CASE OF COUNTESS ZANGARI. 323 



German Ephemerides, that in the northern 

 countries of Europe flames often evaporate from 

 the stomachs of those who are addicted to the 

 drinking of strong liquors; and he adds, "that 

 seventeen years before, three noblemen of Cour- 

 land drank by emulation strong liquors, and two 

 of them died scorched and suffocated by a flame 

 which issued from their stomachs." 



One of the most remarkable cases of sponta- 

 neous combustion is that of the Countess Cornelia 

 Zangari and Bandi of Cesena, which has been 

 minutely described by the Reverend Joseph Bian- 

 chini, a prebend in the city of Verona. This lady, 

 who is in the sixty-second year of her age, re- 

 tired to bed in her usual health. Here she spent 

 above three hours in familiar conversation with 

 her maid, and in saying her prayers : and having 

 at last fallen asleep, the door of her chamber was 

 shut. As her maid was not summoned at the 

 usual hour, she went into the bed-room to wake 

 her mistress ; but receiving no answer, she opened 

 the window, and saw her corpse on the floor in 

 the most dreadful condition. At the distance of 

 four feet from the bed there was a heap of ashes. 

 Her legs, with the stockings on, remained un^- 

 touched, and the head, half burned, lay between 

 them. Nearly all the rest of the body was re- 

 duced to ashes. The air in the room was charged 

 with floating soot. A small oil lamp on the floor 

 was covered with ashes, but had no oil in it; and 

 in two candlesticks, which stood upright upon a 

 table, the cotton wick of both the candles was 

 left, and the tallow of both had disappeared. 

 The bed was not injured, and the blankets and 

 sheets were raised on one side, as if a person had 

 Y 2 



