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RIESBECK’S TRAVELS THROUGH GERMANY. 95
been affured, that the four hundred play together as diftinctly, as cleanly, and as juftly
as when there are only from twenty to thirty. This is certainly the only concert of the
kind in the world.
One of the moft pleafing fights I have feen here was that of the lemonade booths in
the f{ummer evenings. ‘They put upa large tent in fome of the public parts of the town,
round it are feveral hundred ftools, which are occupied by the ladics and gentlemen of
the place. At fome diftance there is a band of mufic; the wonderful mulic, the feftive
filence, and the familiarity which night diffufes over every thing, have all of them an
unfpeakable good effect. :
To fee the equipages of Vienna, you muft go to a fire-work on the Prater in the fum-
mer time. The Prater is a wood of oaks and beeches on an ifland of the Danube, near
the city. Towards the entrance, under the trees, there are about thirty tents, furnifhed
with chairs and tables, in which you meet with all kinds of refrefhments. ‘I he place is
conftantly reforted to by day; but to fee it in its fplendor, you mutt go to a fire-work ;
about twelve thoufand people aflemble and take their fupper under the trees. Towards
the entrance of the night, ona given fignal, they flock to the meadow, furrounded with
high trees, in which the fpetacle is exhibited. Dire¢tly oppofite to the firework is a
magnificent amphitheatre filled with feveral hundreds of ladies, whole high painted
cheeks, rich jewels, and light fummer clothes, have an unfpeakable good effect. ‘The
pit betwixt the amphitheatre and the firework is filled as full as it can hold with men.
At the conclufion of the feftival a moft extraordinary fight takes place; a row, of from
twelve to fifteen hundred coaches, pheetons, and other four wheeled equipages, goes
from the wood to the city, in fo direct and clofe a line, that when they {top, tne beam of
the hinder carriages are clofe upon the cheft of the fore ones; the confequence of which
is, that as they go only in full trot, or gallop, many of the carriages are broke, and the
people in them expofed to the utmoft danger: moft of thefe are gentlemen’s coaches,
with four or fix horfes to them; the number of thefe in this place are at leaft three thou-
fand five hundred; there are about five hundred hackney coaches, and about three
hundred coaches that are let out. Notwith{tanding the number of equipages on this
occafion, there is hardly ever the lea{t diforder; the foot-paflengers have their road,
which no coachman dares to break in upon. The bridge betwixt the fuburb of Leopold
and the Prater, in which the preflure is ftrongeft, is divided into four parts; the two
outermott of thefe are for the foot-paffengers, and the innermoft for the coaches ; that
is, one for thofe who are going from, and another for thofe who are coming to the city.
This order is kept up through the wood and on the chau/eé in the fuburb, till you come
to the city, and fome cuirafieres ride to and fro with drawn fabres to fee that the order
be obferved. ‘There is no inftance of an accident having happened at the time of a fef-
tivity ; all the cafualties that take place through the neglect of coachmen, happen in the
daily bufinefs of the city ; there are, however, never above feven people driven over in
a year, whereas at Paris we reckon there are twenty.
As to the firework itfelf, I fet it far above ali the amufements of this place, not ex-
cepting the national theatre itfelf. MM. Stuwer, who was the artificer, whofe works I faw,
under{tands it thoroughly ; he exhibits whole gardens, large palaces, and temples, in
due perfpective, with all their different fhades of colour, and almoft as large as the life.
His machines are particularly large and beautiful, and often make from fix to eight
_fronts, from fifty to fixty feet long. At the opening of the exhibition, they let off fe-
veral hundred rockets, which fly up with a noife like thunder, fhake the whole foreft,
and inake it light as at noon day, A few years ago he had a rival called Girandolini,
who, in the eftimation of all connoifleurs, had much more merit than himfelf, but was
the
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