measure incinerated, and resembled a heap of coals covered with white ashes. The head, the arms, the legs, and the thighs had participated in the burning. This woman, it is said, had drunk a large quantity of spiritous liquors in consequence of being overjoyed to hear that one of her daughters had returned from Gibraltar. There was no fire in the grate, and the candle had entirely burnt out in the socket of the candlestick, which was close to her. Besides, there were found near the consumed body, the clothes of a child, and a paper screen, which had sustained no injury by the fire. The dress of the woman consisted of a cotton gown.'

Le Cat, in his memoirs, mentions several instances of the spontaneous burning of the human body. Having,' says he, spent several months at Rheims in the years 1724 and 1725, I lodged at the house of Sieur Millet, whose wife got intoxicated every day. The domestic economy of the family was managed by a pretty young girl, which I must not omit to remark, in order that all the circumstances which accompanied the fact I am about to relate may be better understood. This woman was found consumed on the 20th of February, 1725, at the distance of a foot and a half from the hearth of the kitchen. A part of the head only, with a portion of the lower extremities, and a few of the vertebræ had escaped combustion. A foot and a half of the flooring under the body had been consumed; but a kneeding-trough and powdering-tub which were near the body, sustained no injury. M. Chriteen, · a surgeon, examined the remains of the body with every judicial formality. an Millet, the husband, being interrogated by the judges who had instituted the enquiry into the affair, declared, that about eight in the evening of the 19th of February, he had retired to rest with his wife, who not being able to sleep, had gone into the kitchen, where he thought shew as warming herself; that, having fallen asleep, he was awakened about two o'clock with an infectious odour; and that, having run to the kitchen, he found the remains of his wife in the state described in the report of the physicians and surgeons. The judges, having no suspicion of the real cause of this event, prosecuted the affair with the utmost diligence. It was very unfortunate for Millet that he had a handsome servant-maid; for neither his probity nor his innocence was able to save himself from the suspicion of having got rid of his wife by a concerted plan, and having arranged the rest of the circumstances in such a manner as to give it the appearance of an accident. He experienced, therefore, the whole severity of the law: and though, by an appeal to a superior and very enlightened court, which discovered the cause of the combustion, he came off victorious, he suffered so much from uneasiness of mind that he was obliged to pass the remainder of his days in an hospital.'

Le Cat relates another instance, which has a most perfect resemblance to the preceding -M. Boinneau, rector of Plerquer, near Dol,' says he, wrote to me the following letter, dated February 22dd, 1749:-Allow me to communicate a fact which took place here about a fortnight ago. Mad. de Boiseon, eighty years of age, exceedingly meagre, who had drunk nothing but spirits for several years, was sitting in her elbow chair before the fire, while her waiting-maid went out of the room a few minutes. On her return, seeing her mistress on fire, she immediately gave an alarm; and some people having come to her assistance, one of them endeavoured to extinguish the flames with his hands, but they adhered to it as if they had been dipped in brandy or oil on fire. Water was brought, and thrown on the lady in abundance; yet the fire appeared more violent, and was not extinguished till the whole flesh had been consumed. Her skeleton, exceedingly black, remained

entire in the chair, which was only a little scorched; one leg only, and two hands detached themselves from the rest of the bones. It is not known whether her clothes caught fire by approaching the grate. The lady was in the same place in which she sat every day; there was no extraordinary fire, and she had not fallen. What makes me suppose that the use of spirits might have produced this effect, is, that I have been assured that at the gate of Dinan, an accident of the like kind happened to another woman under similar circumstances.'

The following instance, recorded in the Journal de Medicine (vol. lix. p.140,) took place at Caen, and is thus related by Merille, a surgeon of that city. 'Being requested on the third of June, 1782, by the king's officers, to draw up a report of the state in which I found Mademoiselle Thuars, who was said to have been burnt, I made the following observations:-The body lay with the crown of the head resting against one of the end irons, at the distance of eighteen inches from the fire, the remainder of the body was placed obliquely before the chimney, the whole being nothing but a mass of ashes. Even the most solid bones had lost their form and consistence; none of them could be distinguished, except the coronal, the two parietal bones, the two lumber vertebræ, a portion of the tibia, and a part of the omoplate; and even these were so calcined, that they became dust by the least pressure. The right foot was found entire, but scorched at the upper junction; the left was more burnt. The day was cold, but there was nothing in the grate but two or three bits of wood about an inch in diameter, burnt in the middle. None of the furniture in the apartment was damaged. The chair on which Mademoiselle Thuars had been sitting was found at the distance of a foot from her, and absolutely untouched. I must here observe, that the lady was exceedingly corpulent; that she was sixty years of age, and much addicted to spiritous liquors; that on the day of her death she had drunk three bottles of wine and a bottle of brandy; and that the consumption of the body had taken place in less than seven hours, though, according to appearance, nothing around the body was burnt but the clothes.'

