The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-10-27

ical impreeationsf and lies, obliged every
observer to resolve so awful an event into
the visitation Of Gods Judgment in the
! punishment Of Z daring and perseverine
! sinner '
= When any fame is observed about
these spontaneously burning bodies, i
appears likelthef flame of aleohol, blue,
Pickering, very difficult to extinguisb by
water, and not readily communicated to
other bodies, even when they are infam
mable. Often, indeed, extraordinary to
relate, the persons clothing has been
found wholly uninjured, while the per-
son inside tie clothing was burnt to a
cinder. The body itself is usually en-
tirely consumed, while the head and
some portions Of the limbs are sometimes
left untouched. The maid of Cornelia
Bandi, an elderly Italian countess, went
into her mistress room one morning to
wake her. She found no mistress, but
upon the floor, little distance from the
bed, lay heap Of ashes, and in this
dreadful heap Of, ashes some parts of the
head, eyes and arms of. the unhappy
countess: This lady had been constantly
in the habit of bathing her body with
camphorated spiritgof wine. eI,5 ~
All over the room and furniture where
the Countess had been consumed there
was greasy, sooty deposit. This moist,
disagreeab!e deposit of SCOT, and an often.
sive odor of burnt meat, always attend
and result from the spontaneous combus-
tlon of a human body. An examination
0: the blood of these unfortunates--that
is,' where there is any blood left to exam
lne-shows that considerable quantity
is mingled with the watery part of the
blood.
Rev: Mr.. Ferguson, Of Dublin, relates
that in the family Of one of. his parisho
ners resided an old woman who, with her
daughter, was in the habit Of going to. bed
in state of intoxication every night.
The two slept in the same bed. The old
woman, for some days, had been drinking
much more ardent spirits than usual,
when one morning the family were
awakened by horrible smelling smoke.
They fastened to the apartment of the
two women, and found the body of the
old woman black as a cinder, and smok
ing all over. She was quite dead when
they reached her, and almost entirely
consumed, while neither her daughter,
who was beside her, nor any Of the bed
clothing was injured in the slightest
One poor lady was awfully overtaken
in the midst Of a ma trimonial ssquabble.
One night her husband came home late
from party, and the two 4uarreled vio-
lently, both being in state of intoxica.
ton. The wife insisted upon sitting up,
the husband upon going to bed. The
lady persisted in her determination.
whereupon her husband vowed that if
she would sit up, she should sit up in the
dark, and so took her candle away AMI
left her. 3 81 ::
Next morning the maid servant, OPEN
ing the windows of the back parlor, per-
ceived "something" in her mistress arm
shair: She thought at first it had been
put there by her mistress son as scare.
crow to brighten her. Going nearer, how
ever, she was suddenly horror-struck to
find that this awful 'soraething' was the
remains of her haple:s mistress. The
trunk Of her body was entirely consumed,
while her upper and lower extremities
were not injured. The trunkless
head, with the + hair =, in curl.
papers, was still leaning upon
the right hand and against the wall. The
face was slightly scorched, but neither
the hair nor the curl papers we're burnt
in the least. The room was full of the
offensive burnt odor before mentioned. 1t
was only with the greatest difficulty that
the medical profession we're abe to reach
the facts Of this case, since the family Of
the dead woman used every means in
their power to hush the affair up. No
wonder!
When q human being takes fire inside
and burns up Of himself, how does he do
it! The world, especially the medical
part OF it, having outgrown the theory of
the visitation Of God on this subject, it
became necessary to account for sponta.
neous combustion on rational principles.
This theory and that have been held by
different persons, but the most plausi-
bic one seems to be that the com.
bustion is caused by the explosion of in
f1ammable gases generated in diseased
and depraved organization. The body
of a patient who died in a hospital in
France was examined, and when perfora.
tions were made in various parts of it, 4
gas issued therefrom which took fire from
the fame Ut can die.
The body of living human being
sometimes becomes so diseased that its
natural secretions are depraved and per.
! verted. In this state it is supposed that
certain infiammable gases are generated
which, mingling with air and oxygen
form explosive mixtures inside the human
body. The generation Of these gases is
attended with heat, and off, young t6runk
ard goes, pop ! and nothing is left of him
but greasy smoke and heap of ashes.
The Ohio Election.