The National Register. — London, England, 1814-08-07 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL RPIIISTER. AUG. 7. ' IL fireworks and the temple together certainly gave to the ge.a ral gaze a very brilliant gratification in the Green Park. gut St. James's Park was the chief place of attraction for all those who feared to encounter the troubles of mobbing, and who could afford to pay halt-a-guinea in the expectation, of personal se en! ity and comfort. All that was dreaded was, that even there, In the timitod space of the lawn, with the unpretending refreshment or the proMenade . of what is still called the Birdcage-walk, the In flux %%mild oe too great, or that the crowds in. the mall might be tempted to invade the inclosnre, and disturb the select scene, and make free with tl a accommodations which the booths afforded For the honour of the London populace, we must say, that nothing dis agreeable of this sort occurred; and we must, in fairness add, that it was exceedingly creoitable to the conductors of the fete, that they hail so goad an opinion of the British public, that they did not thi.,k it necessary to provide any military demonstrations for the pm pose of contrmiling or overawing the dispositions of the po pii!acis.- Whatever order or &chitin) was preserved, was not owing to the soldiery. of whom we never saw so few employed as on this occasion, whereon many naturally thought that their assistance world he materially nece s sary. The enclosed space iii St. James's Perk being a level, and viewed at mice, appears rather small ; but its actual dimensions are such as to contain thousands with perfect ease. Notwithstanding the immense crowds in the streets which we have betore noticed, the access to this Park was very easy at several gates. Between two and °Ace o'clock some thousands entered, and their numbers graeually increased till dusk, when they augmented ve ry col•siderailly. ant the place had all the appearance of Vauxhall en a full night. Besides the Birdcage-walk, the Parade, and the r.t of Buckin boil e, outside •of the semi circular mailing, ere appropriated to that in.rt of the public who paid for admission Sa many de eriptions have been already given of the internal ur vaegimi.nts, that it is not necessary to add flinch on that scoria Tells were pitched in rows along the sides of the Canal ; and at regnlar inter.als. national flags were leristesl. A number of Thames wateimen had permission to ply on the Canal. Many worthy citi zens and their families enjoyed an aquatic diversion for the first and perlne a the last time, on this regal stream ; and several boat races tooK place before diisk ; but the boats were just as they are seen, on the river; not painted, decorated, and eusigned, as was expected. Of the booths erected for the accommodation of the company, many were untenanted ; those, however, which were occupied had a pretty good share of business. The time, till dark, •. was chiefly occupied by the company in walking backwards and forwards, or getting their dinner, THE BALLOON. law,' in front of Buckingham House was enebsed for the purpose of tilling and sending up a balloon. At five o'clock a most magnificent atrial globe was•sufficiently inflated, and nearly all the spectators crowded round the spot. • The Queen, some time after. came with a party of the nobility who had taken an early dinner with her Majesty, to inspect the apparatus by which it was filling. The balloon was ready to ascend about six o'clock, but its flight was delayed a few mieutes, that her Majesty and the Princesses • might witness the ascent. At twenty minutes past six, when the cords which held the balloon were ready to be cut,it was found, th•it the fastening which secures the network to the valve•at the top of the balloon, had by some means been disengaged, and was held only by a single twine. Under these circumstances, the new aspirant to celestial excursions, Mrs. Henry Johnstone, was informed, that she could not possibly accompany Mr. Sadler, jun. in his voyage, with• out imminent danger to both. It was also strongly recommended Mr. Sadler to decline his voyage altogether. This enterprising young aeronaut. however, feeling, for the disappointment of the public, was determined to go up, and he ascended about twenty-tint minutes past six. Whilst the balloon was still hovering over the Park, he threw from it a slumber of small paper parachutes, with jubilee favours .artaclsed to them, bearing various in s cription s . ' Alien above the London-docks the balloon appeared fin. 4 short time nearly stationary, and it was not until a quantity of ballast was. thrown out, that a quicker motion could be given to it. On passinz over Deptford, at a considerable height, Mr. Sadler went through a cl ud which left behind it on the railing of the car, and on various parts of the balloon, a thick moisture, which soon becaine frozen; and Mr. Sadler , fur a short time, felt the cold as intense as in winter. Immediately over Woolwich the string which fastened the net, AS was apprehended, suddenly broke, and the main body of the balloOn was forced quickly through the aperture, nearly 18 feet. M. Sadler, to prevent the danger which threatened him, caught the pipe at the bottom of the balloon, and by hanging on it and the valve line, he' prevented the balloon from further escaping. The valve, which had fur bum time resisted every attempt to open it, in