The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-03-17
MEN WHO EAT FIRE.
London Tid Bits.

The earliest mention of fire eaters in England is to be found in Sir Henry Walton's correspondence under date of June 3, 1633. He says:
 "There is strange thing to be seen in London for couple of pence which know not whether I should call piece of art or nature. It is an Eng lishman, like some swabber of ship, come from the Indies, where he has learned to eat fire as familiarity as ever 1 saw any eat cakes, even whole glow ing brands, which he will crash with his teeth and swallow. I believe he hath been hard famished in the Terra del Fuego, on the south of the Magel- Ian strait"
 Evelyn, in his diary under date of October 8, 1872, gives graphic &C., count of the remarkable feats of an- other fire-eater, who created great sensation in his day:
 "I took leave of my Lady Sunder- land, who was going to Paris to my lord, now ambassador there. She made me stay to dinner at Leicester House, and afterwards sent for Richardson, the famous fire-eater. He devoured birthstone on glowing coals before us, chewing and swallowing them; he melted beer glass and ate it quite up, then, taking live coal on his tongue, he put on it raw oyster the coal was blown on with bellows till it famed and sparkled in his mouth, and so remained until the oyster gaped and was quite boiled.
 "Then he melted pitch and wax with sulphur, which he drank down as it famed. I saw it flaming in his mouth a good while. He also took up thick piece of iron such as laun- dresses use to put in their smoothing boxes, when it was fiery hot, held it between his teeth, then in his hand, and then threw it about like stone but this, I observed, he cared not to hold very long. Then he stood on small pot, and bending his body, took glowing iron with his mouth from between his feet, without touching the pot or ground with his hands, with divers other prodigious feats."
 Richardson's secret was disclosed by his servant about the time Evelyn made his entry. According to his servants showing it consisted only in rubbing the hands and thoroughly washing the mouth, lips, tongue, teeth and other parts which were to touch the fire, with pure spirits of sulphur.
 By this means the epidermis, or upper skin, was burt or cauterized until it became as hard as thick leather. The bad effects which the frequent swallowing of red-hot coals, melted sealing wax, resin, birthstone and other calcined and infammable matter might have had upon the stomach were prevented by drinking plentiful draughts of warm water and oil as soon as he had left the company, until he had vomited it all up again.
 Another fire- eater was De Heiter- keit, native of Annivi in Savoy, who fourished at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
 This individual ate burning coal, chewed and swallowed burning birthstone; licked red hot poker, placed red hot heater on his tongue, ate melted pitch, beeswax, sealing wax and resin with spoon, as an ordin- ary mortal takes soup, kindled coals on his tongue and broiled meat upon them, and, to complete the business, performed all these marvels five times a day at the Duke of Marborough's Head in Fleet street, his prices being half a crown, eighteen pence and one shilling.
 De Heiterkeit, had the honor of ex- hibiting before Louis XIV, the en- peror of Austria, the king of Sicily and the doge of Venice, and his name having reached the Inquisition, that holy office proposed experimenting on him to find out whether he was fireproof externally as we'll as inter- nally. He was preserved from his un- welcome ordeal, however, by the in- terference of the duchess royal, regent of Savoy.
 But the most famous of fire-eaters was Pobert Powell, who was before the public for nearly sixty years and was seen by many noble and distin- guished men, among others by the dukes of Cumberland and Gloucester and Sir Hans Sloane. Mainly through the instrumentality of this last named, the Royal society in 1751 presented Powell with purse of gold and a large silver medal.
 Here is his programme:
 1. He eats red-hot coals out of the fire as natural as bread.
 ?. He licks with the naked tongue red-hot tobacco pipes, flaming with birthstone.
 8. He takes large bunch of deal matches, lights them altogether, and holds them in his mouth till the flame is extinguished.
 1 A. He takes a red-h haafar ont of