“I own I cannot help reflecting with some kind of chagrin that whenever we have had occasion for these sort of diversions to be exhibited in England we have almost always had recourse to foreigners to execute them; if this has been owing to the ignorance of our own people on this subject I shall be very happy if it is in my power to correct it; if it is only owing to that prevailing fondness we entertain for everything foreign I know no remedy for that evil but time and experience.” To a certain extent his complaint seems justified; as we have seen, the Aix-la-Chapelle celebrations were conducted by foreigners—Ruggieri and Sarti. Later in the century, Morel Torré, who, as previously mentioned, collaborated with Ruggieri in pyrotechnic displays for Louis XV, and several other pyrotechnists came to this country and conducted displays. At the same time, however, there were undoubtedly many capable pyrotechnists of English nationality, who found scope for their abilities in the exhibitions given in the pleasure gardens of London and the provinces in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. A history of pyrotechny would not be complete without a survey of these popular places of amusement, and we propose in the following chapter to give a brief summary of the better known places of resort. CHAPTER V THE LONDON PLEASURE GARDENS During the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries the Pleasure Gardens filled a position in the lives of a large proportion of the public comparable with that of the Cinema to-day. To the great mass of the public, the most general form of evening relaxation was a visit to one or other of these places of resort. Apart from meals of a more or less elaborate nature, and liquid refreshments of various kinds, a great variety of entertainments were provided, varying from displays of horsemanship to exhibitions of paintings. Of these diversions none were more general than fireworks and illuminations. At many gardens fireworks formed a regular feature of the programme, at others, generally less ambitious undertakings, displays were confined to occasions, such as the King’s Birthday. Space will hardly permit of more than a glance at those resorts situated in the provinces, but a description of those in the London area may be taken as typical.