.
Fig. 433 shows this window in detail with one shutter open and one
closed.
[Illustration: Fig. 432.—Door opened.]
Excellent
=Window Glass Can Be Made=
of white tissue paper cut to fit the various windows, allowing
one-fourth of an inch extension on all four sides. Immerse the paper
thoroughly on both sides in oil; with a dry, clean cloth wipe off the
oil; again immerse the papers, let them remain in the oil for some
minutes and a second time wipe the oil from both sides of each paper.
This makes the paper almost transparent.
[Illustration: Fig. 433.—Window in detail with one shutter open and the
other closed.]
The window frame or sash, is made of strips of black or inked paper,
one long, narrow strip pasted down the entire centre length of each
window glass and a wider strip fastened across the first strip at the
centre, from side to side of the glass (Fig. 434). Keep the glass and
the sash divisions perfectly smooth while fastening them together.
When all are ready, close the shutters of each room in turn, and place
first one and then another side flat down on top of the table and brush
a little glue all around the edges of the window opening (Fig. 435);
lay the glass over the opening, making sure that the edges of the glass
extend evenly out on the wall surface from all sides. Do not rub the
glass, press it tightly down with a dry cloth.
[Illustration: Fig. 434.—Window glass.]
[Illustration: Fig. 435.—Opening of window ready for glue.]
After the windows have been glazed cut strips of fresh, smooth,
ordinary wrapping-paper, not less than one-fourth of an inch wide,
and cover the edges of each window glass with the strips, paste them
on straight and even to form woodwork around the window as well as to
cover the edges of the glass (Fig. 436). Fit the second box (Fig. 425)
in the first one (Fig. 424), mark and cut off the portion of the first
box (Fig. 424) extending beyond the front of Fig. 425; do the same with
the third box (Fig. 426), that all three boxes may be of equal depth,
and when fastened together the long front line may be straight and even.
[Illustration: Fig. 436.—Paper woodwork window frame.]
[Illustration: Fig. 437.—Kitchen.]
[Illustration: Fig. 438.—The living-room.]
=If You Want the Doll House to Last for Years,=
reinforce the building with strips of wood (A B C, Fig. 424; D E F,
Fig. 425; G H I, Fig. 426). Where any two strips meet, glue the ends
together and fasten to the pasteboard walls. If you cannot obtain very
thin strips of wood, use strips of pasteboard as stiff as wood.
[Illustration: Fig. 439.—The bedroom.]
Be sure that your flour paste has boiled well and is strong and thick,
for fastening the three rooms together. Give the kitchen (Fig. 437) a
generous layer of paste down the inside edge of the back wall and along
the edge of the floor at the open side; then fit the left-hand edge of
the floor and back wall of the living-room (Fig. 438) over the paste
and press it firmly in place. Fasten the bedroom (Fig. 439) on the
right-hand side of Fig. 438 in the same manner.
Close the little shutters and
=Place the Doll House on the Floor=
of a real room, tight up against the wall; then put weights along on
the inside edges of the floor of the toy living-room and pile books up
close against the back wall; at the same time do not press the side
walls out of plumb; keep them straight.
[Illustration: Fig. 440.—The bottom of the house is like this]
When the house is perfectly dry, tack one thin strip of wood across the
entire length of the top of the back wall of the house from end to end.
You can manage this very readily by turning the house and laying the
back wall flat on the table, the top edge of the wall barely covering
the strip of wood; then you can tack at long intervals from the inside
of the wall and fasten the pasteboard walls to the wood. Be sure to
glue the ends of the side wall strips securely to the back wall strip.
Set the house upright in proper position and tack thin strips of wood
along the under edge of the bottom of the house. Fit one strip under
the house at a time and tack from the inside of the house through the
pasteboard floor into the wood. Make the ends of the upright side wall
strips fast to the underfloor strip. When finished, the bottom of the
house should resemble Fig. 440.
[Illustration: Fig. 441.—Cut the paper like this for the frieze.]
=Make the Frieze=
for every room of three strips of tissue paper cut five-eighths of an
inch wide. Fold each separate strip crosswise through the centre; again
fold through the centre, and fold a third time, making eight layers of
paper. Cut the folded strip like Fig. 441, unfold, and you will have
Fig. 442. Try for a different pattern in each room, and let the colors
vary. A soft yellow for kitchen, sage green for living-room, and a
light, warm yellow pink for bedroom are a pleasing variety.
