An Extract, by Mr. Paul Rolli, F. R. S. of an Italian Treatise, Written by the Reverend Joseph Bianchini, a Prebend in the City of Verona; Upon the Death of the Countess Cornelia Zangari & Bandi, of Cesena. To Which are Subjoined Accounts of the Death of Jo. Hitchell, Who was Burned to Death by Lightning; And of Grace Pett at Ipswich, Whose Body was Consumed to a Coal

XVI. An Extract, by Mr. Paul Rolli, F. R. S. of an Italian Treatise, written by the Reverend Joseph Bianchini, a Prebend in the City of Verona; upon the Death of the Countess Cornelia Zangári & Bandi, of Cesena. To which are subjoined Accounts of the Death of Jo. Hitchell, who was burned to Death by Lightning; and of Grace Pett at Ipswich, whose Body was consumed to a Coal. Satius est de re ipsa quaerere, quam mirari. Seneca. Cesena, April 4. 1731. Read June 20. THE Countess Cornelia Bandi, in 1745, the 62d Year of her Age, was all Day as well as she used to be; but at Night was observed, when at Supper, dull and heavy. She retired, was put to Bed, where she passed three Hours and more in familiar Discourses with her Maid, and in some Prayers; at last, falling asleep, the Door was shut. In the Morning, the Maid, taking notice that her Mistress did not awake at the usual Hour, went into the Bed-chamber, and called her; but not being answer'd, doubting of some ill Accident, open'd the Window, and saw the Corpse of her Mistress in this deplorable Condition. Four Feet Distance from the Bed there was a Heap of Ashes, two Legs untouch'd, from the Foot to the Knee, with their Stockings on; between them was the Lady's Head; whose Brains, Half of the Back- part of the Scull, and the whole Chin, were burnt to Ashes; amongst which were found three Fingers blacken'd. All the rest was Ashes, which had this particular Quality, that they left in the Hand, when taken up, a greasy and stinking Moisture. The Air in the Room was also observed cumber'd with Soot floating in it: A small Oil-Lamp on the Floor was cover'd with Ashes, but no Oil in it. Two Candles in Candlesticks upon a Table stood upright; the Cotton was left in both, but the Tallow was gone and vanished. Somewhat of Moisture was about the Feet of the Candlesticks. The Bed receiv'd no Damage; the Blankets and Sheets were only raised on one Side, as when a Person rises up from it, or goes in: The whole Furniture, as well as the Bed, was spread over with moist and ash-colour Soot, which had penetrated into the Chest-of-drawers, even to foul the Linnens: Nay the Soot was also gone into a neighbouring Kitchen, and hung on the Walls, Moveables, and Utensils of it. From the Pantry a Piece of Bread cover'd with that Soot, and grown black, was given to several Dogs, all which refused to eat it. In the Room above it was moreover taken notice, that from the lower Part of the Windows trickled down a greasy, loathsome, yellowish Liquor; and thereabout they smelt a Stink, without knowing of what; and saw the Soot fly around. It was remarkable, that the Floor of the Chamber was so thick smear'd with a gluish Moisture, that it could not be taken off; and the Stink spread more and more through the other Chambers. REMARKS. REMARKS. It is impossible, that, by any Accident, the Lamp should have caused such a Conflagration. There is no Room to suppose any supernatural Cause. The likeliest Cause then is a Flash of Lightning; which, according to the most common Opinion, being but a fulphureous and nitrous Exhalation from the Earth, having been kindled in the Air, did penetrate either thro' the Chimney, or thro' the Chinks of the Windows, and did the Operation. All the above mentioned Effects prove the Assertion; for those remaining foul Particles are the grossest Parts of the Fulmen, either burnt to Ashes, or thickened into a viscous bituminous Matter. Hence no Wonder the Dogs would not eat of the Bread, because of the Bitterness of the Soot, and Stink of the Sulphur that lodged on it. The impalpable Ashes of the Lady's Corpse are also a Demonstration; for nothing but a Fulmen could produce such an Effect. They say that there was not any Noise; but may be there was, and they heard it not, being