Rockets of 1 lb. were fired in flights of one hundred, and a final flight of three thousand; sets of Roman candles, each containing two hundred; one hundred fiery jets, etc., etc. The “Fourth of June” celebration at Eton has always been the occasion of a firework display, and displays have taken place annually, with the exception of the years of the Great War, from at least as early as the beginning of the nineteenth century. Hone, in his “Everyday Book” (1831), speaks of the fireworks as a well-established feature of the festival. It is possible, and even probable, that they date from the reign of George III, on whose birthday the event takes place. [Illustration: PANORAMA OF SOME OF THE AERIAL EFFECTS IN THE NATIONAL FIREWORK DISPLAY AT HYDE PARK, 19th JULY, 1919.] CHAPTER VII FIREWORK MANUFACTURE The manufacture of fireworks in this country, as an industry distinct from mere firework making, dates from the early part of the eighteenth century. Before that period displays appear to have been generally carried out by the military, or at any rate under the control of artillery or engineer officers. At that time the art was considered to have two distinct branches, civil and military pyrotechny, the latter class naturally attracting most attention during a period when Europe was almost continuously at war, and when firearms had made little progress from the early types. As has been previously mentioned, Jones complains that when it was required to carry out a display of fireworks on a large scale, recourse was always had to foreigners to conduct it. One reason was that, apart from the actual making of the firework units, a display depends far more for its success on the experience and skill of the pyrotechnist in arranging and composing both the form and sequence of the pieces. The firework makers capable of carrying out a display on a large scale were very few; there were fewer, if any, in this country. The whole of the trade was illegal; under the statute of the 9th and 10th of William III it was illegal to make, sell, or let off fireworks: “By the 9th and 10th of William, Chap. 7, it is enacted: That if any Person shall make or cause to be made, or sell, give, or utter, or offer, or expose to sale any Squibs, Rockets, Serpents, or other Fire-works, he shall forfeit Five Pounds. And that if any Person shall permit the same to be fired from his House or Premises, or shall cast or fire, or be aiding and assisting in casting or firing the same in any public Street, House, Shop, River, or Highway, he shall forfeit Twenty Shillings, or be committed to the House of Correction to hard Labour for one Month.” This Act continued in force up to the passing of the Gunpowder Act in 1860. There were periods during which it was practically a dead letter, and again periods of sporadic activity.