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The mirror into which the lady was to look, was in a room adjoining that in which Henry was sitting on the throne.  It was placed at such an angle that her face would not be reflected in it, but an aperture in the wall allowed the figure of Henry to be reflected from a looking-glass, hung near the ceiling, down upon the “magic” mirror.  So, of course, she saw his picture there, and believed entirely in the old humbug, Nostradamus.

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But there are much simpler methods by which the vagaries of light may be made amusing, and among the best of these are what are called “Chinese shadows.”  These require a little ingenuity, but they are certainly simple enough.  They consist of nothing but a card or paper, upon which the lights of the picture intended to be represented are cut out.  When this is held between a candle and a wall, a startling shadow-image may be produced, which one would not imagine to have any connection with the card, unless he had studied the manner in which said card was cut.  Here is a picture of a company amusing themselves with these cards.  No one would suppose that the card which the young man is holding in his hand bore the least resemblance to a lion’s head, but there is no mistaking the shadow on the wall.

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The most wonderful public exhibitions of optical illusions have been those in which a real ghost or spectre apparently moves across the stage of a theatre.  This has frequently been done in late years, both in this country and Europe.  The audiences were perfectly amazed to see a spirit suddenly appear, walk about the stage, and act like a regular ghost, who did not seem to be in the least disturbed when an actor fired a pistol at him, or ran him through with a sword.  The method of producing this illusion is well shown in the accompanying picture.  A large plate of glass is placed in front of the stage so that the audience does not perceive it.  The edges of it must be concealed by curtains, which are not shown in the picture.  An actor, dressed as a ghost, walks in front of the stage below its level, where he is not seen by the audience, and a strong electric light being thrown upon him, his reflected image appears to the spectator as if it were walking about on the stage.  When the light is put out of course the spirit instantly vanishes.

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A very amusing account is given of a man who was hired to do some work about a theatre.  He had finished his work for the present, and wishing to eat his supper, which he had brought with him, he chose a nice quiet place under the stage, where he thought he would not be disturbed.  Not knowing that everything was prepared for the appearance of a ghost, he sat down in front of the electric lamp, and as soon as it was lighted the audience was amazed to see, sitting very comfortably in the air above the stage, a man in his shirt-sleeves, eating bread and cheese!  Little did he think, when he heard the audience roaring with laughter, that they were laughing at his ghost!