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<DATE>2008-09-06</DATE>
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<NAME>Mona Logarbo</NAME>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B080811.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<BIBNO T="oclc">52529136</BIBNO>
<VID>178701</VID>
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<HEAD>A DESCRIPTION OF THE ROYAL FIRE-WORKS,</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">Prepared for Celebrating the Univer&s;al Joy, for the Ine&s;timable Ble&s;&s;ing afforded by God to the King, Queen, and People of the&s;e Realms, in the happy Birth of the mo&s;t Illu&s;trious <HI>PRINCE of WALES,</HI> pre&s;ented on the <HI>Thames</HI> over-again&s;t <HI>White-Hall,</HI> on <DATE><HI>Tue&s;day</HI> Night the 17th of <HI>July,</HI> 1688,</DATE> before both Their Maje&s;ties, the Queen Dowager, the Prince and Prince&s;s of <HI>Denmark,</HI> and the whole Court.</HEAD>
<P>_THE fir&s;t Scene of this <HI>Pyrotechnic Opera</HI> repre&s;ented the Joyful Acclamations of the People, expre&s;&s;ed in the&s;e Words, written in Letters of Flame, <HI>Vivat Rex,</HI> &s;u&s;pending between two Stately Columns, with a <HI>Girandola,</HI> containing 100 Rockets, all fired at once: And at the &s;ame Time, &s;everal Water-Machines di&s;charged divers Quantities of Water-Baloons and Water-Rockets playing in the <HI>Thames,</HI> and thence ri&s;ing up into the Air, and again falling into the Water, with great Diver&s;ion and Variety; in the mean Time, the Baloons, out of the Mortar-Pieces from the right and left Wings, with the Triumph-Guns, and a Mortar-Piece of Nine Cylinders, threw up Baloons into the Air, to a very great Height, where they broke into &s;everal Sorts of Fire-Works, as Stars, Reports, Fire-drops, and &s;mall Rockets.</P>
<P>The &s;econd Repre&s;entation was the Figure of <HI>Bacchus,</HI> mounted upon a Tun placed on a large Pede&s;tal, holding in his right hand a Golden Cup, and in his left, the Arms of the <HI>Prince of Wales:</HI> Over his Head were character'd in Letters of Flame, <HI>Laetitia Populi;</HI> while out of the Figure, Tun, and Pede&s;tal, were ca&s;t forth all Sorts of Fire-Works, playing both in the Water and in the Air; and at the &s;ame Time, on the right and left Side of <HI>Bacchus,</HI> were placed, on two Platforms, Frames of 150 great Rockets, from &s;ix to twelve Pounds weight each, which played continually.</P>
<P>The third Scene exhibited the firing the Cyphers of <HI>Their Maje&s;ties Names,</HI> encompa&s;&s;ed with two Laurel Branches of Fire, having above them an <HI>Imperial Crown,</HI> and above that a <HI>Sun</HI> in his full Lu&s;tre, between the two forementioned Pyramids of forty-five Foot high, &s;upported at each Corner with a Lion Couchant, and rai&s;ed upon two large Pede&s;tals, the &s;aid Pyramids having each, on either of the Tops, a large <HI>Flower-de-luce</HI> burning, environed with burning Laurels, and ca&s;ting out divers Sorts of Fire-Works, the Pede&s;tals likewi&s;e throwing out &s;everal Thou&s;ands of Rockets, both up into the Air, and down into the Water; and on the four Corners of the Platform, were placed as many large <HI>Girandola's,</HI> each con&s;i&s;ting of a Hundred large Rockets; and behind the&s;e Pyramids, another large Platform, furni&s;hed with five Hundred great Rockets, which played all the while the <HI>Royal Cyphers</HI> were burning, be&s;ides a Hundred great Rockets which were fired round about the Platform, on which the Pyramids were placed.</P>
