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    to everything , we get all the metaphysical vagaries ahout ' * vital forco , " " mental principle / ' and the " vis medicatrix naturae ; " yet it ia the same disposition that leads the most positive of the scientific to be always treading upon the confines of knowledge , hovering between the known and the unknown , led captive by the charm of mystery , It ia when the qualities of the hodman are combined with the forecast of the speculator that any territory ia reclaimed . After all said and dope , does one not constantly feel annihilated by the profound "b , ow" and " why" at the bottom of everything ; and even when we think we know the first , yet still the last remains like a great gulf , that seeras to say , " pot * o fast , little man ; " and we pull up with the inward whisper , " truly man ' s knowledge at his best estate is ignorance . " Ever , my dear Lewes , yours sincerely ,

    Blackhoath , February , 1868 . GeOBGE Red * O # D ,. There are rasmj things in this letter wtiich seem tq me more than disputable , but thev woulcl require top length y a comment , Let jne briefly say , that , in pronouncing S pontaneous Cojnbuation inipq ^ sibje , 1 am not arrogating a Itnowledge of all that is possible , I am simply taking my stand on , this position of science , —viz ., when you assert what is contradicted by all our Knowledge , we pronoimee it impossible , until you can show how it may be possible ; the onus rests on you . I ^ fow , every attempt to show the possibility of Spontaneous Combustion , is ludicrously wide of the mark ; and , until some possibility be shown , I shall continue to pronounce it impossible . Let me take , as an illustration , the electric telegraph , Som , e years ago , if any one had assured you that he could convey 9 message from London to Liverpool , and get back the answer in ten minutes , you would have declared that to be impossible . So it was . And , as long as .

    your informant refrained from telling you how he could do it—as long as you were not shown the possibility , you were right to be incredulous . I do . not say that Spontaneous Combustion is absolutely impossible ; put I say that all we know pronounces it impossible , and the evidence by which it is supposed to be proved , is not evidence for % spientific mind , until the possibility of the fact be shown . Within the circle of our experience , the phenomenon is physically impossible ; bring ^ into that circle some new fight , which shall make the phenomenon possible . «* d the evidence , 1 jhev > , may have its weighti but not till then . < % This is what H . M'C . does not appreciate ; for , in . his letter to the Bek fast Mercury , he somewhat naively refers to the recorded cases , as if I ha 4 not already examined them ! But he seems to have read my letters with very little attention , since he can see in them no other reasons than those he refers to : —

    Sib , —The ingenious Editor of the Leader has impugned the incident in Bleak Scmse , by which Mr . Dickens gets rid of Krook , and now calls on Mr . Dickens to make some " qualifying statement , " so as to avoid propagating an error—{ Leader , February 12 , p . 163 . ) The grounds on which the Editor of the Leader seems to place confidence are , first , the opinion of Liebig , who asserts } that the evidence for " spontaneous comtmstion" ia invalid ; secondly , that , at the Hying human frame contains ninety per cent , of water , it ?« cannot burn . " Liebig's reasoning , however , is inconclusive in itself , while , at the same t \ me , he opposes recorded facts—facts at least recorded , and as credibly attested , as it is reasonable to expect of human records generally . _ _

    The case of Ann Nelis , South Frederick-street , Dublin , is attested by the late Dr . Tuomy . That of Mrs . Peacock , occurring in Limerick , is recorded in the Methodists' Magazine for 1809 , and is attested by Mr . Wood . Mrs . Stout perished thus—that is to say , of human combustion , termed spontaneous—in 1808 , at Cootehill , in Cavan . —Cyclopaedia of Practical Medicine , vol . i . p . 450 . I have understood that an instance , of which the details were hushed up , occurred somo year » since in Belfast . I do not see very well how we are to repudiate the instances

    adverted to in the Annual Register , the Transactions of the Royal Society , the Ada Medica of Coponhagen , the Journal de Medecine , and Revue Medicate , the Journal of the hospital of Hamburgh , and the Journal of Florence . The cases related by Vicq-d'Azyr , Le Cat , Julia Fontenelle , Marc , and others , seem as authentic as it is reasonable to desire . These cases are reported from different quarters , and from all parts of the world . It is hardly fair to discredit , because we do not exactly understand them . I mot on © instance , > vithin my own practice ; Dr . Marsh records another , of lambent flame occurring on the living surface , ft very