in a sound Sleep: Besides, there have been seen Lightnings and Fulmina without Noise; as one may very often observe. THIS is the whole Narration; after which I think proper to place what is said in the Preface relating to it. IN the Acta Medica & Philosophica Hafniensia, published by the celebrated Thomas Bartholin, 1673. Vol Vol. II. p. 211. n. 118. one may see such another Accident related in these very Words. "A poor Woman at Paris used to drink Spirit of Wine plentifully for the Space of three Years, so as to take nothing else. Her Body contracted such a combustible Disposition, that one Night she, lying down on a Straw-Couch, was all burned to Ashes and Smoke, except the Scull, and the Extremities of her Fingers." John Henry Cohausen relates this Fact in a Book printed at Amsterdam 1717, intituled, Lumen novum Phosphoris accensum; and in the first Part, p. 92. relates also, "That a Polish Gentleman, in the Time of the Queen Bona Sforza, having drank two Dishes of a Liquor called Brandy-Wine, vomited Flames, and was burnt by them." REMARKS. Such an Effect was not produced by the Light of the Oil-Lamp, or of any Candles; because common Fire, even in a Pile, does not consume a Body to such a Degree; and would have besides spread itself to the Goods of the Chamber, more combustible than a human Body. It seems also, that it was not what is commonly taken for a Fulmen; for there was not left in the Place any sulphurous and nitrous Smell: There did not appear any blackish Tracks on the Walls; all Signs of the Fulmina, as they have been remarked by the exactest Observer of Phenomena, the celebrated Mr. Boyle. But if it was not a real Fulmen, it was certainly of such a Nature. Some thought, that in the Ground under the Room might have been a Mine of Sulphur: Which granted; what then? I know, by Experience, that in the very Mines of Sulphur have perished some of the Miners, but only by Suffocations caused by some sudden copious Exhalation of kindled Sulphur; and never by having been burnt to Ashes. The Miners have informed me on the Spot, that those of them who perished, have been only choaked by a strong nitrous and sulphureous Effluvium; but none of them by having been set on Fire. The Author relates, That, going once out of Curiosity into a Sulphur-Mine by Montefiascone, when near the Place from whence the Miners digg'd out the Sulphur, he was advised by one of them, who was carrying out his Load, not to go farther; for, either the Smell, or some sudden Exhalation, might have done him great Injury; and when got again in the open Air, told him, a few Days before three of his Fellow Miners fell stone-dead, while they were at Work, by a violent Suffocation, caused by a strong Exhalation of bituminous Smoke, which burst violently from the Place where they were digging; which Misfortune was too frequent in such Mines; but he never heard nor saw, that any of them had been burnt. Thence it is concluded, that if the Fulmina have such an Effect, the Incendium proceeds originally from their nitrous, and not from their sulphureous Parts; because the Air, very closely imprison'd in the Nitre, and not in the Sulphur, either by its own Elasticity, or by some other Agent being put in Agitation, produces the Flame of the Fulmen, which burns and consumes any thing to Ashes. I have, says he, seen the famous Sulphur-Spring, a Mile distant from Pozzoli, mentioned by Petronius Arbiter: At the lower End of the Plain there is a Pit of liquid Sulphur, whose boiling Æstuations rise ten or twelve Feet. Its liquid Matter consumes the Flesh of any Corpse, but does not affect the Bones in the least. In our Case the very Bones were burnt to Ashes; and still the Pavement was not damaged. No sulphureous Smell remained in the Chamber. All this he advances, to oppose the Opinion of an Academician at Ravenna, who insisted, That underneath that Chamber must be a sulphureous Mine. Which Opinion he founds on this, That, in the very House, in a Room near that the Lady was burnt in, there was set on Fire a good Quantity of Hemp, and could not be found out by whom; as also, that, all on a sudden, Part of the Palace had