44 



THE UNIVERSE. 



long way. This is the explanation of what appeared so 



marvellous. 



We sometimes see at our fairs fire-proof conjurers, but 



everybody knows that our power of resisting fire is very 



limited. Physiologists cite 

 the statement of M. Ber- 

 ger, who saw a man remain 

 seven minutes in a stove 

 heated to 228 Fahr. ; that 

 is to say, who supported a 

 heat 16 Fahr. higher than 

 if he had been plunged into 

 a tub of boilino; water. A 

 young girl mentioned by 



21. Animals alleged to be capable of Resuscita- anotner gavant res isted for 

 tion. a, Tardigrade; b, Rotifer; c, Anguil- 



lula - ten minutes a heat of 294 



Fahr. I witnessed a still more extraordinary feat. During 

 one of my visits to England, I saw a man walk for several 

 minutes in a long tunnel of fire, which looked like the most 

 formidable flaming furnace one can imagine. 1 



1 The person mentioned above performed his experiments publicly at London, 

 in Cremorne Gardens. He walked quietly through a long tunnel of fire, arranged 

 in the form of a cross, and having an opening at the end of each of its arms. 

 This tunnel, formed of a solid trellis work of iron, the roof of which rose a little 

 above the head of the performer, was covered with a heap of resinous wood. 

 The human salamander began his promenade beneath this at the time when the 

 whole affair was a complete furnace, the flames of which rose to a considerable 

 height, and the heat of which compelled us to keep at a considerable distance 

 from it. 



The garments of this incombustible being seemed to be of coarse cloth, and at 

 the time when he entered the furnace they showed a vermilion red. But when 

 he came out for the first time I was surprised to see that they had become as 



