The Crystal Palace had its last firework show of the
year on Thursday, and it was the most effective yet held there. There can be no place in the world so well suited for displays of the kind, and it is clear that the Directors have got somebody with a head to direct them. The arrangements were perfect, there was never a minute's delay between the acts, and the contrasts were most artistically contrived. The scene on Thursday night was one which it would be impossible to equal elsewhere. Thelong lines of light inside the building, the glare of the magnesium fire-balloons, the delicate green of the illuminated fountains, the red port-fires in front of the Palace, and the showers of rockets, all in turn con- trasting with the bright moonlight, made one of the most striking effects of colour imaginable. The set pieces were again spoiled to a great extent by the wind, which perversely blew the smoke in dense clouds just between them and the terrace, where the bulk of the spectators were massed. The real place from which to get the grand effect is the balcony of the dining-rooms, whence a full view of the gardens, fountains, and fireworks can be secured at once. We have only one hint to give—eannot the Crystal Palace managers import some of the devices of -Chinese pyrotechniste, who have really a distinct theory of fireworks ? They cannot improve further on English ideas.
Previous page