fallen, and not by any Earthquake; so that one might conjecture all this to be Effects of the sulphurous Mine underground; Which is not proved by those Assertions. Nay, on the contrary, if there was a Mine of Sulphur, one should smell the Stink of it in those dull Days, when the nauseous South Wind blows; the Sulphur Mines then stinking at a great Distance: Besides, the Effects of Sulphur are not to reduce a Body into impalpable Ashes. The Author's Opinion. THE Fire was caused in the Entrails of the Body by inflamed Effluvia of her Blood, by Juices and Fermentations in the Stomach, by the many combustible Matters which are abundant in living Bodies for the Uses of Life; and, finally, by the fiery Evaporations which which exhale from the Settlings of Spirit of Wine, Brandies, and other hot Liquors in the Tunica villosa of the Stomach, and other adipose or fat Membranes; within which (as Chymists observe) those Spirits ingender a kind of Camphire; which, in the Night-time, in Sleep, by a full Breathing and Respiration, are put in a stronger Motion, and, consequently, more apt to be set afire. PROOFS. FAT is an oily Liquid separated from the Blood by the Glands of the Membrana adiposa; and it is of an easily combustible Nature, as common Experience shews. Our Blood is of such a Nature; as also our Lymph and Bile: All which, when dry'd by Art, flame like Spirit of Wine at the Approach of the least Fire, and burn away into Ashes. [Observ. 171. in the Ephemeris of Germany, Anno X.] Such a Drying-up of Matters may be caused in our Body by drinking rectified Brandy, and strong Wines; as Monsieur Litre observed in the Dissection of a Woman 45 Years old, in the History of the Royal Academy of Sciences, 1706. p. 23. Which Effect may oftener happen, if the Spirit of Wine has any Mixture of Camphire: For that Liquor is but a sublimated Oil, whose sulphureous Particles, being attenuated by the Fermentation, when separated from fixed and salt Matters, are easily put in Motion, and, rolling thro' the Air, become Flame and Fire. Besides, altho' the Salts which are in living and vegetable Creatures are not naturally inclined to kindle dle; nevertheless they often contribute to it, particularly, when there is join'd some strong boiling Fermentation. It is from such a Cause, that we know how the Mixture of two Liquors, altho' cold to the Touch, produces a flaming Fire. Becher was the first Discoverer of this marvelous Phenomenon, by mixing Oil of Vitriol with that of Turpentine. Borrichius afterwards did the same, by mixing Oil of Turpentine with Aqua fortis; and at last Monsieur Tournefort, by joining Spirit of Nitre with the Oil of Sassafras; and Monlieur Homberg with this acid Spirit, together with the Oil and Quintessences of all the aromatic Indian Herbs: Nay, Mr. Homberg asserts, that with a certain cold Water Cannons were fired, Anno 1710. in the abovesaid History of the Academy of Sciences, p. 66. It is out of Question, how, by a strong Fermentation, Magazines of Gunpowder, Barns, Paper-Mills, and Haycocks, have been set afire. The acid Particles in our Bodies are much united with the Fat and oily Parts; nay, all our Limbs abound with Oil and Acid. What Wonder then, if they may kindle? as Mr. Homberg well observes, in the aforesaid History, 1712. 1717. from p. 13-31. where he takes notice, that all our Limbs have abundance of fetid Oil, and volatile Salt, and therefore easily combustible. We ought not to omit how the Teeth are form'd by so many short Tubes, the Bones by long ones, and easier therefore to be set on Fire. Malpighi observed also, that the Bones contain a fat oily Matter. Besides all this, we know that the sebaceous Glands are spread all over the Body; and that an oily Moisture, ure, with now-and-then a nitrous sulphureous Smell, perspires from our Skin; to which Dr. Blancard ascribes the whole Circulation. Abundance of combustible Matter, shut up in a great Number of Cells, lies in the Omentum. There is further to be consider'd the vast Quantity of Effluvia that emanate from our Bodies. Sanctorius observed, that, of eight Pounds of Food and Drink in a Day, there is an insensible Perspiration of about five; computing with them those Effluvia which go out of the Mouth by Breathing, and which might be gathered in Drops on a Looking-glass [Sect. 1. Aphor. 