    inexplicable , but not the 1 oh » true , phenomenon . Most medical in en give up the idea of " spontaneous" combustion , conceiving that it must in every case bo accidental . Nevertheless , Treviranus romarks that this is far from proved . Neither in the famous case of the monk Bertholi , nor in the instances recorded by Lair , is there any mention of exterior fire . Nay , in the account by Scherf , in Kopp's Jqhrbuch , it is expressly stated { ausdMcMich bemerJct ) that there was no flro , meaning hearth-fire of candle , in the chamber where the combustion , that of an habitual brandy tippler , had ensued . —Treviranus , Biologic , Band . V ., S . 135 . ltudolphi remarks , in general tormx , that it is a mere notion to suppose that tho body , in ordor to burn , must necessarily bo impregnated with spirit . —Grundriss der Physiologie , B . I ., S . 197 . Although tho majority of persons who suffered from " spontaneous combustion , " no termed , were fat , olderly ,

    harddrinking females , these conditions were not realized in all casos . In tho very singular instance , recorded hy Kichond de BruH , in tlio Archives Qtnevales de Medecine , in n young' man of twenty-four , rather lean than otherwise , it in stated that tho fingers actually took lire on comii ^? casually in contapt with burning sulp hur , and that bluish flames reappeared , even after tho hands had been withdrawn from tho cold water in which they bad been immersed at o »« o to otiU tho combustion and tho pain . Still more remarkable is thecaao of fi young soatmtreas * whoso left hand inflamed spontaneously , iyid where the comlmBbion was with difficulty stayed after repeated immersion in fluid . The mention of this case appears in the Annalen der fiesammtcn Jleilkunde , transferred to the 8 tli volume of the second edition of tho JHctionnaire de Medecine , p . 420 , in an article on this curious subject by an able pathologist , the lit to M . Brosebot , whom 1 had the pleasure of knowing in Paris .

    Spontaneous combustion , assuredly , rarply if over ensue * ; novortheless , there is not a shadow of doubt , that , in numbers pf insane ** , individuals , mostly fat elderly persons , of intomporato habits , hayo been burnt alive , their clothes and persons having been casually Hot flro to , either during ordinary sleep , fita of intoxication , or tho anesthiusin induced by tho fumes of burning charcoal . In tho cane related by Lo Cat , at Reims , an occurrence of this kind gave occasion to a charge for murder , and consequent judicial investigation . Tho verykrgo por ccntago of water in tho human frame is not found to prevent its disintegration by flro in tho East ,

    » ny mo » e than it did with the ancient * , or in the modern cruel practice of juridical cremation . In the Hotel Dieu there were always frightful burns from the inflamed garments ajone . I have seen the skin and sub-cutaneous cellular tissue completely burnt away . It is necessary to bear in mind , that in the great majority of individuals who are the subjects of these accidents , there is an immense deposit of anhydrous , or comparatively anhydrous , fat immediately beneath the surface , exclusive of interstitial fatty deposits . This substance , fire being applied through the medium of the garments or bedclothes , aliments the flames as perseveringly and effectively as oil does the ordinary wick of a lamp . After the studies of the anatomist are concluded , the remains are frequently subjected to cremation , and are found to consume readily enough . Dupuytren , surgeon to the hospital of the Hotel Dieu , in Paris , whose experience in burns was immense , was wont , indeed , to consider the burns from human combustion , by some termed » spontaneous , as burna

    a sixth form of burns . In these cases , which may be said to include the taking place beside lime-kilns , where asphyxia is induced by the respiration of tie carbonic oxide and carbonic acid given off during the process of hme-burmiig , the ordinary asphyxia from the resp iration of charcoal fumes , the intoxication from strong drink , and the insensibility from « fits , " the conflagration of the garments of the sufferers , alimented by the fatty matters of the human frame , is found , by experience , quite sufficient , if prolonged , not only to destroy life , but , in certain cases , to ensure the disintegration of the frame itself . Hence , for any showing to . the contrary , Mr- Dickens may consume his Krook by human combustion , by gome termed spontaneous , if he please . Putting ray own conclusions aside , the practical experience of Dupuytren , it will be obvious , quite outweighs the comparatively hypothetical averments of Liebig . I am , sir , &c . **• M 0 .