consequence of being 503 frozen, at this time gave way, s le d su ff ere d t e r eas to escape. A stet. den shift of wind, whil,t the baliotai was apparently talliee into the middle of the Themes at Sea R eac h, carr i ed it oboist Wu yards nv, r the marshes on the Essex side, wh n the aeronart sviz d e oopot nity of Making a gash in the balloon eath hoist, which the %vied considerably widened, and occasion, d the esevee of the gas in 'peat Saoler'r descent on this accennt %yes tallier snore pre cipitate and violent that: he multi have whited. lie landed, le,u ever, in Mucking Marshes, sixteen miles below Graveseee, (.. u . t h e Essex cor.st, without sustaieiug any other injury than a slide sotaie, in about Mrty minutes atter his departure trent the Perk. Mr. S. with hi, bal loon, was conveyed by a herniates bout to Giaeeseed, no m %% h ence he took a post-chaise and four to town. and arrived at Btekingliam Mane at half-past three Tuesday morning. The `disappointed lady, Mrs. H. Johnston, had a dove in her hand, that emblem of • peace and charity, which she had ieteeded to sold down to the earth on her celestial ascension. The. Duke of Weis lington and several persons of distinction were present when the balloon went up, which happened about six o'clock. People then beguiled :heir tedious hours with eating or thinking, or observing the progress of the illumination of the Chinese bridge, or the some what . distant noise of the firing on the Serpentine river. About nine the bridge and pagoda were nearly, though they were not all night completely illuminated according to the design, either through the wind or some other accidental eircnntstattee. The lawn was lighted up by two rows on each side of the canal, on fiag-statf=, &c. of stars anti crescents placed alternately: The Mall and the Birdcage-walk, &c. were illuminated by cir cles of lamps, embracing the trunks of most of the trees. The Chinese Within ns, which promised • something fantastica t ly 14.6. aiding, by no means answered expectation; not limn any - Iola" e;:t fault in them, but from the poverty of the kids placed in them, which Was not sufficient to show off the whimsical awl pretty de vices painted on them If they formed a correct representation of Chinese illumination, it must be stenbre indeed. About ten the bridge, with its temples and pillars, and its towering, superstruc ture, became an object of singular beauty mid magnificence. Whe ther sneh a character of design had, or leaf not, any thing to do witlt the matters of celebration, it unquestionably combined the elegant and the picturesqee in the highest degree - It appeared a blazing edifice of golden lire. Every part of it was covered with lamps, the gas lights in proper places relieving the dazzling splendour with their silver lustre; the canopies of the temple throw big up their bright wheels anti stars, the pillars enriched with radiance, every rising tower of the pagoda pouring, forth its 'fiery showers, and rockets springing from the lofty to with majestic flights, almost prequning to outrival the ancient inhabitants of the firmantext. The effect of its vivid lights on the calm water which flowed beneath, the verdant foliage of time surrounding trees, the scattered tents, and the minte rous assemblage of spectators on the lawn, might, without much by. perbole, be called magical and enchanting. Alas ! too soon we shall be obliged to speak of its departed glories ! too soon to tell the fate of this superb creation of a splendid fancy ! At 10, discharges of ..etillery hurried all spectators to the western end of the Park, as they announced the commencement of the superior tire-works in the Green Park. Benches innumerable were brought by soldiers to eu able the fair portion of the assemblage to obtain a view of the Castle, of which after all, only the upper part could he seen distinctly ; that edifice being placed in a very low situation, instead of being raised em a mound so as to render it couspicsions. Then the gland display of pyrotechnics commenced, in number we readily believe, never exceeded. Rockets in proftision led the . . way, and were continned at every interval trom both parks. 2 ..seross, maroons, Roman candles, caffierine-witeels, serpents, stars, flower-pets, girandoles succeeded each other, and were dischamed with exrellel skill anti effect. That sort of firework called the girandole was very frequently displayed, in thllitent colours, and %vas decidedly the most beautiful of the whole. Nothing of the kind could be imagined finer. But the *repetition of the thing', with occasional pauses for mote than two hums, became esecssiv , Iy tedious to all. it told no intelligible tele, though the I,u[rlic had been informed that the of of the Castle were to give something like a representation of at battle and a. singe. In•tead sending np the fireworks, one or two at a time, if the had MIA thrown up more in masse:, relieved by caulles and sockets, and c"timsed in larger matses grad wtile, they would haet reached the climax of magnitiNeice, in this hind of exitibitien, ami would have produced a most striking efii•ct than half the tone employed in frittering away ail ..te atiyantaees of this splendid art. Pot we have now a sad story to tell. Near the exl the fireworks, the Pagoda exhibited are appearance ii much doubt. La tipper towers appeased enveloped in piration of hat rxcilt•tl flame; said s t . . . . 4 4 I I