6.]. As also, that, in the Space of one Night, it is customary to discharge about 16 Ounces of Urine, 4 of concocted Excrements by Stool, and 40 and more by Perspiration [Aphor. 59.]. He teaches also, that Numbness is an Effect of too much internal Heat, by which is prevented such an insensible Transpiration; as we will shew in this very Case. On this Supposition I say, that the Effluvia of such an insensible Transpiration are an inflammable Mine, easily apt to kindle, whenever a Friction, be it ever so small, puts them in quick Motion, and increases their Velocity. We acknowledge the Discovery of this evident Truth from Mr. Hauksbee, F. R. S. in the Experiment so much known of the Glass Globe, p. 30. to which I refer the Reader. I saw this Experiment at Rome; and altho' it seems that the Light be only Phosphorus produced by the Effluvia coming out of the Hand, and of the Glass, it may nevertheless occasion further Meditation on the present Case. The Friction of the Palms of our Hands, or of any other Parts of our Body, may produce those Fires commonly called *Ignes Lambentes*. We learn of *Eusebius Nierembergius*, that such was the Property of all the Limbs of the Father of *Theodoricus*: such were those of *Charles Gonzaga*, Duke of Mantua, as the celebrated *Bartolin* took notice of. By the Testimony of *John Fabri, M.D.* a noted Philosopher, who saw it, Sparkles of Light flash'd out of the Head of a Woman, while she comb'd her Hair. *Scaliger* relates the same of another Woman. *Cardanus*, of a Carmelite Monk, whose Head continued 13 Years to flash out Sparkles, every time he tossed his Cowl on his Shoulders. *Ezekiel à Castro, M.D.* a famous Jew, and afterwards a Christian, wrote a little Treatise, intituled, *Ignis lambens*; on the Occasion that the Countess Cassandra Buri, of Verona, when she rubb'd her Arms with a Cambrick Handkerchief, all the Skin shined with a very bright Light. *Eusebius* relates the same of *Maximus Aquilanus*. *Licetus* heard say by his Father, that he saw the same Quality on *Francis Guido*, a Civilian; and that he himself knew *Antony Cianfio*, a Bookseller in *Pisa*, who, when he shifted, shined all over with great Brightness. *Libavius* relates the same of a Youth; and *Cardanus* of a Friend of his; saying, that, when he shifted, clear Sparkles of Fire shot forth of his Body. Father *Kircher*, a Jesuit, relates, how he, going in Company into a subterranean Grotto at *Rome*, saw Sparkles of Fire evaporate from the Heads of his Companions, grown warm by walking. Father *Alphonso d'Ovale* was Eye-witness on the highest Mountains of *Peru* and and Chili, how both Men and Beasts there seem shining with the brightest Light from Top to Toe. These Flames seem harmless, but it is only for want of proper Fuel. Peter Bovifteau asserts, that such Sparkles reduced to Ashes the Hair of a young Man. John de Viana, in his Treatise intituled, De Peste Malagensi, p. 46. relates how the Wife of Doctor Freilas, Physician to Cardinal de Royas, Archbishop of Toledo, sent forth naturally, by Perspiration, a fiery Matter, of such a Nature, that if the Roller that she wore over her Shift was taken from her, and exposed to the cold Air, it immediately was kindled, and shot forth like Grains of Gunpowder *. After all this I say, that a feverish Fermentation, or a very strong Motion of combustible Matters, may rise in the Womb of a Woman, with such an igneous Strength that can reduce to Ashes the Bones, and burn the Flesh. Two such Cases are known, one in the Acta Medica Philosophica & Hafnienfia, Anno 1673. by the Observation of Matt. Jacobei; and the other in M. Marcell. Donato, de Medic. Hist. Mirab. lib. IV. cap. 25, p. 248. & lib. VII. Cosmog. c. i. of Cornel. Gemma. I say also, that the Bile, which is a necessary Juice for our Digestion, was observed by Peter Borelli, that, being vomited up by a Man, it boiled like Aqua fortis. [Centur. II. Obs. i. p. 109.]