THIS lady was in her 62d year, and well all day till night, when the began to be heavy; after fupper fhe was put to bed, and talked three hours with her maid; at laft falling asleep the door was fhut, In the morning, the maid going to call her, faw her corpfe in this deplorable condition. Four feet diftant from the bed was a heap of afhes, two legs untouched, ftockings on, between which lay the head, the brains, half of the backpart of the fkull, and the whole chin burnt to afhes, among which were found three fingers blackened. All the reft was afhes, which had this quality, that they left in the hand a greafy and ftinking moifture. The air in the room had foot floating in it: a fmall oil lamp on the floor was covered with ashes, but no oil in it. Of two candles on the table, the tallow was gone, but the cotton left, fome moisture about the feet of the candlesticks; the bed undamaged, the blankets and fheets only raised on one fide, as when one gets out of bed: the whole furniture fpread over with moift afh-coloured foot, which penetrated the drawers, and fouled the linen. This foot even got into a neighbouring kitchen, hung on its walls and utenfils, and a bit of bread covered with this foot, was refufed by feveral dogs. In the room above, the faid foot flew about, and from the windows trickled down a greafy, loathfome, yellowish liquor, with an unusual tink. The floor of the chamber was thick fmeared with gluifh moisture, not easily get off, and the ftink fpread into other chambers. The narration is followed by an enquiry into the cause of this conflagration; the refult of which is, that it was not from the lamp, nor fupernatural, nor from a flash of lightening, but from her own body; though fome concluded that it must be the effect of a fulmen. The dogs refufed the bread, becaufe of the fulphureous ftink, and nothing but a fulmen could reduce a body to impalpable afhes. But it feems there was no fulphureous or nitrous fmell of fulmen, and the effects of it would not reduce a body to impalpable afhes.-Our author thus maintains his opinion "The fire was caufed in her entrails by inflamed effluvia of her blood, by juices and fermentations in the ftomach, and many combuftible matters abundant in living bodies, for the ufes of life; and laftly by the fiery evaporations which exhale from the fettlings of fpirit of wine, brandies, &c. in the tunica villofa of the ftomach, and other fat membranes, engendering there (as chymifts obferve) Such a drying up may be caused in our body by drinking rectified brandy, and ftrong wines, if mixed with camphor; as mon→ fieur Litre obferved in the diffection of a woman 45 years old, in the hiftory of the Royal Academy of Sciences, 1706, p. 23. Befides, although the falts in living and vegetable creatures are not naturally inclined to kindle, they often contribute to it, when Joined by a ftrong fermentation. Thus the mixture of two liquors, although cold to the touch, praduces a flaming fire. Becher was the firft difcoverer of this marvellous phænomenon, by mixing oil of vitriol with that of turpentine. Borrichius after wards did the fame, by mixing oil of turpentine with aqua fortis; and at laft monfieur Tournefort, by joining fpirit of nitre with oil of faffafras; and monfieur Hom, berg with this acid fpirit, tagethen with the oil and quinteffences of all the aromatic Indian herbs: nay, Mr. Homberg afferts, that with a certain cold water cannons were fired anno 1710, in the abovefaid hiftory of the Academy of Sciences, p. 66. F Co By fermentation, magazines of a gunpowder, fea coal, woollen cloths, oil cloths, barns, paper-mills, and hay-cocks, have been set on fire. There is further to be confi dered the vast quantity of effluvia that emanate from our bodies. Sanctorius obferved, that of eight pounds of food and drink in a day, there is an infenfible perspiration of about five; computing with them thofe effluvia which go out of the mouth by breathing, and which might be gathered in drops on a looking-glafs. [Sect. 1. Aphor. 6.] As alfo, that, in the fpace of one night, it is customary to dif charge about fixteen ounces of urine, four of concocted excre ments by ftool, and forty and more by perfpiration. [Aphor. 59.] He teaches alfo, that numbness is an effect of too much internal heat, by which is prevented fuch an infenfible tranfpiration, as in this very cafe.