place, and for some miles above and below, runs in a vale full a hundred yards perpendicular below the level of the country on either side. But the well is now lost again, the water being drawn off by a conlpit.

23. There is a fire of the same kind at Pietra Mala, a village on the Appenines. The flame is extremely bright, covers a surface of three yards by two, and usually rises about four feet. After great rains or snows, the whole bare patch, about nine yards diameter, flames. The gravel out of which it rises, at a very little depth, is quite cold. There are four of these fires in the neighbourhood: the middle of the ground whence one of them rises, is a little hollowed, and has in it a puddle of water, through which there are strong ebullitions of air. This air will not take fire; but that which rises through the wet and cold gravel, flames briskly.

In Dauphiny, and some other parts of France, the surface of several springs take fire in the same manner on the approach of a candle. Sulphureous vapours undoubtedly exhale from the waters as is the case in the famous Grotto del Cani.

This lies on the side of a little hill, between Naples and Poz zoli. The sides of it are cut perpendicular in the earth. It is about three feet wide; near twelve feet long; five or six feet high at the entrance, and less than three feet at the farther end.

The ground slopes a little from this end to the mouth, and more from thence to the road. If you stand a few steps without, and stoop so as to have your eye nearly on a level with the ground of the grotto, you may see a vapour within, like that which ap pears over a chafing dish of red hot coals, only that it is more slugglish and does not rise above five or six inches high. Its surface more distinctly terminated than that of other vapours, balances visibly under the air, as if unwilling to mix with it.

The ground of the grotto is always moist; and so are the sides to the height of ten inches. Yet this never increases so as to form any drops. While you stand upright, you remark nothing more, than a slight earthy smell, common in all subterraneous places which are kept shut. But if you put down your hand, within ten inches of the ground, it feels as if you put it into the steam of boiling water. Yet your hand contracts neither smell nor taste. A vapour simi ar to that in the grotto, rises also from the ground without. But it is weaker, and does not rise so high. This partly spreads itself from the cavern, partly exhales from the earth.

A lighted flambeau thrust into the vapour, presently goes out; yet without any noise or hissing. The thick smoke which appears immediately after its extinction, remains floating on the va pour, and being lighter than it, but heavier than the air above

it, spreads between both. Indeed common smoke is lighter than air; but that impregnated with the vapour is heavier.

If a young vigorous dog be held down within the vapour, he at first struggles, pants, snorts, and rattles in the throat. But in three minutes lies as dead. Carry him into the open air, and he draws in long draughts, as one recovering from a fit, and in two minutes gets upon his legs, and seems to ail nothing. A cock having his head plunged into the vapour, was suffocated all at once beyond recovery. Frogs are stupified by it in three or four minutes; yet though they have laid in it a quarter of an hour, soon recover when placed in the open air. Large flies, beetles and butterflies, were longer without giving signs of their sufferings, and longer in recovering. A toad resisted the vapour near half an hour, a lizard above an hour and a quarter. And a large grasshopper stired in the vapour, after being more than two hours in it.

An English gentleman kneeled down in the grotto, and leaning on his hands, bowed his face to within two or three inches of the ground, holding his breath, keeping his eyes open, and his tongue a little out of his mouth. He remained thus three or four seconds, without any painful impression, or any sort of taste on his tongue. And hence it manifestly appeared, that this is not a poisonous vapour.

He afterwards advanced his face to the surface of the vapour, and took in breath gently. He was sensible of something suffocating, just like the air of a hot and moist stove. Likewise he felt a slight acrimony in the throat and nose, which made him cough and sneeze: but no head-ache, no sickness at stomach, nor any other inconvenience.

It is clear, then, upon the whole, that animals die in this vapour, not as poisoned, but rather as drowned, in a fluid not capable of supplying the place of the air, which is necessary for respiration, and equally necessary to sustain fire, as the flame of a lighted flambeau.

about

and mov

24. A fire of a strange nature appeared in Wales, Christmas, 1693. A fiery vapour came from the sea, ed up and down for many weeks. It set on fire sixteen ricks of hay, at Harlech, in Merionethshire, and two barns, and annoyed the country, as well as by poisoning the grass, as firing the hay. It was a blue, weak flame, and did no harm to the men who tried to save the hay, though they ventured even to touch it. An intelligent person who lived near Harlech, informed his friend some time after, "the fire still continues there. It covers over part of the sea, from a marshy place in Carnarvonshire, eight or nine miles off. The grass over which it moves kills all manner of cattle that feed upon it; sheep, goats, swine, cows

and horses. But what is very remarkable is, that any great noise, as beating a drum or sounding a horn, effectually repels it from any house, or barn, or stack of hay."

25. A much stranger flame than that which issues out of the earth, is that which issues out of the stomach of animals. The anatomical lecturer at Pisa, in the year 1597, happening to hold a lighted candle near the subject he was dissecting, on a sudden set on fire the vapour that came out of the stomach he had just opened. In the same year, as Dr. Ruisch, then anatomy profes sor at Pisa, was dissecting a woman, a student lighting him with a candle, he had no sooner opened the stomach, than there issued out a yellow greenish flame. A like thing happened some years after at Lyons, in dissecting a woman. Her stomach was no sooner opened, than a considerable flame burst out and filled the place. But this is not so much to be wondered at, since the experiments made by Dr. Vulpari, anatomical profes ser at Bologna. He affirms, and one may see, issuing from the stomach of an animal, a matter that burns like spirits of wine, if the upper and lower orifices are bound fast with a very strong thread. The stomach thus tied must be cut, above and under the ligature, and afterwards pressed with both hands, so as to make all that it contains, pass to one side. This will produce a swelling in that part, which must be held with the left hand to hinder its escaping. A candle then being held about half an inch from the stomach, let it be suddenly opened by the right hand, and a bluish flame will immediately gush out, which will sometimes last a minute. In the same way flame may be brought forth from the intestines.