. Besides, * Pet. Borelli gives an Instance of such Effluvia not only producing Light, but likewise Fire. See his Obs. Cent. II. Obs. 75. p. 174. where he says, That there was a certain Peasant, whose Linen, hempen Thread, &c. if laid up in Boxes, tho' wet, or hung upon Sticks in the Air, did soon take Fire; which hath been seen by a great Number of Spectators. Besides, very strong Fires may be kindled in our Bodies, as well as in other Animals of an hot Temperament, not only by Nature, but also by Art; which, being able to kill, will serve for a better Proof of my Argument. It is necessary, for clearer Instance thereof, to read the 77th Observation of John Pisano, in the German Ephemerides, printed in Lipsia 1670. Tie the upper Orifice of the Stomach of an Animal with a String; tie also its lower Orifice; then cut it out above and below the Ligatures, and press it with both Hands, so that it swells up in one Side; which done, let the left Hand keep it so that the swell'd Part may not subside; and, with the right, having first, at an Inch Distance, placed a Candle, open it quick with an anatomical Knife, and you will see a Flame there conceiv'd, coming out in a few Seconds of Time: And such a Flame may, by the Curious, be perceived not only in the Stomach, but also in the Intestines. The first Discoverer of this was Andrew Vulparius, Anatomy-Professor at Bologna in Italy 1669. Thus you see, that a quick and violent Agitation of Spirits, or a Fermentation of Juices in the Stomach, produces a visible Flame. Pisano was an Eye-witness of the above-related Operation. In the German Ephemerides, anno X. p. 53. of the Continuation by John Christopher Sturmius, one may read, That often, in the Northmost Countries, Flames evaporate from the Stomachs of those who drink strong Liquors plentifully. About 17 Years ago, says the Author, three Noblemen of Curland, whose Names, for Decency-sake, I will not publish, drank, by Emulation, strong Liquors; and two of them them died scorch'd and suffocated by a Flame forcing itself from the Stomach. The most celebrated Borelli relates how he was told, that a Woman vomited Flames in the Point of Death: You may read, says he, in Bartolinus de Luce, and in Eusebius Nierembergensis his History Nat. peregrin. how such Accidents did often happen in great Drinkers of Wine and Brandy: Where is related also, how Fire came out from the privy Parts of a Woman. My Lord Bacon, in his Nat. Univ. Hist. assures, he had seen a Woman's Belly sparkling like Fire; and truly such Flames would often rise in us, if the natural Moisture did not quench them; as Lucretius observes, from Verse 868. Lib. IV. and Verse 1065. Lib. VI. Moreover, Marcellus Donatus, in his Mirab. Hist. Medic. Lib. VI. Cap. 4. intituled, Of a new Distemper, says, Albertus Krantzius, Lib. V. of his Saxon History, That, in the Time of Godfrey of Bologne his Christian War, in the Territory of Niverva or Nivers, People were burning of invisible Fire in their Entrails, and some had cut off a Foot or an Hand where the Burning began, that it should not go further. Ezekiel de Castro, in the above said Work of his, of Lambent Fire, relates the famous Instance of Alexandrinus Megetius, a Physician, who, from the Vertebra of the Coxa, after great Pain, relates how Fire came out, which burn'd the Eyes, as Simplicius and Philaseus, Eye-witnesses, did attest. After all these Instances, what Wonder is there in the Case of our old Lady? Her Dulness before going to Bed was an Effect of too much Heat concen- trated in her Breast, which hindered the Perspiration through the Pores of her Body; which is calculated to about 40 Ounces per Night. Her Ashes, found at four Feet Distance from her Bed, are a plain Argument, that she, by natural Instinct, rose up to cool her Heat, and perhaps was going to open a Window. The learned Marquis Scipio Maffei was told by Count Atimis of Gorizia, who passed through Cesena a few Days after the Accident, that he heard say there, how the old Lady was used, when she felt herself indisposed, to bathe all her Body with camphorated Spirit of Wine; and she did it perhaps that very Night. This is not a Circumstance of any Moment; for