- The friction of the palms of of our hands, or of any other parts of our body, may produce those fires commonly called ignes lambentes. "We learn of Eufebius Nierembergius, that fuch was the property of all the limbs of the father of Theodoricus: fuch were thofe of Charles Gonzaga, duke of Mantua, as the celebrated Bartolin took no tice of. By the teftimony of John Fabri, M. D. a noted philofopher, who faw it, sparkles of light flashed out of the head of a woman, while the combed her hair. Scaliger relates the fame of another. Cardanus, of a Carmelite monk, whose head con tinued 13 years to flash out sparkles every time he toffed his cowl on his fhoulders. Ezekiel a Caftro, M. Da wrote a treatise, intituled, Ignis lambens, mben's; on the occafion that the bantefs Caffandra Buri, of Verona, then the rubbed her arms with a ambrick handkerchief, all the skin ined with a very bright light. Jufebius relates the fame of Max-' mus Aquilanus. Licetus of Franis Guido, a civilian; and that he new Antoni Cianfio, a bookfeller n Pifa, who, when he shifted, hined all over with great brightefs. Libavius relates the fame of a youth; and Cardanus of a friend of is; faying, that when he shifted, lear fparkles of fire fhot forth of is body. Father Kircher, a Jeuit, relates, how he, going in' company into a fubterranean grotto at Rome, faw sparkles of fire evaporate from the heads of his companions, grown warm by walkmg. Father Alphonfo d'Ovale was eye-witnefs on the higheft mountains of Peru and Chili, how both men and beasts there feem shining with the brightest light from top to toe. These flames feem harmlefs, but it is only for want of proper fuel. Peter Bovifteau afferts, that fuch fparkles reduced to afhes the hair of a young man. John de Viano, in his treatife intitled, De pefte Malagenfi, p. 46. relates how the wife of Dr. Freilas, phyfician to cardinal de Royas, archbishop of Toledo, fent forth naturally, by perspiration, a fiery matter, of fuch a nature, that if the roller that the wore over her shift was taken from her, and exposed to the cold air, it immediately was kindled, and fhot forth like grains of gunpow der on stoji # n After all this, I faw, that afeverish fermentation, or a very ftrong motion of combustible mat ter, may rife in the womb of a woman, with fuch an igneous ftrength that can reduce to ashes the bones, and burn the flesh. Two fuch cafes, are known, one in the Acta Medica Hafnienf. An. 1673, and the other in M. Marcell. Donat. de Medic.> Hift. Mirab. lib. iv. The bile, which is a neceffary. juice for our digestion, was obferv. ed by P. Borelli, when vomited up by a man, to boil like aqua fortis. [Centur. ii. Obf. 1. p. 109. Befides, very strong fires may be kindled in our bodies, as well as in other animals of an hot temperament, not only by nature, buti alfo by art; which, being able to kill, will ferve for a better proof of my argument. Obfer. 77. in the German Ephemerides, 1670. Tie the upper orifice of the ftomach of an animal with a string; tie alfo its lower orifice; then cut it out above and below the liga tures, and prefs it with both hands, fo that it fwell up in one fide; which done, let the lefthand keep it fo that the fwelled part may not fubfide; and, with the right, having first, at an inch distance, placed a candle, open it quick with an anatomical knife, and you will fee a flame there conceived, coming out in a few fe conds of time: and fuch a flames may, by the curious, be perceived not only in the ftomach, but also in the inteftines. The first disco verer of this was Andrew Vulpa-rius, anatomy profeffor at Bologna Pet. Borelli, Obf. Cent. ii. Obf. 75fays, there was a certain peafant, whole linen, hempen thread, &c. if laid up in boxes, though wet, or hung upon sticks in the air, did foon take fire,... in 1 in Italy 1669. Thus a quick and violent agitation of fpirits, or a fermentation of juices in the ftomach, produces a vifible flame. The German Ephemerides, anno x. p. 53. by Sturmius, fays, That in the northmoft countries, flames evaporate from the ftomachs of those who drink strong liquors plentifully. Of three noblemen of Courland, who drank, by emulation, ftrong liquors, two of them died fcorched and fuffocated by a flame forcing itfelf from the ftomach. My lord Bacon, in his Nat, Univ. Hift. affures, he had feen a woman's belly fparkling like fire; and fuch flames would often rife in us, if the natural moisture did not quench them; as Lucretius obferves, v. 868. 1. IV. and v. 1065. 