New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-06-18
FIRE AND FIREWORKS.
Part They Haze Played IN Celebra-
tion of Worlds Famous EUents.


President John Adams, to celebrate the ami
,,.rserv of the Fourth with the booming of can
non and the setting off of fireworks, and the
Immortal desire of every American citizen 10
ever comply with this sacred request, parents
and the police, wherever the Stars and stripes
proclaim the liberty of man, look win a certain
dread upon the fireworks feature on the pro-
granlme of festivities of the national holiday.
Why fireworks and whence the origin OF nre-
works7 It is scarcely likely that this Quesuoh
ever will be put with the intention TO deprive
the Fourth of of its prominent features; out'
as the subject is up for discussion. 1t must be
said in answer that fire and fireworks have al
ways played a conspicuous part In the celebra-
ton of the worlds famous events.
In the Memoirs of the French Academy, a
little essay on this subject is sufficiently curious
It asserts that fireworks not known to an
tiquity, that they modern invention, ana
that if ever the ancients employed fires at their
| festivals, it only for religious purposes
| Fire, in prirneval ages, symbol OF respect,
1 or an instrument OF terror. In both these ways
| God manifested himself to man. Fire was wor-
| shipped as divinity by several peoples. Inc
! Platonists COMPOUNDED 1t with the heavens. and
| considered it as the divine intelligence. Some
| times It is q symbol of majesty. God walked
| with His people, preceded by pillar of fire:
and the monarcns of Asia, according to Herod-
| otus commanded that such ensigns Of their
majesty should be carried before them. These
fires, according to Quintus Curtfus. were con-
sidered as holy and eternal, and were carried
at the head of their armies on little affairs or
silver In the midst of the magi who accom-
panied them and sang their hymns. Fire was
also symbol Of majesty among the Romans
and If it was used by them in their festivals 1t
was rather employed for the ceremonies of re-
Of t'Iair rpin
ings.
Fire was always held to be most proper and
holy for sacrifices In this the pagans initiated
the Hebrews The fire carefully preserved
by the vestas probably an imitation OF
that which fell from heaven on the victim offered
by Aaron, and long afterward relgously kept
up by the priests. Servius, one of the seven
kings of Rome commanded great fire Of straw
to be kndIed in the public place of every town
in Italy to consecrate for repose certain day
in seed time or sowing. The Greeks lighted
lamps at certain feast held in honor Of Min
erva. who gave them oil: of Vulcan, who was
the inventor of lamps, and of Prometheus who
had rendered them service by the fire which he
had stolen from heaven Another feast to Bac-
chus celebrated by a grand nocturnal 1llu-
mination in which wine was poured forth pro-
fusely to all passengers A feast in memory OF
Ceres who sought so long in the darkness of
hell for her daughter, was kept by burning
number of torches Great Examinations were
made in various other meetings, particularly in
the secular games which lasted three whole
nights, and so carefully were they kept up that
these nights had no darkness In all their re-
ioicines the ancients indeed used fires, but they
were intended merely to burn their sacrifices,
and as the generality Of them were per-
formed at night, the Examinations served to give
light to the ceremonies. Artificial fires were
frequently used by them, but not in public re-
.ioicings They employed them for military pur-
poses From the latest times Of paganism to
the early ages of Christianity only instances
can be quoted of fire lighted up for other pur
poses. In a public form, than for the ceremonies
of religion Nominations made at the
baptism of princes as symbol of that life of
light in which they were going to enter by faith,
or at the tombs of martyrs, to light them during
the watchings OF the night All these were abol-
ished because of the various abuses they intro
duced.
The rise of feux de joie. or fireworks. given
merely for amusing spectacles to delight the eye,
may be traced to the epoch of the Invention of
nowder and cannon. at the close of the thirteenth
century To the Florentines and the Sennese is
due the credit for the preparation of powder
with other ingredients we'll the invention
of elevated machines and decorations adapted
to augment the pleasure of the spectacle. They
hepan their attempt at the feasts of St John
the RaptTst and the Assumption on wooden ed
faces which they adorned with painted statues, |
from whose mouths and eyes issued a beautiful |
fire Cabot has engraven numerous specimens |
of the nageants triumphs and professions under |
a great variety of grotesque forms-dragons |
s,ysns eagles etc, which were built up large |
enough to carry many persons while they vom- |
tied forth the most amusing fireworks. This !
use passed from Florence to Rome, where, at the |
creation of the popes. they displayed illumina- |
ton, of hand grenades. thrown from the height |
of a castle An account of decorated fireworks |
is given In the Secret Memoirs of France In |
August 1864 Tore, an Italian artist, obtained |
permission to exhibit pyrotechnic operation |
The Parisians admired the variety OF the coiors |
and the ingenious forms OF his fire. But this |
first exhibition disturbed by the populace |
as well as by the apparent danger of the fire, |
although 1t was displayed on the Boulevards. |
In october 1t was repeated These artificial fires |
are described having been rapidly and splen- |
dfdIv executed. The exhibition closed with a |
TRANSPARENT triumphal arch and curtain IL |
Illuminated by the same fire, exhibiting the palace
s,f Pluto. His subject was a representation or |
the FORCES of Vulcan under Mount Etna. The /
interior of the mount discovered Vulcan and his |
Cyclops Venus seen to descend and de- /
nand of her consort armor for 14Sneas Oppo-
site TO this was seen the palace of Vulcan. which