the best Opinion is that of the internal Heat and Fire; which, by having been kindled in the Entrails, naturally tended upwards; finding the Way easier, and the Matter more unctuous and combustible, left the Legs untouch'd; which may have been saved also, by remaining cut off at the Combustion of the Tendons, where they join with the Knees. The Thighs were too near the Origin of the Fire, and therefore were also burnt by it; which was certainly increased by the Urine and Excrements, a very combustible Matter, as one may see by its Phosphorus. Galenus (Class. i. Lib. III. de Temperam.) says, That the Dung of a Dove was sufficient to set Fire to a whole House: And the learned Father Casati, a Jesuit, in his Phys. Differt. Part 2. p. 48. relates to have heard a worthy Gentleman say, That, from great Quantities of the Dung of Doves, Flights of which used, for many Years, nay, Ages, to build under the Roof of the great Church of Pisa, sprung originally the Fire which which consumed the said Church *. After all this, the Author concludes, That to be sure the Lady was burnt to Ashes standing; drawing the Consequence from her Skull fallen perpendicular between her Legs; and that the Back-part of her Head had been damaged more than the Fore-part, was because of her Hair, and of the Nerves, whose principal Seat lies there: and besides, because in the Face there were many Places open, out of which the Flames might pass; as it happened in the Time of the Roman Consuls T. Gracchus and M. Juventius, when a Flame came out of a Bull's Mouth, without hurting the Beast, by not finding any Resistance to its Way. Extract of a Pamphlet, intituled, "Fire from Heaven burning the Body of one John Hitchell, of Holnehurst, within the Parish of Christ-Church, in the County of Southampton, the 26th of June, 1613:" By John Hilliard. Printed at London, 1613. —THE Manner of the Accident is as followeth: He (John Hitchell), having been, on Saturday the 26th of June last, at Work at the House of one John Deane of Parly Court, where he truly * Which Effect is confirmed by Galen, lib. II. de Morb. Diff. cap. 2. where he says, That he hath seen Pigeons Dung take Fire, when it was become rotten. and painfully laboured at his Trade, being a Carpenter, and having ended his Day's Work, went home to his House; and, after his coming home, betook himself to his Rest; and, being in Bed with his Wife and Child, in the Deep of the Night, the Lightning came on so fiercely, that an old Woman, named Agnes Russell, Mother to the Wife of the said John Hitchell, having received a terrible Blow on her Cheek (by what means I know not), was therewith awakened, and cry'd to the said John Hitchell and his Wife to help her: But they not answering, the poor old Woman started out of her Bed, and went unto the Bed where they lay, and awakened her Daughter, who was, upon the sudden, most lamentably burnt all on one Side of her, and her Husband and Child dead by her Side. Yet nevertheless his poor Wife, when she saw her Husband and Child had thus strangely finished their Days, she (as it seemeth) thought not so much of the Hurt she had received herself, as she was careful to have preserved the Life of her Husband, if by any means possibly she could; and therefore (notwithstanding all her grievous Wounds) she dragg'd him out of the Bed into the Street; and there, by reason of the Vehemency of the Fire, she was inforced, to her no small Grief, to forsake him; where he lay burning upon the Ground for the Space of three Days after, or thereabouts. Not that there was any Appearance of Fire outwardly to be seen on him, but only a kind of Smoke ascending upwards from his Carcase, until it was consumed to Ashes, except only some Small Shew of Part of his Bones, which were cast into a Pit made by the Place. An Extract of the Minutes of the Royal Society, of Nov. 8. and 15. 1744. concerning the Woman at Ipswich, who was found burnt to Ashes on April 10. preceding. The first Account of this extraordinary Accident was in a Letter from Mr. R. Love to his Brother Mr. Geo. Love, Apothecary at Westminster, dated Ipswich, June 28. 