CHRONICLE. 



JANUARY. 



Puerto Orotaua (Teneriffe), Dec. 

 12, 1815. 

 |, TTT^E had a dreadful fire here 

 " VV ^ few days ago, which con- 

 sumed a large con^■eut for women ; 

 and I am sorry to relate, se\en 

 unhappy victims felt the fury Of 

 the unrelenting flames. The scene 

 for some hours was dreadful. It 

 was first discovered about ten 

 o'clock at night : all the nuns 

 were in bed, and it was some time 

 before they could be made ac- 

 quainted with their danger. The 

 few that escaped were obliged to 

 leave the convent naked, as they 

 never slee]) in their clothes. Those 

 that were burnt were seen at the 

 windows, till the flames consumed 

 them, ^liere were no means of 

 saving them, as the windows were 

 strongly grated with iron, and 

 only one door that they could 

 get out of, which was entirely 

 enveloped in flames. The fire was 

 occasioned bv a nun making: 

 sweetmeats : she had placed her 

 tire on a table, in a small earthen 

 stove., and left it unextinguished; 

 the lieat of the stove made the 

 rosin in the wood to fry out : it is 

 supposed a cinder had fallen, and 

 the convent being built of the 

 same kind of wood as the table, 

 it Avas soon in a blaae. Tl;e next 

 night we had a tremendous fall 

 of rain ; the water courses were 

 Vol. LVIII. 



filled, and ran a different way ; in 

 consequence of which, fourteen 

 persons were drowned in their 

 houses . 



There is now, or was Aery re- 

 cently, living in Constantinople, 

 a very extraordinary man, up- 

 wards of 100 years of age, gene- 

 rally known mider the name of 

 " Soliman, the cater of subli- 

 mate." This man, when young, 

 was accustomed, as the Turks do, to 

 swalloAv opium ; but having taken 

 by degrees a large quantity, with- 

 out producing the desiied effect, 

 he adopted the use of sublimate, 

 and, for upwards of thirty years, 

 has taken a drachm, or sixty 

 grains, a day. He would some- 

 times go to the shop of a Turkish 

 Jew and call for a drachm of sub- 

 limate, which he mixed in a glass 

 of water, and drank it up imme- 

 diately. The first time the apo- 

 thecary was very umch alarmed, 

 for fear he sliould be charged 

 with poisoning the Turk ; but he 

 was stimck with amazement when 

 he saw the same man again on the 

 next day, who called for another 

 dose. Lord Elgin, Mr. Smith, 

 and several gentlemen now in 

 England, have met this extraor- 

 dinary man, and have heard him 

 say, that the sensation he expe- 

 rienced after having drank that 

 extiemely active poison, was tlie 

 most delicious he ever enjojed. 

 Such is the force of habit! Jt is 



li generally 



