DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.70303#0397
PERSONS DESTROYED BY INTERNAL EIRE. 36/
for several years, was sitting in her elbow chair before the
fire, while her waiting-maid went out of the room a few
moments. On her return, seeing her mistress on fire, she
immediately gave an alarm, and some people having come
to her assistance, one of them endeavoured to extinguish
the flames with his hands, but they adhered to it as if they'
had been dipped in brandy or oil on fire. Water was
brought and thrown on the lady in abundance, yet the
fire appeared more violent, and was not extinguished till
she.was all consumed. Her skeleton, exceedingly black,
remained entire in the chair, which was only a, little
scorched; one leg only and the two hands detached
themselves from the rest of the hones. It is not known,
whether her clothes caught fire by approaching the
grate. The lady was in the same place in which she sat
every day; there was no extraordinary fire, and. she had
not fallen. What makes me suppose that the use of
spirits might have produced this effect, is that I have
been assured, that at the gate of Dinan an accident of
the like kind happened to another woman, under similar
circumstances.
To the above we shall add two other facts of the same
kind published in the Journal de Medicine (Vol. 69. p,
440.) The first took place at Aix in Provence, and is
thus related by Muraire a surgeon : In the month of Fe-
bruary 1779j Mary Jauffret, widow of Nicholas Gravier,
shoemaker, a short woman, but exceedingly corpulent,
and addicted to drinking, having been burned in her
apartment, my colleague, M. Rocas, who was com-
missioned to make a report respecting her body, found
nothing but a mass of ashes and a few bones, calcined
in such a manner, that on the least pressure they wer«
reduced to dust. The bones of the cranium, one hand
and a foot had in part escaped the action of the fire.
Near
for several years, was sitting in her elbow chair before the
fire, while her waiting-maid went out of the room a few
moments. On her return, seeing her mistress on fire, she
immediately gave an alarm, and some people having come
to her assistance, one of them endeavoured to extinguish
the flames with his hands, but they adhered to it as if they'
had been dipped in brandy or oil on fire. Water was
brought and thrown on the lady in abundance, yet the
fire appeared more violent, and was not extinguished till
she.was all consumed. Her skeleton, exceedingly black,
remained entire in the chair, which was only a, little
scorched; one leg only and the two hands detached
themselves from the rest of the hones. It is not known,
whether her clothes caught fire by approaching the
grate. The lady was in the same place in which she sat
every day; there was no extraordinary fire, and. she had
not fallen. What makes me suppose that the use of
spirits might have produced this effect, is that I have
been assured, that at the gate of Dinan an accident of
the like kind happened to another woman, under similar
circumstances.
To the above we shall add two other facts of the same
kind published in the Journal de Medicine (Vol. 69. p,
440.) The first took place at Aix in Provence, and is
thus related by Muraire a surgeon : In the month of Fe-
bruary 1779j Mary Jauffret, widow of Nicholas Gravier,
shoemaker, a short woman, but exceedingly corpulent,
and addicted to drinking, having been burned in her
apartment, my colleague, M. Rocas, who was com-
missioned to make a report respecting her body, found
nothing but a mass of ashes and a few bones, calcined
in such a manner, that on the least pressure they wer«
reduced to dust. The bones of the cranium, one hand
and a foot had in part escaped the action of the fire.
Near