SINGULAR EVENT. 17 



manifests how perfectly insensible the human frame 

 may be to pains and afflictions in peculiar circumstan- 

 ces ; and that which would be torture if endured in 

 general, may be experienced at other times without any 

 sense of suffering. A travelling man one winter's even- 

 ing laid himself down upon the platform of a lime-kiln, 

 placing his feet, probably numbed with cold, upon the 

 heap of stones, newly put on to burn through the night. 

 Sleep overcame him in this situation; the fire gradually 

 rising and increasing until it ignited the stones upon 

 which his feet were placed. Lulled by the warmth, the 

 man slept on; the fire increased until it burned one 

 foot (which probably was extended over a vent-hole) 

 and part of the leg above the ankle entirely off; con- 

 suming that part so effectually, that a cinder-like frag- 

 ment was alone remaining ; and still the wretch slept 

 on ! and in this state was found by the kiln-man in the 

 morning. Insensible to any pain, and ignorant of his 

 misfortune, he attempted to rise and pursue his journey, 

 but missing his shoe, requested to have it found ; and 

 when he was raised, putting his burnt limb to the 

 ground to support his body, the extremity of his leg- 

 bone, the tibia, crumbled into fragments, having been 

 calcined into lime. Still he expressed no sense of pain, 

 and probably experienced none, from the gradual ope- 

 ration of the fire, and his own torpidity, during the 

 hours his foot was consuming. This poor drover sur- 

 vived his misfortunes in the hospital about a fortnight ; 

 but the fire having extended to other parts of his body, 

 recovery was hopeless. 



Residences upon limestone soils have generally been 

 considered as less liable than other situations to infec- 

 tious and epidemic disorders ; and such places being 

 usually more elevated, they become better ventilated, 

 and freed from stagnated and unwholesome airs, and by 

 the absorbing principle of the soil are kept constantly 

 dry. All this seems to favor the supposition that they 

 are healthy ; but if exempted from ailments arising 

 from mal-aria, inflammatory complaints do not seem ex- 

 cluded from such situations. When the- typhus fever 

 prevailed in the country, we were by no means exempt- 

 B2 



