The Sun.
London, England, 1845-05-13 00:00:00

SURREY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

This favourite place of summer resort opened for
the season last evening. Mr. Tyler, the new lessee,
has vastly improved upon the plans of his predecessor.
He has a new subject for his fete every year, and al-
though he thus subjects himself to a greatly increased
outlay in catering for the amusement of his patrons,
yet we doubt not but that the increase of public
patronage will more than compensate-him for his in-
creast d expenses. The gardens too have been
entirely renovated and re-decorated. Several
new walks and bosquets have been formed,
and the grounds are tastefully adorned by groups of
statuary. The gardens were well filled at an early
hour by parties who had. come out determined to
make the most of Whit-Monday. At half-past four
the carnivore were fed ; the pelicans and birds at
five ; and at six the promenade concert, under the
direction of Mr. Godfrey. Among the other
improvements we may mention that the orchestra
has been enlarged, advanced nearer the audience, and
re-decorated. At this period there were upwards of
three thousand people assembled in the gardens, and
the colossal pictorial representation of Edinburgh, the
chef d'ceuvre of the pencil of Danson, was the subject
of universal admiration. " Have you been at Edin-
burgh ?" "Is it like ?" were the questions that were
constantly heard on all sides ; and when any in-
dividual, who had been at "Auld Reekie," com-
menced explaining the model to his friends, he
was immediately surrounded by an anxious group of
inquirers, eager to listen to his explanations, and not
back ward in asking him questions. Never has any-
thing been yet produced at these Gardens, which has
created anything like the sensation of this colossal
model of Edinburgh ; and Prince Albert has proved
that he completely understood the taste of the
English public, when he recommended the subject to
Mr. Tyler. 'We are not surprised at the admi-
ration which has been so freely expressed of this
beautiful work of art. Scott has done Edinburgh
no more than justice, in calling it his " ain romantic
town." Whether we regard its situation, or the
grand historical events of which it has been the
scene, Edinburgh is, " take it for all in all," perhaps
the most romantic place in the world. Here w e
have presented to us, a bird's-eye view of it, as cor-
rect, as complete, as if the town itself, with its
suburbs, had, by some Aladdin-like process, been
suddenly transported to the banks of the Thames.
There it is—the Old Town—with its quaint medi-
aeval buildings, the scene of many a deadly deed,
and of many a joyful revel—the New Town, with
its magnificent streets and squares, a rich millionaire
ostentatiously parading its wealth in the face of its
poor Nobility. There, too, is the Nor' Loch, as it
existed in days " lang syne." The Carlton Hill,
Nelson's monument (erected years before the
Nelson monument in London, to the shame
of the English be it spoken) ; Scott's monu-
ment ; Salisbury Craggs, rendered immortal
by the Great Wizard of the North, in connexion with
Jeanie Deans ; Arthur's Seat; the fine old Castle—
who that has read Marmion or Waverley can
forget the Castle ; the Royal Institution—the strong-
hold of the moral force of the present day, as the Cas-
tle was of the physical force of a former century, each
building emblematic of an age ; and, though last not
least, the fine old Palace of Holyrood, the scene of the
revelries of James—of the misfortunes of Mary—of
the short-lived triumph of Charles Edward—there,
too, is the river, the silver Forth, " wandering at its
own sweet will," and the dark mass of the Bass,
proudly rising from the ocean. It is night—the
night of the day on which the Queen first arrived at
Edinburgh ; one by one lights appear at the
windows; gradually the whole city becomes illu-
minated, and presents a most gorgeous spectacle,
Salutes are fired from the Castle, bonfires blaze on
the Calton Hill, Arthur's Seat, and the surrounding
mountains ; and then commences a grand pyro-
technic display, which far surpasses even Southby's
former doings. The grand finale is certainly the
triumph of the pyrotechnic art. A grand transparency,
fifty feet high, consisting of medallion portraits of
the Queen and Prince Albert, supported by Britannia,
and surmounted by Fame, appears in the middle
of the lake. This transparency, which is beautifully
executed by Danson, is surrounded by appropriate
emblematical devices, and is made the centre of one
of the most elaborate displays of the resources of
pyrotechny ever exhibited. It is impossible to de-
scribe the various brilliant effects, unfortunately, as
evanescent as they are brilliant, which are introduced
in this grand finale. We certainly never have seen
anything of the sort which can be at all compared
with it. There cannot be a doubt but that this will
be by far the most popular tableau that hastver been
exhibited at these gardens, and that the season will
be most prosperous.