Towers, castles, ships, pagodas, Eec. are all made on the same principles; and as we could nut detail their construction to any useful purpose, they must be left to the ingenuity of the artist. It is only necessary to remember, that the transverse framing must always be sufficiently strong to carry the pins for wheels, or to support rockets, crackers, serpents outside, and lights within; and that the sides must he made of strings, to allow them to be packed up within the body of the case. 'nit wooden part of a ship may he the gunwale and the keel ; or if these are made narrow, they may be fully framed with their masts, and the nece.,sat y rigging, and laid on their sides in the case. The same practice may be adopted for dragons and such like objects ; and, when necessary, a little more room may he allowed between the hoops for this class of transparencies. We need say nothing more on the method of painting and ornamenting all these figures or mutations. The general_ principle is the same in all; to use brilliant and transparent colouring, while in all other points the artist is free to follow his own taste. It is now necessary to describe the fireworks, and the method of attaching and disposing them about the transparencies.
All those figures that are large enough to contain one in their cavity, without risk of taking fire, are to be provided with an internal illumination light or speckie, which is to be properly fixed on the middle of the bot tom frame. Ships, and such like objects, do not admit of this ornament. These fires are made according to the compositions described in another part of this article, and which we need not therefore repeat ; and they may be varied by using different coloured lights, either in the same piece in succession, or in the different pieces. Before these are fixed in their places, they must be primed and furnished with a bit of quick match, and they are then ready to be introduced into the line of the com municating fire.
The wheels used for this purpose cannot well be made in the spiral form, as these occupy too much room. They are single case wheels, perforated in the middle, and bored with two lateral opposed holes at the extremities ; but as the method of making these has also been described elsewhere, we need not repeat it. These wheels may be introduced in various ways, according to the taste of the artist ; and, for example, if the object be a lantern, one may be fixed on each side of the bottom frame. The pin which carries them is firmly fastened into that part, and then they are laid parallel to it, and secured by two slips of very slight paper. These also must be properly printed with quick match, well secured, before any thing further is done.
Rows of crackers, made in the manner of the Chinese crackers, elsewhere described, are fixed, by means of a hit of string or pasted paper, wherever they may be required. If in a ship, they are disposed round the gunwale ; if in a castle, in the loop holes, or on the battlements, and so on Where dragons are to be used, a large cracker may be inclosed within the body, which is to be fired last of all. Serpents may be dis
posed in similar ways, but their heads must always be so directed that they may fly downwards, or out of the case, as they might otherwise get entangled in it above, and fire some of the movements before their time. This is an accident cautiously to he avoided throughout the whole construction of the machine, as it would entire ly ruin the performance and spoil the effect. All these, like the former, must be primed before they are first fixed, as this is not so easily done afterwards.
The only other fires that can be introduced, are small gmbes, or spur lights; and these, like the others may be fixed in any convenient places; al ways taking care that their fire be directed outwards, fur the reason last mentioned. Sky rockets, not ex ceeding an inch in length, may be fixed in some of the movements. Their sticks are made of a slender piece of slit bamboo; but they must be so disposed outward when the mutation piece laps, that they may fly off clear of the drum. An ingenious artist will easily lied the means of managing this without any particular di rections.
Supposing now all the pieces to be framed and pro vided with their several fires ready primed, a stout string is to be hone up to the ceiling of the artificer's room. From the top downwards a mark is made, as long as the drum, and about a foot or a foot and a half, or even two feet or more, according as the ope rator may wish the pit cc to descend more or less below it when it is lighted. The last or uppermost piece is then fastened to it, so as to hang freely ; after which it is conducted down through the middle of this piece to the next, and so on in succession, till they are all strung upon it at such distances as to permit each piece to fall, when detached, to the same distance below the drum. As to do all this at once requires a lofty room, the upper ones may be put away, while the lower are fastened on.
It is next necessary to prime the whole piece, that it may continue to burn from one end to the other, without more lighting, and that every firework in it may take fire at the proper time. This is the part which requires the principal care and attention on the part of the artificer, as failure or success entirely depends on it. The method of doing it is by a cotton slow match, so calculated for length and rapidity of burning, that the part which reaches from the bottom of one piece to that of the next, may occupy just as much time as the fire works of that piece require to burn out. This is a point which must be ascertained by trial. The main leader of this cotton match runs along the central string, which is filled and covered with alum and paste to prevent it from burning.