How to make fire Drakes.
You must take a peece of linnen cloth of a yard or more in length; it must bee cut after the forme of a pane of glasse; fasten two light stickes crosse the same, to make it stand at breadth; then smeare it over with linseed oyle, and liquid varnish tempered together, or else wet it with oyle of peter, and unto the longest corner fasten a match prepared with saltpeter water (as I have taught before) upon which you may fasten divers crackers, or Saucissons; betwixt every of which, binde a knot of paper shavings, which will make it flie the better; within a quarter of a yard of the cloth, let there bee bound a peece of prepared stoupell, the one end whereof, let touch the cloth, and the other enter into the end of a Saucisson: then tie a small rope of length sufficient to rayse it unto what height you shall desire, and to guide it withall: then fire the match, and rayse it against the winde in an open field; and as the match burneth, it will fire the crackers, and saucissons, which will give divers blowes in the ayre; and when the fire is once come unto the stoupell, that will fire the cloth, which will shew very strangely and fearefully.
How to make Balloones, also the morter Peece to discharge them.
The diameter of the hollownesse of the morter Peece must be one foot, the longer it is the further it will carry. Let the diameter of the hollownesse of the sacke be the third part of a foot, and halfe a foot deepe: it must have a square foot, and a portfire to strew into the bottome of the sacke on the side of it; this portfire is to be made like a cane about three inches long, and have a bottome sodered unto the inside of the screw, which bottome must be pierced with a small touch hole. This morter peece may be made of yron, red copper, or for a neede with pastbord, armed with cord, and glewed ouer, but the sack, and foot of it must bee made of wood, and the pastbord morter must bee nayled fast upon it. A Balloone must be made of canuasse rowled eight or nine times upon a Former, it must bee made so, that it will easily go into the morter peece; into this Balloone you may put Rockets, Serpents, Starres, Fiends, Petards, and one or two Saucissons to breake the Balloone; then choak it up with cord, and prime it with a little cane rammed full of a slow composition; fill the stock of the morter peece full of whole gunpowder, then screw on the portfire, O, then put the Balloone down to the bottom of the morter with the cane that primeth it, downward into the stock; then with tallow or grease stop the chinks between the Balloone and the morter, and it is ready to bee discharged, which you may do by putting fire to the portfire, and while that burneth, retreat out of harmes way.
A, the figure of the morterpeece with its portfire, O. B, C, a Balloone ready made. D, an empty coffin for a Balloone.
Of Fire-works for the earth.