[Illustration: Fig. 442.—Frieze opened out.]
Brush a thin layer of paste the width of the frieze along the top edge
of the walls of the kitchen (Fig. 424) and fasten on the yellow frieze.
Do the same with the living-room, fastening on the green frieze (Fig.
425), and in the bedroom the pink frieze (Fig. 426).
=Cut a Rug for the Living-Room=
from sage-green tissue paper; make it ten inches long and seven and
one-half inches wide. Fold the paper lengthwise through the centre,
then crosswise through the centre, and a second time crosswise, making
eight layers. Cut according to Fig. 443, unfold once (Fig. 444), and
cut the designs K and N; fold diagonally the loose corners L according
to dotted line and cut design M (Fig. 445). Open out the rug (Fig. 446).
[Illustration: Fig. 443.—Cut through all layers of rug.]
Cover the required space on the living-room floor with a thin layer of
paste, place the rug down over it, using both hands, to avoid wrinkles.
With the same kind of wrapping-paper used for the woodwork you can
make projecting window-sills. Fold and crease the paper into a narrow
box-lid long enough to extend across the window, including the
woodwork; glue one of the lengthwise turned-down edges on the wall
below the window glass.
[Illustration: Fig. 444.—Cut out designs K and N.]
[Illustration: Fig. 445.—Cut out design M.]
Make three
=Shelves for Books,=
with the ends of the shelves turned up to hold the books in place.
Fasten the lengthwise turned-down edge of the first shelf on the wall
three-quarters of an inch below the high window in the living-room, and
paste the other two shelves below at short distances apart.
[Illustration: Fig. 446.—The rug for the living-room.]
You can easily make tiny books of several pieces of folded paper cut
the desired size and sewed together through the centre fold. Hang red
=Tissue Paper Curtains=
in the living-room, white tissue-paper curtains in the bedroom, and
yellow ones in the kitchen, as seen in Fig. 447.
[Illustration: Fig. 447.—House ready for spool furniture.]
Little shelves over the tops of the doors may be made in like manner,
also a cunning little three-cornered bracket to fit the corner of
the room for holding a tiny Japanese vase of satiny yellow ware, the
straight up-and-down kind, made of a three-fourth-inch length section
of common straw pasted on a wee round disk of paper. Fill the vase with
tiny red paper flowers fastened on broom-straws.
CHAPTER XXVII
THE MAKING OF A BAYBERRY CANDLE
GROWING wild all along our eastern coast from Nova Scotia to Florida
is the bayberry-bush, once well known and valued, now overlooked and
almost forgotten, although a wealth of sweet smelling wax is held in
its tiny berries.
A quart of bayberries, a little time, a little trouble, and we have a
beautiful green wax candle, hard, brittle and smooth, that hot weather
will not melt and whose expiring flame yields an incense sweet and
aromatic.
There is a peculiar joy in using the raw material fresh from Mother
Nature’s hands and starting at the beginning of things—a joy unknown to
those who work only with materials that are manufactured—and to get the
most out of the work of making bayberry candles you must begin with the
bayberries. First locate your
=Bayberry-Bushes;=
then, just the time when out-of-door exercise begins to be a delight,
the latter part of September or early in October, gather the berries
and take them home for future use.
The bayberries, which seem to be nothing but tiny stones covered with
a coating of wax, do not decay quickly, but shrivel up into small gray
pellets that will keep, it is said, a year or more.
[Illustration: The Fragrance of the Steaming Bayberry Fills the
House.]
Look for a bush that is stiff and irregular, generally growing low in
closely crowded patches like the blueberry, though at times reaching
the height of eight feet. It appears to thrive best and is most often
seen in sandy soil, but it will grow in almost any kind and flourish
even amid the rocks on a barren hillside.
[Illustration: Fig. 448.—The bayberry leaf looks like this.]
=The Leaves=
are oblong and from two to three and a half inches in length (Fig.
448). They usually have several teeth, or notches, near the tip and
are quite narrow at the base. Sometimes they are scattered and again in
close bunches. The young leaves are a pale green frequently tinged with
red; when matured they are a bright green, glossy, and of a leathery
texture and they are very fragrant when crushed in the hands. The bark
is brownish gray and the young stems light, or golden brown.
=The Berries=
are quite small and grow in thick clusters on short stems. Fig. 449
gives the berries, drawn from nature and of actual size. They are
green at first, but, when ripe, turn a light silvery gray. As it will
take about one quart of berries to make one candle you may adapt your
picking to the number of candles you want.
