2^9 
“ When the cliffs were observed to burn in the night-time, the 
flame was plainly perceived by a spectator at a distance ; but when 
he drew near to the place, seemingly on fire, he could perceive a 
smoke, but no flame. In the day time, nothing but a smoke was 
perceived, except the sun shined; when the cliffs appeared, at a 
distance, as if they were covered with pieces of glass, which re- 
flected the sun’s meridional rays; but upon drawing near to the 
places where these luminous appearances were perceived, they dis- 
appeared, and the cliffs seemed to be covered with smoke, which 
stunk of a bituminous and sulphurous matter. 
“ I have also,” he says, “ been an eye-witness of the same kind of 
flame arising from the Lodes, in Cornwall, especially such as con- 
tained a great quantity of mundic and martial pyrites. Three times 
I have seen this flame arise from the earth in the night, and once in 
the middle of the day. In the night, a person, standing at a little 
distance, would imagine that the place was all on fire; and, even 
on drawing near the same, he perceives himself surrounded with 
flame, but is not hurt ; and, in four or five minutes time, he per- 
ceives this flame to decrease, and fall into the earth. In the day- 
time, the flame is of a different colour, and not much unlike the 
flame which arises from a furnace. There are several mines dis- 
covered in this country by these mineral fires, where there were no 
symptoms of such mines before.” 
Several writers have mentioned, with surprise, the circumstance 
of a substance having been frequently found at considerable depths, 
which exactly resembles burned wood or charcoal ; and which many, 
unable to ascertain its origin, have described as mineral char- 
coal. Wood that appeared to have been burned was found by 
Gr. F. de Oviedo, in earth which did not appear to have been ever 
dug or disturbed, at a considerable depth, in the mines of Peru*- 
* Purchas’s Pilgrim, lib. v. cap. iii. p- 
