48 Memoir on the Incombustible Man; 



ter,) with a piece of raw mutton in one hand and an egg in 

 the other, &c. But, if the phaenomenon does not exist,, 

 what reproach should I not merit for having hazarded an 

 examination of an imaginary fact ? Dr. Horstis fell into 

 this error, in wishing to give a physical explanation of the 

 gGlden tooth of the boy from Silesia, without first ascer- 

 taining if the phaenomenon really existed, or was the effect of 

 illusion, as the fact was afterwards publicly known to be a 

 deception. Now returning to the proposal of the oven, 

 without entering into any sublime theory, I can venture to 

 assure any person whatever, that Lionetto never entered an 

 oven, nor will he enter one near us : this I shall repeat till 

 the very moment in which myself and others may see 

 him enter it; so well persuaded am I that he cannot realize 

 his proposal, if the oven has no particular construction which 

 alters its nature and effects. There are indeed some instances 

 of persons having suffered the action of a very high tempe- 

 rature for some time; but there is a great difference between 

 a place simply heated where the air had access, and a close 



oven. 



Memoir , &c~ 



The arrival of a man calling himself incombustible, who 

 treated hot iron in various manners, drank boiling oil, and 

 handled liquid lead, &c, was scarcely announced, when 

 this interesting phaenomenon engaged me so much, that I 

 left no means untried by which I migty be enabled to form 

 an opinion of it. First, it was indispensably necessary to 

 ascertain the fact, by assisting assiduously at the experiments 

 which Seiior Lionetto, otherwise called the incombustible 

 man, presented to the public. I approached as near to him 

 as possible, that I might observe minutely whatever was 

 most particular in his experiments — of which the following 

 is an account. 



Seiior Lionetto commenced the proof of his incombusti- 

 bility by putting over his head a thin plate of red-hot iron, 

 which, at least in appearance, did not alter his hair. The 

 iron had scarcely come in contact with it, when a consider- 

 able quantity of dense white vapour was seen to arise. A 

 second plate of red-hot i*on was likewise passed over the 



whole 



