LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
JUBILEE BONFIRES,—A PRACTICAL SUGGESTION.
[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
was pleased, in a recent number of the Spectator, to see that you approve of bonfires as one means of celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Bonfires have several advan- tages in such circumstances that cannot be overlooked. In the first place they cost comparatively little, and afford immense delight to the younger members of the community, or to the inhabitants of remote districts who cannot take _part in any festivities available in more thickly populated places. Then, again, a multitude of well-arranged bonfires produces a magnificent spectacular effect, well calculated to remain deeply impressed on the memory of all who have seen them. An extraordinary event such as the completion of the sixtieth year of the reign of the best Sovereign that has ever presided over the destinies of this Empire, should be celebrated in an extraordinary way. It is only right that, at the suggestion of her Gracious Majesty herself, the thank- offerings of her attached subjects should be largely devoted to objects of permanent philanthropy, such as diminishing the distress of the sick and suffering by improving the hospitals and Institutions for their relief. At the same time there are good reasons why the Diamond Jubilee should also be celebrated
in a more simple and visible way, a way that will remain deeply impressed on the memory of the people as a whole, and will linger as a tradition of the happy Victorian Age among future generations in the remotest districts of the Kingdom, where Jubilee nurses and homes for incurables are but little known, or wanted either perhaps. Such an event will not occur again in the lifetime of this generation or the next, and therefore an unusual effort should be put forth to make the date a memorable one. With a galaxy of well-made bonfires, all blazing together on the top of every hill from Land's End to John o' Groats, a magnificent spectacle would be produced which thousands of the poorest of her Majesty's subjects could promote and appreciate. To see the face of the land for hundreds of miles sparkling with lights, as the sky glitters with stars, would, indeed, be a memorable ex- perience, and I hope that many of your readers, and especially those who, like the writer, live in the country, will agree with the suggestions I wish now to make.
My reason in writing is mainly this, that at the Jubilee celebrations in 1887 a lesson was given as to how not to do the thing at many places. Bonfires were lit, and the effect was no doubt interesting, but nothing like what it should have been had the arrangements been more intelligently carried out. A bonfire means literally a "good fire" or a "grand blaze," and the motto of every bonfire-maker should be " let there be light," not smoke. In 1887 many patriotic and well-meaning but ignorant people liberally provided carts of coal and barrels of tar, placing the barrels in the centre and heaping the coal round them. When the hour came to light up, it took long to get the fire properly started, and once fairly kindled it took far longer to go out. The coal went on burning steadily and smokily for a week or more perhaps, producing much heat, but never once blazing up in good style. When the beat reached the barrels they burst, and the tar ran out among the coal, producing very little flame from want of air, and ending by saturating the ground so that nothing could grow on it for a long time to come. A bonfire of this sort is unworthy of the name. What is wanted is a fire that can be quickly kindled and will blaze up brilliantly for an hour or two, and then burn itself completely out without smouldering and becoming a source of danger when no one is left to look after it. The spectators should be able to enjoy a splendid blaze for an hour or so, and then go home thoroughly pleased with the innocent night's amusement provided for them and their children, and without fear of the fire smouldering and spread- ing beyond its assigned spot after they have left it and retired to bed.
Now my suggestion is that the patriotic British public should, especially in the rural and hilly districts, arrange a series of bonfires on a gigantic scale hitherto unheard of, to be built on all prominent places, and kindled, say, at 9.30 on the same night, so that they shall all blaze up together and reach the height of their brilliance about the same hour. Coal is of very little use, and should only be sparingly used, if used at all. The chief material should, if possible, always be wood, and in order to collect enough fuel I would suggest that proprietors, farmers, and all who may have at this season branches of trees cut down during winter, or hedge-trimmings not yet burnt np, should begin to save what they have, and convey the brushwood to con- venient places instead of burning it up piecemeal, as is usually done to get rid of it. Empty tar-barrels, old creosoted railway sleepers, boxes, spars, &c., should also be collected, so that when the eventful night arrives there will be a vast quantity of combustible materials ready in each locality. To construct the bonfire the fuel should be built up in a high conical stack. The writer once superintended the con- struction of a bonfire 30 ft. high on an island in the Firth of Forth, which burned so brilliantly that the people on the shore of Fife, five miles off, thought the whole island had taken fire. It is most important to arrange the materials with ample air space between them, since there cannot be good combustion unless air can thoroughly penetrate the mass. The last and most important principle of all is to kindle the bonfire near the top, and let it burn downwards like a torch, and so consume its own smoke and produce the maximum of luminosity while it lasts.
I may mention that on my own estate in Linlitbgowshire I am collecting old hedges taken out during winter, and
branches of trees recently cut down, for a Jubilee bonfire or two, and I hope that others of your country readers in similar circumstances may see fit to act on some of the hints thrown out in this letter, and so contribute to the success of the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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