[Illustration: Fig. 449.—These are the bayberries, actual size.]
Keep the berries in a dry place until
=You are Ready to Make your Candles,=
then into a six-quart preserve-kettle pour three quarts of berries
and fill to the brim with cold water. This allows two quarts of water
to one quart of berries. Put the kettle on the range and let it boil
steadily four hours—actually boil, remember—and whenever the water gets
three inches below the brim fill it up with hot water. The boiling
berries will perfume the house with a spicy balsamic odor that is
delightful. When the four hours are up set the kettle back and let
the berries simmer for an hour or two, then farther back where it will
simply keep hot. At night take them off the range and set away to
cool without removing them from the kettle. The cooling down from the
boiling point to the point where the wax begins to form should be very
gradual to obtain the best results, therefore the simmering and keeping
hot after boiling.
Having put the berries away for the night, try to forget them, and do
not be tempted to disturb the wax as it forms and floats in little
cakes on top of the water, for breaking through the gathering crust
will cause much of the wax to sink and cling to the berries beneath.
When left undisturbed until morning, the wax forms into a large cake,
hard and ready to be lifted out.
=The Bayberry Wax=
is never, at first, free from impurities, such as bits of dried leaves,
stems and occasionally whole berries, and it must be strained. Break
up the wax and put it in a porcelain-lined, shallow saucepan and set
it on the range where it will melt slowly; then strain through a fine
wire strainer into a shallow bowl or soup-plate. Let the wax become
quite cold and hard, melt and strain again, this time through a piece
of cheese-cloth or fine sheer lawn. So much for the bayberry wax. But
there must also be
=Candle-Moulds=
for making bayberry candles, and not many of us possess these
old-fashioned treasures. Even if you happen to be one of the fortunate
few, you will find it takes a great deal of the precious wax to fill
these old moulds, and the candles made in them are really larger than
you need; so the home-made candle-moulds will be best in any case.
[Illustration: Fig. 450.—Cut a strip of paper.]
[Illustration: Fig. 451.—Bring the edge of the paper over the candle.]
From a sheet of legal-cap writing-paper cut a strip eleven and a
half inches long and four inches wide (Fig. 450). Take an ordinary
adamantine half candle, which is neither tallow nor wax, and, placing
the paper on the table, short edge toward you, lay the candle down on
it and bring the edge of the paper over the candle, as in Fig. 451.
Press the paper down firmly and roll the candle away from you, in this
way wrapping the paper closely around it. If the edges are not even,
unwrap and try again. To have a perfect mould you must keep one edge
of the paper exactly on a line with the bottom edge of the candle. When
the paper is wrapped around the candle to within one inch of the end of
the paper, brush glue across the end of the paper as in Fig. 452. Bring
the edge over the roll and press down (Fig. 453).
Take another candle of the same size, stand it on a piece of paper and,
with a lead-pencil, draw around the bottom edge, pressing the pencil
point close to the candle. Cut around the circle you have made, leaving
a border on its edge half an inch wide, as in Fig. 454, and slash the
border up to the inner circle, as in Fig. 455.
[Illustration: Fig. 452.—Pass a brush dipped in strong glue over the
end.]
[Illustration: Fig. 453.—Bring the edge over and press down.]
[Illustration: Fig. 454.—Leave a border on the edge of the circle.]
[Illustration: Fig. 455.—Slash the circle.]
[Illustration: Fig. 456.—Lap them in regular order.]
Draw another circle, this time using the roll with the candle in it to
mark the size, and cut around it, leaving a border three-quarters of
an inch wide, then slash the border as you did the first. Cover the
laps of Fig. 455 with glue, set the roll containing the candle exactly
within the penciled circle, and turn up the laps, one at a time,
lapping them over one another in regular order, as in Fig. 456. Hold
the laps in place until they are firmly glued to the roll, then make a
dot with your pencil on the bottom exactly in the centre of the circle,
and lay the roll aside for the glue to harden while you prepare
=The Candlewicks.=
Candlewick comes in balls. It is composed of cotton strands which must
be braided to make a finished wick. Cut from the wick several pieces
nine inches long, select three strands for each candle, tie them
together in bunches of threes, and braid, as shown in Fig. 457.
[Illustration: Fig. 457.—Braid the wick.]
