Georgiana had seen very few streetlamps in Mechelen. By comparison, Brussels was full of ornate streetlamps, all of them brought about by Louis XIV, the Sun King.
Paris was a city that never slept, but not every European city had nightlife as rich as Paris's. Most people went home to rest as soon as darkness fell, while thieves came out at that very hour. Eighty percent of crimes occurred at night.
The Sun King believed that lighting the streets with lamps would reduce crime and accidents, while also making it easier for people to go out at night and stroll beneath the lamps.
But maintaining streetlamps was far too expensive—not only the whale oil, but also the lamplighters' wages. Brussels also wanted to install the new gas lamps that had recently appeared in Paris, converting its existing streetlamps. However, a problem had arisen: Mr. Windsor of Germany and Soho were locked in a dispute over patents. Although Charleroi had gas and coal, and Brussels had its own ironworks capable of easily copying gas lamps, they did not dare lay them down without authorization. After all, Bowens had previously stolen equipment for British textile machines.
Besides Bowens, there was also an Irish politician named James Napper Tandy. He had been Ireland's artillery commander and had likewise taken part in the American Revolutionary War. He was one of the organizers of the Society of United Irishmen. He had gone into exile as early as 1793, first travelling to Philadelphia and then to Paris. With the Directory's assistance, he became a general and supported the formation of resistance organizations against Britain.
In 1798, he had intended to take part in a return to Ireland, but he abandoned the venture before even reaching Irish soil. While making his way back to Paris through Hamburg,