1744. which was laid before the Society by the President on Nov. 8. following; wherein Mr. Love says, "That it appear'd, upon the Coroner's Inquest concerning the Death of this Woman (at which he attended), that she, having gone up stairs with her Daughter to Bed, went down again from her, half undress'd; and that, the next Morning early, her Body was found quite burnt, lying upon the Brick-Hearth in the Kitchen, where no Fire had been, with the Candlestick standing by her, and the Candle burnt out, with which she had lighted herself down; and that the Daughter could assign no Reason for her going down, unless it were to smoak a Pipe; but said she was not addicted to drink Gin. The Jury brought it in Accidental Death." Nov. 15. Dr. Lobb communicated two Letters concerning the same Woman; one from the Reverend Mr. Notcutt at Ipswich, to the Reverend Mr. Gibbons; this dated July 25. 1744. and the other from the said Mr. Gibbons to a Friend, dated Sept. 2. following. They both agree in all the material Circumstances relating to the Fact; both giving their Relations from the Mouths of the Eye-witnesses, who viewed the Body Body when it was first found burning; particularly Mr. Gibbons from the Woman's own Daughter, and from 2 other Persons living in the same House, whose Names are Boyden. The Case was this; One Grace Pett, a Fisherman's Wife, of the Parish of St. Clement's in Ipswich, aged about 60, had a Custom, for several Years past, of going down-stairs every Night, after she was half undress'd, to smoak a Pipe, or on some other private Occasion. The Daughter, who lay with her, fell asleep, and did not miss her Mother, till she awaked early in the Morning, April 10, 1744. when, dressing herself, and going down-stairs, she found her Mother's Body lying on the right Side, with her Head against the Grate, and extended over the Hearth, with her Legs on the Deal-Floor, and appearing like a Block of Wood burning with a glowing Fire without Flame; upon which quenching it with two Bowls of Water, the Smother and Stench thereof almost stifled the Neighbours, whom her Cries had brought in; the Trunk of the Body was in a manner burnt to Ashes, and appeared like an Heap of Charcoal cover'd with white Ashes; the Head, Arms, Legs and Thighs were also very much burnt. It was said, that the Woman had drank very plentifully of Gin over-night, on the Occasion of a Merry-making, on account of a Daughter who was lately come home from Gibraltar. But the Difficulty is to account for the Fire by which she was burnt; since there was none in the Grate, and the Candle was burnt out in the Socket of the Candlestick, which stood by her; and a Child's Cloaths on one Side of her, and a Paper Screen on the other, were both untouch'd: And altho' the melting of the Grease had so penetrated into the Hearth, as not to be scour'd out, yet they observed, observed, that the Deal-Floor was neither singed nor discolour'd; and the Manner of the Fire burning in her Body is described as the working of some inward Cause, and not from the burning of her Cloaths, which were only a Cotton Gown and upper Petticoat. XVII. An Account of a Quadruped brought from Bengal, and now to be seen in London: Presented by James Parsons, M.D. & F.R.S. Read June 27. 1745. Being always desirous of laying before this Learned Society whatsoever appears to me new and curious, I embraced the present Opportunity of viewing and describing this Creature, which I cannot find mentioned by any Natural Historian, nor any Figure exhibited, in the least, like it. Nor is it indeed to be wonder'd at, since the Beast was brought to Bengal, from a very remote Part of the Mogul's Dominions; insomuch that no Person at Bengal had the least Knowledge of him. The only Hint that seems to point at this Creature, is that mentioned by John Albert de Mandelstoe, in his Voyages thro' the Indies, which are published in Harris's Complete Collection of Voyages and Travels, No. 52. p. 775. where he says, that, among the Horses in the Stables of the Viceroy of Goa, he saw "a Beast called a Biggel, a Creature much about the Colour and Bigness of a Rain-deer: Its Head like that of a Horse; its Main like