    Belfast , Feb . 18 , 1853 . I might declare his letter rests upon the evidence of the Methodists * Magazine , with about the same justice as he declares my letters to rest on Liebig ' s opinion , and on the fact that the body " cannot burn . His reference to the eastern practice of cremation , shows , that , in spite ot the careful way I endeavoured to guard against misapprehension , he has understood me to deny that the body can be burned . Did I not say that by the word " burn" I meant " igniteP" And is not ignition absolutely necessary for the propagation of the fire from one part of the body to the other P " i

    _ . . , , x S . M'C ' s letter contains nothing I have not alread y answered , except the citation , of Dupuytren . I am too much occupied with other things to search after Dupuytren's statement , but must call attention to the fact , that Dr . Beck , in his Medical Jurisprudence , gives us to understand Dupuytren was decidedly opposed to a belief in Spontaneous Combustion , and Beck tries to get rid of the opposition , by saying Dupuytren was more aiv anatomist than a chemist ! H . M'C . has , however , addressed another letter to the Belfast

    Mercury , more deserving of attention- Belfast , March 3 , 1853 . Sir —Since the remarks which you had the kindness to insert , I met with the following singular recent instance of human combustion , which is , I conceive , of sufficient interest to deserve further publicity . The narration is from the pen of Dr . Qrigor , of Nairn , and appears in The Edinburgh Journal of Medical Science , Dec , 1852 . I am , Sir , H . M'C . " On the evening of the 29 th of July last , the body of John Anderson , set . 50 , about five feet four inches in height , and of a spare habit , a carter of wood from the forest of Darnavv « y to tho pier of Nairn , and a notorious dram-drinker , was found dead by the road-side , seven miles from Nairn , and in a stafco of combustion , the process having proceeded so far as blackening and charring of the body and much that the

    head , and complete disfiguration of the features , so so , person was only recognised from his homes and carts being- known . The case was taken up medico-Iegally by the Procurator-Fiscal of thp County of Nairn , and I was requested tq inspect the body , and report . On approaching the unfortunate- man ' s dwelling , qn the forenopn of 81 st July , I found that tho funeral had passed on to the churchyard of the parish of Dyke ; and , after a little- explanation to the attendants , I succeeded in getting a hurried autopsy within the church . On removing tho grave-sheet , I found a black , incinerated , and stiffened lxHly . Tho legs and arme were crossed ; the latter raised from tho chest . The position was one of ease ; and tho body had not been touched since first rolled up . The eyes , curs , and nose were burned away ; teeth clenched ; ami from the mouth bubbled out somo white froth and gas . Tho lining ineinhrano on tho insido of the lips and cheeks was quite burned ; also the edges of the tongue , and the hair and skin of the head . The skin and cellular tissue of the body w « ro much charred ; tho thighs not to tho samo

    extent - and the burning had ceased about midway between the knees and feet , where there was a reddish and slightly blistered Hue . The back was not so much destroyed . Tho pharynx , oesophagus , &c , exhibited no appearance of burning . The villous coat throughout was much congested , and that of tho stomach presented those cherry-red appearances , with thickening , which are sometimes noticed in the stomachs of drunkards . It was almost empty ; gavo out no smell of alcohol ; nor did the contents , on after examination . On opening tho peritoneum , there w a great escape of fetid gas . The bowels were healthy , but dry from heat , iho state of the heart , blood , and lungs , could not bo examined . " On inquiry , 1 found the wretched man ' s history to bo tho following : -Ho ha « been a carter , as above stated , for several year *; has drunk , at least , of anlont spirits , daily , on an average , a comnum bottlelul , beside * porter beer , Ac . ; Mi mtermemte vlagwas

    Nairn , on the day <> fl » i » death , int oxicate . l j in inuring an < , .,, seen coming on ' all fours' out of one of thoso many ' public whidi nr « tho opprobria of our smaller towns and villages in tho North of Scotland . « e was , however , one of thoso < soaking' individual * who much Boonpr lose the locomotive balance , than a knowledge of his situation and work ; hence , when on lus < -ar ( , he eouhl talk and manage his horses tolerably well . He had a brother carter with urn a neighbouring toll-keeper , who wa » -her ; and they par . ed company at the tol-p * . of I ? arnnir , within . alf-a-inilo « rf tho place wh « r « , tho body was ( omul Hefore this , however , Anderson wished his pipe to bo lit u »< handed to , hua , but hu . fr . end thinking that ho had no m « l « f a smoke , ini-ndy put a little lire <»» ih « old tobacm u « h , when he drew , and immediately said , ' M . « u > iiot in . lhe conversation went on for ten minutes , what the poor « mn turned h >« horses heads homewards All this time the 1 » 1 *> was in his hand . I ho tollman , yrho wan much on the road with him , doolwed that Anderson seldom lightod his own pipe , and never

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    Makok 26 , 1853 . ] THE LEADER . 3 Q 5

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 26, 1853, page 305, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1979/page/17/