356 LETTERS OX NATURAL MAGIC. 



parallel rows of straw and brushwood, supported by iron 

 wires, were formed at the distance of three feet from 

 each other, and extended thirty feet in length. When 

 this combustible mass was set on fire, it was necessary to 

 stand at the distance of eight or ten yards to avoid the 

 heat. The flames from both the rows seemed to fill up 

 the whole space between them, and rose to the height of 

 nine or ten feet. At this moment six firemen, clothed in 

 the incombustible dresses, and marching at a slow pace 

 behind each other, repeatedly passed through the whole 

 length between the two rows of flame, which were con- 

 stantly fed with additional combustibles. One of the 

 firemen carried on his back a child eight years old 

 in a wicker basket covered with metallic gauze, and the 

 child had no other dress than a cap made of amianthine 

 cloth. 



In February, 1829, a still more striking experiment was 

 made in the yard of the barracks of St. Gervais. Two 

 towers were erected two stories high, and were surrounded 

 with heaps of inflamed materials, consisting of faggots and 

 straw. The firemen braved the danger with impunity. In 

 opposition to the advice of M. Aldini, one of them, with 

 the basket and child, rushed into a narrow place, where 

 the flames were raging eight yards high. The violence of 

 the fire was so great that he could not be seen, while a 

 thick black smoke spread around, throwing out a heat 

 which was unsupportable by the spectators. The fireman 

 remained so long invisible that serious doubts were 

 entertained of his safety. He at length, however, issued 

 from the fiery gulf uninjured, and proud of having suc- 

 ceeded in braving so great a danger. 



It is a remarkable result of these experiments, that the 

 firemen are able to breathe without difficulty in the 

 middle of the flames. This effect is owing not only to 

 the heat being intercepted by the wire gauze as it passes 



