It may not be improper, in concluding this article, to notice, in a general manner, the exhibition of the works of fire by the ancients.
The fire-works of the ancients consisted, for the principal part, of illuminations, and the use of some particular descriptions of fire. They were, however, very imperfect. Since the invention of gunpowder, its effects as well as its modifications, in this particular, became known; and, so far as respects the various preparations of artificial fire, gunpowder itself has produced a new era in pyrotechny, and the various modifications, to which it is subject, have occasioned a great variety of fire-works.
According to the authority we have on the subject, it appears, that the ancients, in exhibiting their preparations of fire, set them off by the hand, and directed them among the people, which produced great eclat.
Another description of fire-work was designed expressly for the theatre, part of which was exhibited in the form of man or beast. Of their theatrical works, our accounts are imperfect. Their works, generally, were formed of lardons, stars, and fire-balls, in imitation of grenades, and flying fusées or rockets. That they neither had a system in arranging, nor regularity in exhibiting their works, is evident from a variety of circumstances; for, although the number of their pieces, such as they were, was great; yet, they so crowded them upon each other, as that, when they were fired, they frequently destroyed the persons in their vicinity. An author of antiquity observes, that "he has seen a great many artificial machines, but, to speak the truth, few which have succeeded; and it is commonly after acclamations of joy, that the spectacle is finished by the destruction of some, and the wounding of a great number."
This fact is not at all surprising; because their works were prepared in wooden tubes, at least among the more modern, as paper cases were not then known. These tubes, moreover, were not secured by any covering, and were the more likely to burst, and hence accidents were common. The moderns, however, have rejected altogether the use of wood, in the formation of cases, and have availed themselves of the use of paper, which can be made of any size or thickness. (See [Pasteboard.])
Notwithstanding wood is not employed by experienced fire-workers, partly in consequence of the reasons just given, and partly because paper furnishes a material in every way adapted to the purpose; yet, within a few years past, reed has been used in Spain, which, however, is secured by cloth and pack thread. Such substitutes, nevertheless, besides being more or less dangerous, have nothing to recommend them. It is a fact, that the Chinese, who undoubtedly excel in the manufacture of fire-works, if we believe the authority of the English embassy, use altogether paper cases; but in the war-rocket, employed by the natives against the British at Seringapatam, which did, according to the English account, great execution, their cases were formed entirely of sheet-iron. In their smaller works, which are prepared expressly for sale, paper cases are altogether made use of.
[CHAPTER II.]
FIRE-WORKS FOR THEATRICAL PURPOSES.
Sec. I. Of Puffs, or Bouffées.