<P>And now the whole Front of the Fire-Works appeared clearly enlightened which was di&s;po&s;ed after this Manner: On the right Hand of the Pyramids was placed, at a 100 Foot di&s;tance, a Figure of twelve Foot high, on a larges Pede&s;tal, the Figure re&s;embling <HI>A Beautiful Woman,</HI> in her right Hand holding a Laurel Wreath, and with her left embracing a Pyramid; on her Head, a Crown, and cloathed in a Scarlet Robe embroidered with Gold, repre|&s;enting the Emblem of <HI>Royal Glory,</HI> which was &s;ignified by a Motto, rai&s;ed three Foot above her Head, made out in flaming Letters of twenty-two Foot long, and two Foot and a half high, in the&s;e Words, <HI>Gloria Principis,</HI> &s;ending forth a continual Fire of all Sorts; and behind the Figure, at 100 Foot Di&s;tance, was a Platform, upon which all this while played three Hundred great Rockets.</P>
<P>The next Figure, &s;omewhat advanced before the re&s;t of the Front, was that of <HI>Bacchus,</HI> before de&s;cribed, repre&s;enting the Emblem of the <HI>People's Gladne&s;s,</HI> expre&s;&s;ing in like large Letters of Flame this Motto, <HI>Laetitia Populi.</HI></P>
<P>On the left Hand of the Pyramids, was another Figure of twelve Foot high, at the former Di&s;tance; this Figure re&s;embling <HI>A Beautiful Woman,</HI> was ve&s;ted in an Azure Robe, richly adorned, on her Head a Crown, with her right Hand gra&s;ping the <HI>Briti&s;h Oak;</HI> twined about with Ivy Branches and Berries, &s;tanding upon a Pede&s;tal; at her Feet, on one Side a Hare, on the other Side a Hen and Chickens, each on a little Pede&s;tal, being all Emblems of Foecundity, and alluding to her Maje&s;ty's happy Fruitfulne&s;s, expre&s;&s;ed by the Figure of Foecundity; over who&s;e Head, at three Foot Di&s;tance, burned a Motto in fiery Letters, of twenty-&s;even Foot and a half long, and two Foot and a half high, expre&s;&s;ing the&s;e Words, <HI>Fau&s;ra Foecunditas;</HI> which Figure in her left Arm held a Child, repre&s;enting the <HI>PRINCE of WALES,</HI> over who&s;e Head burned a Motto, &s;haped like a half Circle, eight Foot the whole, and four Foot the Semidiameter, in the&s;e Words, <HI>Propago Imperii,</HI> ca&s;ting forth a continual and different Fire of all Sorts, both in the Air and Water, there being al&s;o three Hundred great Rockets which played up into the Air one after another, during the Time the Figure was burning.</P>
<P>By this la&s;t De&s;cription of the Front of the Fire-Works, and the &s;everal Motto's, will be clearly under&s;tood the De&s;ign and Intent of the Whole, which imports this Sen&s;e or Meaning, <HI>viz. <HI>That the Glory of the King, and Gladne&s;s of the People,</HI></HI> had been happily augmented <HI>By the ble&s;&s;ed Fruitfulne&s;s of Her Maje&s;ty,</HI> having brought forth (in the mo&s;t Au&s;picious Birth of His Royal Highne&s;s) <HI>A Prince,</HI> to propagate the Honour and Greatne&s;s of the <HI>Briti&s;h Empixe.</HI></P>
<P>The la&s;t Firing afforded not an unplea&s;ing Spectacle, by the playing off of three Thou&s;and Rockets out of &s;ix <HI>Girandola's,</HI> which were played upon two Platforms, upon the right and left of the abovementioned Figures, each at two Hundred Foot Di&s;tance, in a &s;trait Line with the &s;aid Pyramids, concluding with the Di&s;charge of forty-five Baloons out of the afore&s;aid Mortar-Pieces and Triumph Guns from their Platforms, upon the right and left Wings. The end of this &s;plendid Diver&s;ion was made known by the Noi&s;e of His Maje&s;ty's Trumpets and Kettle Drums, &s;econded by the People's repeated <HI>Huzza's,</HI> expre&s;&s;ing the Satisfaction they had received in the happy and &s;ucce&s;sful Performance of what had been undertaken, which was clo&s;ed by the Di&s;charge of the Great Ordnance from the Tower.</P>
<P>This <HI>De&s;cription</HI> of the <HI>Royal Fire-works,</HI> now made publick, in Memory of the great Occa&s;ion for which they were fir&s;t de&s;igned, is, in all humility, Dedicated to the Growing Glory of <HI>His Royal Highne&s;s</HI> the <HI>PRINCE of WALES,</HI> by</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>His Royal Highne&s;s's mo&s;t humble, and mo&s;t obedient Servant, <HI>M. BECKMAN,</HI> Principal Engineer to His Maje&s;ty of <HI>Great Britain.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
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