1. VI. Marcellus Donatus, in his Mirab. Hift. Medic. fays, That in the time of Godfrey of Bologne's Chriftian war, in the territory of Niverva, people were burning of invifible fire in their entrails, and fome had cut off a foot or an hand where the burning began, that it fhould not go further. After thefe and other inftances, what wonder is there, fays our author, in the cafe of our old lady? Her dulnefs before going to bed was an effect of too much heat con centrated in her breaft, that hindered the perspiration through the pores of her body, which is calcu lated to about 40 ounces per night. Her afhes, found at four feet diftance from her bed, are a plain argument, that fhe, by natural inftinct, rofe up to cool her heat, and perhaps was going to open a wide dow. V It is faid the old lady was ufed, when he felt herfelf indif pofed, to bathe all her body with camphorated fpirit of wine; and fhe did it perhaps that very night. This is not a circumftance of any moment; for the best opinion is that of the internal heat and fire; which, by having been kindled in the entrails, naturally tended upwards; finding the way eafier, and the matter more unctuous and com buftible, left the legs untouched; the thighs were too near the origin of the fire, and therefore were alfo burnt by it; which was certainly increased by the urine and excre ments, a very combuftible matter, as one may fee by its phofphorus. Galenus (Claff. 1. lib. iii. de Temperam.) fays, That the dung of a dove was fufficient to fet fire to a whole houfe: and the learned father Cafati, a Jefuit, in his Phyf. Differt. part 2. p. 48. relates to have heard a worthy gentleman fay, That, from the great quantities of the dung of doves, flights of which used, for many years, nay ages, to build under the roof of the great church of Pifa, fprung origi nally the fire which confumed the faid church. The author concludes, that certainly the lady was burnt to ashes standing, as her skull was fallen perpendicular between her legs; and that the back-part of her head had been damaged more than the fore-part was, because of her hair, and of the nerves, whose principal feat lies there and be fides, because in the face there were many places open, out of which the flames might pafs." : [Two * Galen de Morb. Diff. Pigeons dung takes fire, when it is become rotten. [Two fimilar inftances are added; one of John Hitchell, of Southampton, whose body being fired by lightening, continued burning for near three days, without any outward appearance of fire, except a kind of smoke from it. The other of one Grace Pett, a fisherman's wife of Ipfwich; who going down into the kitchen, when he was half undressed for bed, was there found the next morning lying on the right fide, extended over the hearth, with her legs on the deal floor; her body appeared like a block of wood, burning with a glowing fire with flame, the trunk covered, like charcoal, with white afhes, and her head and limbs much burnt; there was no fire in the grate, the candle was burnt out of the focket, a child's cloaths on one fide of her the discharge of fmall arms, which fhakes the very rock. After this noife has been repeated four or five times, the water, which is hot, emits thick fteam, like fmoke, is violently agitated, and fprings up to the height of fixty fathoms, in fuch quantities as to form feveral hot rivulets on every fide of the rock. The rifing and violent agitation of the water ceases in fix or feven minutes, and the cavity, or bafon, becomes empty. This furprifing phænomenon happens once a day, and is periodical, returning at a certain hour; but whether the agitations of this fpring correfpond with the tides in the neighbouring fea, has not yet been determined, ria. and a paper fcreen on the other Account of foffil glass found in Sibe were both untouched, and the deal floor, was not difcoloured, though the fat had fo penetrated the hearth as not to be fcoured out.] THE famous marienglas, or la pis fpecularis, great quantities of which are dug up in Siberia, is by fome called Mufcovy or Ruffian glafs; and by others, though with Account of a wonderful Spring in lefs propriety, ifinglafs. It is a Iceland. EYSER, a wonderful fpring in the valley of Haukadal, is but a few miles from Skaalholt. This fpring rifes in a hollow rock at the foot of a mountain. According to Mr. Olav's defcription of this fpring, who faw it in the year 1746, it is a cavity in a rock, about twenty fathoms in circumference, and three in depth. There is a fmall aperture at the bottom, through which the water gradually rifes till it runs over the bafon; then follows a terrible noife, like particular fpecies of transparent ftone, lying in ftrata, like fo many sheets of paper. The matrix or ftone in which it is found, is partly a light yellow quartz or marcaf fia, and partly a brown indurated fluid; and this ftone contains in it all the fpecies of the marienglas. The clearest and most transparent is accounted the best, and that of a greenifh tinge is looked, upon as the worst fort. Next to the colour, its fize is moft regarded. Some pieces have been found near two ells fquare; but thefe are not very common. Hence it is that they |