Nor is it from carcasses only that flames have issued. This has been the case with live persons likewise. Bartholine, relates, that a popish cavalier, having drank a quantity of brandy died in a little space, after an eruption of a flame through his mouth. He relates also the case of three others, who after drinking much brandy experienced the same symptom. Two presently died; the third escaped by immediately drinking cold water. Still more astonishing is the case of a woman at Paris who used to drink brandy to excess. She was one night reduced to ashes by a fire from within, all but her head and the ends of her fingers. In like manner Cornelia Bandi, an aged lady of unblemished life, near Cesena in Romagna, in 1731, retired in the evening into her chamber; and in the morning was found in the middle of the room, reduced to ashes, all except her face, skull, three fingers and her legs, which remained entire, with her shoes and stockings. The ashes were light: the floor was smeared with a gross, stinking moisture, and the wall and fur

miture covered with a moist soot, which had stained all the linen in the chest.

Perhaps a larger account of so remarkable an incident will not be unacceptable to the curious reader.

The countess of Cornelia Bandi, in the sixty-second year of her age, was all day, as well as usual. When she was in bed, she passed two or three hours in talking with her maid; then she fell asleep. The maid going into her chamber in the morning, saw two feet distant from the bed, a heap of ashes, and two legs with the stockings on. Between them was part of the head; but the brains, half the skull, and the whole chin, were burnt to ashes. The ashes when taken up, left in the hand a greasy and stinking moisture. The bed received no damage: the clothes were raised on one side, as by a person rising from it.

Doubtless the fire was kindled within her by the juices and fermentations in the stomach, acting on the many combustible matters, which abound in living bodies, for the uses of life.--These in sleep, by a full respiration, are put into a stronger motion, and consequently are more apt to take fire.

Borelhi observes, that such accidents often happened to great drinkers of wine and brandy. Such flames would frequently rise in us, if the natural moisture did not prevent.

Undoubtedly she was burnt standing; hence her skull was fallen between her legs, and the back part of her head was damaged more than the fore part, partly because of her hair, partly because in the face, there were many places out of which the flames might pass.

An instance of the same kind occurred at Christ's Church in Hampshire, on June 26, 1613. One John Hitchell, a carpenter of that parish, having ended his day's work, came home and went to rest with his wife. Her mother being frightened in her sleep, called on them for help. None answering, she started up and waked her daughter, who found her husband dead by her side. She dragged him out of the bed into the street; but the heat then forced her to let him go. He lay burning there for three days. Not that there was any appearance of fire outwardly, but only a smoke ascending from his carcass, till it was burnt to ashes; except only a small part of his bones which were cast into a pit.

Grace Pett was a fisherman's wife, of the parish of St. Clement's, in Ipswich, about sixty. She had a custom for several years of going down stairs every night, after she was undrest, to smoke a pipe. Her daughter who lay with her, did not miss her till the morning, April 10, 1744, when going down stairs she found her mother's body extended over the hearth, with her legs on the deal floor, and appeared like a block of wood, burn

ing with a glowing fire without flame. The neighbours coming in at her cries, found the trunk of the body in a manner burnt to ashes. It then appeared like a heap of charcoal, covered with white ashes, the head, arms, legs, and thighs were also much burnt. A child's clothes, on one side of her, and a paper skreen on the other, were untouched. The deal floor also on which her legs lay, was neither singed or discoloured.

NORTHERN AND WESTERN INDIANS.

Proofs that the Indians of North America are lineally descended from the ancient Hebrews.

Extracted from the Rev. E. Smith's View of the Hebrews, with some additional

remarks.

In the following remarks proofs are adduced which are thought sufficient to identify the Aborigines of our country as the descendants of the ancient ten tribes of Israel who were carried into captivity 2500 years ago. This branch of the Hebrew family have long been "outcasts" out of sight; or unknown as Hebrews. The questions arise, are they in existence, as a distinct people? If so, who, or where are they? These are queries of great moment, at this period, when the time of their restora tion is drawing near.

1. It has been clearly ascertained in the preceding chapter, that the ten tribes, as the Israel of God, are in the last days to be recovered, and restored with the Jews. The valley of dry bones, and the two sticks becoming one in the prophet's hand, have been seen clearly to ascertain this: See Ezek. xxxix. as well as the many other passages noted in that chapter. But as this fact is essential to our enquiring after the ten tribes with confidence of their existence; I shall here note several additional predictions of the event, found in the prophets; and not some passages, which distinguish between the dispersed state of the Jews, and the outcast state of the ten tribes; which distinction will af ford some light in our inquiries.

When the restoration of the Hebrews is predicted, in Isaiah xi. that God will in the last days set up an ensign for the nations; it is to "assemble the outcasts of Israel; and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth." Mark the distinction; the Jews are "dispersed ;" scattered over the nations as Jews, as they have long been known to be; but Israel are "outcast;" cast out from the nations; from society; from the social world; from the knowledge of men, as being Hebrews.