[Illustration: Fig. 458.—Cut two notches in the top.]
Take the candle from the roll, and in the top edge of the roll cut two
notches directly opposite each other (Fig. 458), then melt the candle
and pour it while hot into the mould, emptying it again directly. This
will give the inside a coating of wax which will keep the paper from
absorbing the bayberry wax.
Puncture a small hole through the dot in the bottom of the mould and,
after waxing the end to stiffen it, thread one of the wicks through the
hole from the outside. Cut off the knot and draw the wick up to within
half an inch of the end, then separate the strands, spread them out
flat and glue them to the bottom (Fig. 459). Glue the last disk you
made, over the wick on the bottom of the mould, arranging the laps in
order as you did those of the first. Be very careful that none of the
slashes run even the shortest distance across the bottom, and do not
use the moulds until the glue is perfectly hard.
[Illustration: Fig. 459.—Glue the wick to the bottom.]
You will need a separate mould for each candle, and when all are ready
=Make a Stand of a Box.=
In the bottom of the box, cut three round holes just large enough to
admit the candle-moulds (Fig. 460). Set the box in a small meat-platter
to catch any spilled wax, and slip three moulds into the holes,
allowing them to stand on the plate. Draw the wick of each up tightly
and run a long hat pin through all three, resting the pin in the
notches at the top and bringing each wick in the middle of its mould
(Fig. 461). If this is done properly the wicks will not sag, but will
be held taut by the pin.
[Illustration: Fig. 460.—Cut three holes in the box.]
Break up and
=Melt the Bayberry Wax=
slowly, never allowing it to get hot enough to smoke, and fill each
mould up to the hat pin. In a short time the wax will settle and leave
a hollow at the top of the candle. Fill up the hollow each time this
occurs until the wax remains even across the top.
[Illustration: Fig. 461.—Run a hat pin through the wick.]
[Illustration: Fig. 462.—Peel off the paper.]
Leave the candles in their moulds until they are hard and almost, but
not quite cold, then draw the hat pin from the wicks and, taking one
mould, begin at the top and peel off the paper, carrying it around and
around spirally, as in Fig. 462. Insert the blade of a penknife between
the bottom of the candle and the bottom of the mould, and cut around
the edge. Remove first one layer of the bottom, then the other layer,
after which you can draw the candle from the remainder of the mould.
[Illustration: Fig. 463.—The bayberry candle is finished.]
Cut the bottom end of the wick close to the candle, and also trim off
the top of the wick, making it about one inch long above the candle
(Fig. 463).
CHAPTER XXVIII
WATER TOYS—LITTLE WAX PEOPLE THAT SWIM AND RIDE ON RAFTS
THESE little wax people are very fond of the water; in fact they are
more at home and far happier in the water than when on land. Some of
the wax girls and boys will be content to sit on the edge of the shore
with their feet in the water; others will cling with both hands to the
life-rope and dance up and down as the little waves dash upon them,
though you will find that the more daring ones are not satisfied with
jumping, but will often turn completely over while still grasping the
rope.
=The Patterns for the Little People=
are given in Figs. 464, 466, 477 and 480. Cut ten girls from ten pieces
of folded white writing-paper after first tracing the lengthwise half
of Fig. 464 on half of the paper (Fig. 465). Cut ten boys (Fig. 466)
from white writing-paper (Fig. 467). Paint each girl’s hair a different
color, varying from light brown to raven black, from golden blond to
dark auburn. Paint their bathing dresses red, blue, pink, orange,
brown, green, yellow, purple, striped red and white, and spotted blue
and white. Paint the boys’ bathing suits in a similar manner; mark the
features of both girls and boys in ink, then color face, hands, arms,
legs and feet pink. Use water-colors, and paint the back as well as
the front of the dolls. When the paint is dry, take two girls and two
boys and bend their arms forward at the shoulders; bend several dolls
in a sitting position; take others and bend one leg forward and one
backward, as if they were walking, and bend the hands together in front
on those you wish to dive into the water from a height.
[Illustration: Fig. 464.—The girl bather.]
[Illustration: Fig. 465.—This is the way to cut out the girl.]
When all are ready,
=Dip Each Doll in Melted Wax.=
One-half a wax-candle will be sufficient for the work. Be sure that
each doll is completely covered on both sides with wax, and instead of
paper dolls you will have twenty funny little wax dolls, the coloring
showing distinctly through the wax. With a coarse needle and thread make
=A Toy Life Rope=
and string on the thread four dolls with arms bent forward—a boy, a
girl, a boy and a girl—by piercing the hands of each with the needle
and drawing the thread through. In this way they are made to hold on to
the thread rope.
