The Sun.
London, England, 1854-07-06 00:00:00

SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

Familiar as these
gardens are to the inhabitants of Cam-
berwell, Kennington, Walworth, and parts adjoining, it
is doubtful whether the extent of their fame is commen-
surate with their merits. A river is always found to be
an almost insuperable barrier to the inhabitants of a me-
tropolis, and, though there is no more difficulty in crossing
a bridge than in going down a street, the " other side of
the water" alvvas conve s a notion of a sort of Ultima Thule
oven to those who would eagerly seek the other side of the
Channel.

trouble of
Now, in the case of the Surrey Gardens, there are certain
peculiarities the contemplation of which well repays the
on-1Y do we see pyrotechnic art turned to a purpose never
passing that magic boundary, the Thames. Here
dreamt of by the old conventional contrivers of rockets,
stars, blue lights, and golden showers. A magnificent "set
scene," remarkabl) oven as a picture on a large scale, is set
up on the borders of a lake, with the real sky at the back,
and is a striking object by clay, while it is the vehicle for
the fireworks at night. Chusan is the place represented,
and it is actually bombarded, until, history giving place to
fancy, it blows up into a storm of rockets. Fire-rafts that
float on the real water blaze till they fall to pieces and sink,
and what with the flames on the lake, and the explosion at
the back, a tableau is presented that is actually marvellous.
Nor is variety scorned by the exhibition. Before the
bombardment takes place the inhabitants of Chusan are
supposed to amuse themselves with a "feast of lanterns,"
and the lake is covered with all sorts of fantastic fireworks
and transparencies. To these sports of peace the noisier
manifestations of war come in as the terrible supplement.
The proprietors of the Surrey Gardens are almost puri-
tanical in their notions of decorum, and, such enemies are
they to late hours, that the fireworks are le off as soon
after nightfall as possible, becoming earlier and earlier as
the year declines from the summer solstice. There is an
orchestra, and there is singing (of very good quality), but
the art of Terpsichore is not acknowledged in the Ken-
nington Arcadia. Indeed, the various amusements are all
more or less of the grave and instructive kind. There is
a good stock of wild beasts, there is a collection of work-
ing hues to be seen in every stage of industry, there is an
elephant which draws passengers in a car round the gar-
dens at a penny a-head, and shows wondrous skill in
turning round a corner ; there is an elastic bridge, which
gives strong evidence of its elasticity to all who cross it,
communicating—what was so much desired by the Em-
peror Tiberiue—a now sensation. Having recreated them-
selves with these sober entertainments, and seen tho pyro-
technic display to which they are the instructive preface
the modest amusement-seeker of the suburbs returns to,
to his home, which ho reaches by a respectable Supper-
time.

CRYSTAL PALACE, JULY S.—SHILLING DAY--No,
of season tickets sold to this date, 20,370.—Admission
at the doors, 13,006 ; admission by season tickets, 1,177
—total, 14,10.