Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1855-07-12

case, snd that the combustion instantly
ceases on the exhaustion of the slcohol -
The explanation, therefore, Of the burning
spirits having been the cause Of the .Imos,
complete destruction Of the body il insult.
eien' according 10 Bob Sswyer's own show.
ing: But it We suppose thu. her gsrmen,s
took hfe-(t Is no. presumed she had on
very many after retiring to res,)-from the
'Rn''ed spirit or sny other external source,
this cleo 10 utterly inadequate to explain the
reduction Of tho body 10 q hesp Of sshes,
since they would have been rspidly con.
sumed, or granting tho, they were Of wooden
texture, they would on the, sceoun, have
been far less likely 10 have taken FIRE, and
when on fire 10 have produced less injury, ~
no flame would have resulted. But The fac,
Of the Iegs being uninjured whilst the head
was almost entirely consumed, goes fsr to
prove tho. it could not have resulted from
igni'ed garmenis, for, il so, then the creates,
injury would have been ,ohere the garments
were most abundant. The bodies Of per-
sons whose clothes ore igni.ed from cam
Fhene, alcohol, &C., never present anything
even remotely approaching TO complete dis
in,egrstion. ] conclude, therefore, that the
reduction Of the Countess body TO hesp
Of ashes, mus. necessarily have depended
on combustion totally distinct from ordi.
nary combustion, for The reasons now as.
signed; and il, % Bob Sawyer con,ends,
from in,oxica,ion, ] further conclude i. wss
not the fret, and that che was in the ugly
habit Of imbibing slcoholic liquors, and
therefore combustion Of her body ensued in
obedience 10 The known behavior Of The
spontaneously conclusive compound, phos-
phure,ed hydrogen. Many more cases Of
equal weight and poin. nigh, be cited, bu, for
the want Of space, and mus, conclude by
inviting attention to but one other, in brief
'erms, without comment. A. B., woman
OF sbout sixty years Of sge living in the
county Of D"un, retired 10 bed with he.
dsugher. both being intoxicated ss was their
habit. A shor, time before dsv me members
OF the family were aroused by an oppressive
smoke pervading The house, and on enter
ing the chamber where The mother and
daughter slept, they discovered the smoke
TO proceed from the body Of the former,
which seemed to be undergoing an internal
combustion. Her daughter, who occupied
the some bed, sustained no injury, nor did
the flames communicate 10 the bed or bed
clothes. The body was ex,inc. end burn
ed to Q coal. This woman had been long
in the hsbi, Of using slcoholic liquors, and
for several days prior TO this scciden, had
INDUCED more freely than usual. This case
is reported by the Rev. NJ. FERGUSON, of
Dublin, who was we'll acquainted with The
family in which it occurred and is we'll
authenticated instance of the phenomenon.
The fac, Of spontaneous combustion mostly
confirmed drunksrds a, an sdvsnc.
ed age. explain in par. the rarity Of its oc-
currence, since q vas. proportion Of the ha.
bitually Incorporate die q. an early period
Of life.
Fesring, Mr. Editor, tina, my communities
ton has proved The occasion Of excluding
from your columns more agreeable matter,
and rendering you my sincere thanks for
your kind indulgence, close my discourse
by bidding final sdieu 10 the .ubjec. Of
sron,sneo Gus combustion Of the human body.
BEN ALLEN.