[Illustration: Fig. 466.—The boy bather.]
[Illustration: Fig. 467.—The paper is folded for cutting out the boy.]
Choose a clear, shallow pool or the edge of a pond for
=The Bathing Place=
Tie the thread to a stick, the lower end of which must be fastened
securely in the ground under water while its top end stands out above
the water. Hold the loose end of the thread taut in one hand as you
carefully slide the bathers along the life rope until all stand in
shallow water. The life rope reaches from the land out into the water.
Stir the water and cause the waves to rise while you keep the thread
moving up and down to make the dolls jump and frolic like real bathers
(Fig. 468).
[Illustration: Fig. 468.—The bathers are having fun.]
[Illustration: Fig. 469.—This strip is for the lighter.]
[Illustration: Fig. 470.—A lighter for the raft.]
[Illustration: Fig. 471.—Second lighter is in place.]
=For the Raft=
make fifteen paper lighters of strips of writing paper nine inches long
and three-quarters of an inch wide (Fig. 469). Begin at one corner
and roll the paper into a long round stick; fold over the top to keep
the lighter from unrolling (Fig. 470). Dip each lighter in melted wax
until it is completely coated all over; then wax two pieces of common
string, each one a generous half yard in length. Tie or cross the
centre of each string on a waxed lighter one inch from each end. Lay
this lighter on a table in front of and parallel to you; place another
lighter up against the ties, allowing one string from each tie to come
over and one under the second lighter (Fig. 471). Cross the two lengths
of each string over the last lighter, bringing the lower string up and
the upper string down (Fig. 472); then lay another lighter up against
the crossed strings, carrying the strings in turn over this lighter
(Fig. 473). Again bring the lower string up and the upper string down
before placing in another lighter, and always alternate the large and
small ends of the lighters as in Fig. 474 in order to have them equally
balanced and to avoid bringing all the small ends on one side and the
large ends on the other side of the raft. Continue crossing the strings
and adding lighters until fourteen are bound into a float; then tie
the ends of the strings on each line securely together (Fig. 475), and
your work will be ready for the fitting of the little mast, which must
stand erect at one end of the raft.
[Illustration: Fig. 472.—Lower string up and upper string down.]
[Illustration: Fig. 473.—String crossed and carried over third lighter.]
[Illustration: Fig. 474.—Alternate large and small ends of lighters.]
[Illustration: Fig. 475.—Bind the raft together.]
Use the remaining lighter, which is the fifteenth, for the mast;
flatten out the large end and slide it through the central opening or
crack of the raft between the seven lighters on each side; then bend
the flat end of the mast along the under side of the next lighter,
up through the next space, over the next lighter and down through the
forward space. Weaving it over and under the lighters of the raft keeps
the mast firm and steady (Fig. 476).
[Illustration: Fig. 476.—The raft is launched with lumberman on board.]
[Illustration: Fig. 477.—The little lumberman.]
=Make a Little Lumberman=
like Fig. 477. Fold a piece of white writing paper; trace one-half of
the lumberman on it (Fig. 478), and cut out the figure. When he has
been painted and waxed, stand him by the mast with one arm around it.
Weave his feet in the raft as you wove the mast, and he will stand up
as straight as a good soldier (Fig. 476).
=Launch the Raft=
on the water; it will dance merrily over the waves, and you can have
some of the other wax children climb up and sit on the raft as it goes
floating about. Should the children tumble off into the water, let them
swim for a while, for that is what they want to do. Then you can help
them on the raft again or bring them to land.
[Illustration: Fig. 478.—Half of the lumberman.]
When the raft is riding the waves, the four bathers holding on the
life-line and the other wax girls and boys playing in the sand, wading
and diving in the water, let a mermaid come slowly swimming through the
water toward them.
=Make the Mermaid=
of paper and her flowing tresses, also of paper. Mermaids are famous
for their beautiful hair, which they seem to be always combing with a
golden comb. Your mermaid, though, must be content to swim and enjoy
herself without the golden comb.
[Illustration: Fig. 479.—Fold the paper and cut like this.]
[Illustration: Fig. 480.—The mermaid.]
[Illustration: Fig. 481.—The mermaid’s hair in two parts.]