nd his clothes
and flesh gradually fade away till nothing but his skeleton
remains, which immediately begins to dance a horrible rattling
jig. The skeleton then fades away and the man is restored again.

A simple explanation is given in the Model Engineer. Between the
audience and the coffin is a sheet of transparent glass, inclined
at an angle so as to reflect objects located behind the scenes,
but so clear as to be invisible to the audience and the man in the
coffin. At the beginning the stage is lighted only from behind the
glass. Hence the coffin and its occupant are seen through the
glass very plainly. The lights in front of the glass (behind the
scenes) are now raised very gradually as those behind the glass
are turned down, until it is dark there. The perfectly black
surface behind the glass now acts like the silver backing for a
mirror, and the object upon which the light is now turned--in this
case the skeleton--is reflected in the glass, appearing to the
audience as if really occupying the stage.

The model, which requires no special skill except that of
carpentry, is constructed as shown in the drawings.

The box containing the stage should be 14 in. by 7 in. by 7-1/2
in., inside dimensions. The box need not be made of particularly
good wood, as the entire interior, with the exception of the
glass, figures and lights, should be colored a dull black. This
can well be done by painting with a solution of lampblack in
turpentine. If everything is not black, especially the joints and
background near A, the illusion will be spoiled.

The glass should be the clearest possible, and must be thoroughly
cleansed. Its edges should nowhere be visible, and it should be
free from scratches and imperfections. The figure A should be a
doll about 4 in. high, dressed in brilliant, light-colored
garments. The skeleton is made of papier mache, and can be bought
at Japanese stores. It should preferably be one with arms
suspended by small spiral springs, giving a limp, loose-jointed
effect. The method of causing the skeleton to dance is shown in
the front view. The figure is hung from the neck by a blackened
stiff wire attached to the hammer wire of an electric bell, from
which the gong has been removed. When the bell works he will kick
against the rear wall, and wave his arms up and down, thus giving
as realistic a dance as anyone, could expect from a skeleton.

The lights, L and M, should be miniature electric lamps, which