Page:Pyrotechnics the history and art of firework making (1922).djvu/96

 'em, and could go to bed without dreaming of the Last Day, must be as hardened an Atheist as * * * *."

St. James's Park was reserved for those who paid for admission. The trees were illuminated with lamps, and a Chinese bridge, which had been erected over the lake, was similarly treated. The use of gas on this structure must be one of the earliest occasions of its being employed for outdoor illuminations of this nature. Neither can the result be considered altogether successful, as the building caught fire towards the end of the firework display, and a lamplighter, who appears to have been caught by the flames in an attempt to throw himself into the water, was killed. Other men similarly employed were also severely burned. These men, evidently through ignorance, had started lighting the lower lamps first, working upwards on the structure, until they found themselves in a position of intolerable heat with no means of descending.

The pyrotechnic display consisted chiefly of aerial fireworks with gerbs, roman candles, fountains, and wheels; there do not appear to have been many devices of any size. "The Times" reporter complains that "the repetition of these things, with occasional pauses, for more than two hours became tedious to all."

The coronation of George IV, in 1821, was celebrated by a display in Hyde Park, including land and water fireworks, superintended by Congreve. The displays on the coronation of William IV, in 1831, were directed by Congreve's successor, Sir Augustus Frazer, but appear to have been of an insignificant character.

Queen Victoria's coronation was celebrated by displays in Hyde Park and Green Park, conducted by Southby and D'Ernst, which exhibitions included a Temple on similar lines to that of 1814.