BATTLE BETWEEN THREE DOGS AND A LION.

Old Stow, in his Annals, has an account of a battle between three mastiffs and a lion, in the presence of James the First and his son, Prince Henry. One of the dogs being put into his den, was soon disabled by the lion, which took him by the head and neck, and dragged him about. Another, dog was then let loose, and served in the same manner; but the third being put in immediately, seized the lion by the lip, and held him for a considerable time; till being severely torn by his claws, the dog was obliged to let go his hold; and the lion, greatly exhausted by the conflict, refused to renew the engagement; but, taking a sudden leap over the dogs, fled into the interior part of his den. Two of the dogs soon died of their wounds; the third survived, and was taken great care of by the prince, who said, he that had fought with the king of beasts, should never after fight with an inferior creature."

ANDRIA DORIA.

Andria Doria was one of the greatest naval commanders, and one of the truest patriots, that the republic of Genoa could ever boast. He was in the

service of France; but when he found that Francis the First had some design, upon the prosperity and freedom of Genoa, by repairing the fortifications, and adding a citadel to the city of Savona, he addressed him in the following letter: Great prince, he who makes use of the power heaven has put into his hands to reverse the common order of human affairs, employs it to a very bad purpose. The city of Genoa has always been the capital of Liguria; and posterity will not behold without astonishment, that your majesty has deprived it of that advantage without any reason. The Genoese perceive how your projects are likely to affect their interests. They entreat you to give them up, and not to suffer the general good to be sacrificed to the interests of a few of your courtiers. I take the liberty to join my entreaties to those of my countrymen, and to request this of you, as the reward of the services which I have been able to render France. If circumstances lay your majesty under the necessity of wanting money, I will, in addition to the appointments which are due to me from your majesty, give you four score thousand gold crowns.' Francis returning no answer to this letter, and Doria perceiving that the fortifications were still going on, told Trivulci, that the republic of Genoa would submit to any thing, sooner than see Savona torn from their dominions: adding, with respect to myself, I shall sacrifice the friendship of a king of France to the interests of my country. Pray tell this to your sovereign as soon as you can, and assure him, that it is not a desire of gain which makes me act thus; it is an honest indignation at observing, that the prayers I made to him in favour of my injured country, which he is taking pains to oppress, do not meet with that attention to which they are entitled.'

Francis now ordered Doria to be seized in the port of Genoa, and brought prisoner to France; but he escaped with his vessels, and returned soon after to Genoa.

The highest ambition of Doria, on returning to his native country, was to deliver it from a foreign yoke, and a favourable opportunity occurred. Afflicted by the pestilence, the city of Genoa was almost deserted by its inhabitants; the French garrison, being neither regularly paid nor recruited, was reduced to an inconsiderable number. Doria's emissaries found that such citizens that remained, were alike weary of the French and imperial yoke, the rigour of which they had alternately experienced; they were ready to welcome him as their deliverer, and to second all his measures. Things wearing this promising aspect, he sailed towards Genoa; on his approach, the French gallies retired; a small body of men which he landed surprised one of the gates of Genoa in the night time; the French governor, with his feeble garrison, shut up in the citadel, and Doria took possession of the town without resistance or shedding of blood. Want of provisions soon constrained Trivulci, the French governor, to capitulate; the people, eager to abolish this monument of their servitude, ran together with a tumultuous violence, and levelled the citadel with the ground.

It was now in the power of Doria to have rendered himself the sovereign of his country, which he had liberated from oppression. The fame of his former actions, the success of his present attempt, the attachment of his friends, together with the support of the emperor, all conspired to secure him success, and to invite him to a throne. But with a magnanimity of which there are but few examples, he sacrificed all thoughts of aggrandizing himself to the virtuous satisfaction of establishing liberty to his country. Having assembled the whole body of the people in the court before his palace, he assured them that the happiness of seeing them once more in possession of

their freedom, was to him a full reward for his services; that more delighted with the name of citizen than of sovereign, he claimed no pre-eminence or power above his equals, but remitted entirely the right of settling what form of government they would now choose to be established among them. The people listened to him with admiration and joy. Twelve persons were elected to new model the constitution of the republic. The influence of Doria's virtues and example communicated itself to his countrymen; the factions which had long torn and ruined the state, seemed to be forgotten; prudent precautions were taken to prevent their reviving; and the same form of government which has subsisted with little variation since that time in Genoa, was established with universal applause. Doria having soon put an end to the divisions of his fellow citizens, and driven away the public enemy which menaced their destruction, he was by public acclamation declared perpetual Doge of the Republic. This distinction he, however, refused, telling the people that it was more honourable to be thought worthy of such a distinction by his fellow citizens, than actually to possess it; that he begged to be permitted to be subservient to the laws of his country, like any other subject of it. The senate, astonished at his noble modesty, and at his attachment to the republic, passed a decree, which declared him, The Father and Deliverer of his Country; erected a statue to him in the midst of the great square of Genoa; built for him a palace in the same place, which was to be called by his name; ordained that he and his posterity should be exempt from imposts of all kinds; and that these decrees should be engraven on a plate of brass, appended to the walls of his palace, as a memorial of the services he had done his country, and of the gratitude of that country towards him.

