The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1830-08-18
E,an, De Kingston CANADA GaseIts.

- From the AtngSton CGft0dd) Ud~ette.
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION OF DRUNK
ARD. DIR. Peter Schofeld, in a late address
delivered at the formation of a Temperance
Society in the township Of Bastard, IN the
District of Johnsontown, in the Province OF
Upper Canada, states a case of spontaneous
combustion which occurred in his practlce'
7" 1t is well authenticated, says the Doctor,
that many habitual drinkers of ardent spirits
are broughtato their end by what is caiieo
SPONTANEOUS combustion By spontaneous
combustion, mean when person takes nre
ne by an electric shock, and burns up With
out any external application. One happen
ed under my own observation. 1t was the
case of young man, about 25 years old. /
saw him about o'clock in The evening on
which it happened. He was then, as usual,
not drunk, but full of liquor. About eleven
on the same evening was called to see
him. | found him literally roasted from the
crown of his head to the sole of his feet
He was found in a blacksmith's shop just
across the way from where he had been.
The owner, all of sudden, discovered an
extensive light in his shop as though the
whole shop was in one general fame. He
ran with the greatest preclpitancy, and on
flinging open the door discovered man
standing erect in the. midst of widely eX-
tended blaze, bearing as he described It,
exactly the appearance of the wick OF
VHrninG candle in the midst of its own
fame. He seized him by the shoulder, and
ierked him to the door; upon which the
flame was instantly extinguished' lheIs
was no fire in the shop, neither was there
any possibility of fire having been commq-
nicated to him from an external source. III
T., If III.
A general sloughing came on, and his fiesh
was consumed or removed in the dresslng'
leaving the bones and a few of the larger
blood vessels standing. The blood never
!. the less, rallied round the heart, and mann
stained the vital spark, until the thirteenth
Ilay when he died, not only the most noisome,
iil.featured, and dreadful picture that was
ever presented to human view, but his
shrieks, his cries and lamentations were
enough to rend heart of adamant. lie
non,nIained os no pain of body-his flesh
was gone. He said he was suffering the
torments of hell; that he was just upon its
threshold. and should soon enter its dismal
cayetns; and in this frame of mind he gave
M the ghost. o the death of drunkard
Well may it be said to beggar all descrip-
ton. | have seen other drunkards die, but
never in a manner so awful and affecting.
They usually 90 off senseless and stupid as
it regards a future state"
VALUABLE DIsCovERT. BY late foreign
medical journals we learn that NJ. Cos!er,
French surgeon Of great eminence, has
devoted his attention to the subject OF AMI
NAL poisons. He has discovered that chic
rine has the wonderful power of decomPos-
ing and destroying poison of the most dead
ly kind. The saliva of the mad dog has
the property, when inserted under the skin,
of communicating hydrophobia to other an
imals as well as to man. NJ. Coster has
been able, by means of chlorine, to decom-
pose this deadly poison and render t-harm-
less, preventing the approach of hydroPho bia
in animals bitten by dogs decidedly rabid.
There can be no doubt of the accuracy of
the experiment on which this statement is
predicated. From this the most important
practical results follow:
Make a strong wash by dissolving two
table spoonfulls Of the cEloret of lime IN
half pint Of water, and instantly and re-
peatedly battle the part bitten. The poison
will in this way be deeomposed. 1t has
proved successful when applied within six
hours after the animal has been bitten.
SiLliman's Journal