BRAVE CITIZEN.

The noble enterprise undertaken by a simple burgess of Nijni Novogorod to save his country, is worthy of the highest praise. This brave patriot, whose name was Kozma Minin, was a butcher by trade. He assembled his fellow citizens, and exhorted them to sacrifice their fortunes; sell their houses, clothes, and furniture; and even to pledge their wives and children, if necessary, to raise money for the troops, and to place an intrepid general at their head. His enthusiasm fired all hearts; money was raised for the troops, the appropriation of which was confided to Minin; and Pojarski, distinguished by his military exploits, was requested to take the command of the troops which they had undertaken to pay.

At the news of this magnanimous design, the neighbouring cities were seized with an equal ambition of sharing in the honour of delivering the empire. Their zeal was crowned with success. As they advanced, the number of the combatants increased; and Minin and Pojarski, after being victorious in several battles, succeeded in driving out the Poles, re-conquered Moscow, and rescued their country.

DREADFUL CATASTROPHES AMONG THE ALPS.

L. Simond, who resided in England during the years 1810 and 1811 published a Journal of a Tour and Residence in Switzerland in the years 1817, 1818, and 1819, from which the following tragical accounts are taken. About four years ago, by the temporary damming up of the river Dranse,

in one of those valleys which open that of Bagne, the most dreadful effects were produced. The scantiness of the water which reached the inhabited parts, at the time when the stream should have been fullest, gave rise to suspicions; and, upon ascending to the desert part, a great lake was found to have accumulated behind an immense barrier of ice, brought down by the avalanches of the preceding winter, and which threatened to deluge the whole country, as soon as this perishable bulwark melted away. Immediate measures were taken to open a tunnel or gallery under the ice, and so drain the lake by degrees. But, though the greatest skill and industry were employed, and a very great part of the accumulated water was actually discharged by this artificial opening, the whole dyke at last gave way, on the 16th of June, and a dreadful inundation ensued. The rapid increase of the heat had loosened and disengaged several of the huge masses of which the bulwark was composed, which, parting from the rest with loud explosions, floated up to the surface, and weakened and undermined its foundations. This catastrophe was, in this way, in some measure, foreseen and provided for; but when it did come, it was still sufficiently terrible.

At half-past four in the evening, a terrible explosion announced the breaking up of the dyke; and the waters of the lake rushing through, all at once formed a torrent a hundred feet in depth, which traversed the first eighteen miles in the space of forty minutes, carrying away one hundred and thirty chalets, a whole forest, and an immense quantity of earth and stone. When it reached Bagne, the ruins of all descriptions borne along with it, formed a moving mountain, three hundred feet high, from which a column of thick vapor arose, like the smoke of a great fire. An English traveller, accompanied by a young artist and a guide, had been visiting the works, and on his return was approaching Bagne, when, turning round by chance, he saw the frightful object just described, coming down, the distant noise of which had been drowned in the nearer roar of the Dranse. He clapt spurs to his horse to warn his companion and three other travellers who had joined them. All dismounting, scrambled up the mountain precipitately, and arrived in safety beyond the reach of the deluge, which, in an instant, filled the valley beneath. From Bagne the inundation reached Martigny, going four leagues in fifty minutes, bearing away in that space thirty-five houses, eight windmills, ninety-five barns, but only nine persons, and very few cattle, most of the inhabitants having been on their guard. The village of Beauvernier was saved by a projecting rock, which diverted the torrent. It was seen passing like an arrow by the side of the village, without touching it, though much higher than the roofs of the houses. The fragments of rocks and stones, deposited before reaching Martigny, entirely covered a vast extent of meadows and fields. Here it was divided; but eighty buildings of this town were destroyed, and many were injured. The streets were filled with trees and rubbish, but only thirty-four persons appear to have lost their lives at Martigny, the inhabitants having retired to the mountains. Below Martigny, the inundation spreading wide, deposited a considerable quantity of slime and mud, which, it is hoped would redeem an extensive swamp. The Rhone received it by degrees, and at different points, without overflowing, till it reached the Lake of Geneva, at eleven o'clock at night, and it was lost in its vast expanse, having gone over eighteen Swiss leagues in six hours and a half, with a gradually retarded movement.

Such are a part of an Alpine residence, but there are others still more frightful. The snow not only slides down from the mountains, but the