On other cases of a similar nature it has been remarked, that the miserable sufferers were “for the most part advanced in years, remarkably fat, and had been much addicted to the use of spiritous liquors, either in their drink, or applied in friction to the body; whence it has been concluded that these people perished by their whole substance spontaneously taking fire, the principal seat of which had been the entrails, or the epigastric viscera; and that the exciting cause was naturally found in the phlogiston of the humours, called forth by that of the spiritous liquors combined with them.”[85] But solutions of this kind cannot by any means be admitted. We have not the smallest reason to think that either the solid or fluid parts of the bodies of hard drinkers are more inflammable than those of other people; neither is it credible that any person could live with his body in such a state. Besides, the most inflammable bodies will not begin to burn unless fire actually be applied to them, while others much less inflammable to appearance, will yet take fire spontaneously. Thus, even spiritous liquors themselves, though they flame violently when thrown into a fire, or when a burning body is applied to them, yet there is not an instance of such liquors taking fire of themselves; nay, they cannot even be set on fire by pouring them upon a red-hot iron, while, on the other hand, heaps of wet vegetables, which we should think scarce at all inflammable, do yet very frequently take fire spontaneously. The author lately quoted, however, justly observes that M. Bartholi, the unfortunate priest above mentioned was plainly struck first by electricity from without, a spark of fire attaching itself to his shirt, and a faint flame surrounding his body; so that the fire did not seem to have been generated in his body, but in the atmosphere. There are instances of people being surrounded with these luminous appearances without being hurt; particularly of a woman at Milan, whose bed was surrounded with a light of this kind. Mr. Loammi Baldwin, of this country, was also surrounded by an electric light, while raising a kite in the time of a thunder storm, and Dr. Priestley makes mention of a gentleman, who, after having worked an electric machine for a long time in a small room, perceived, on leaving it, a luminous vapour following him. But the instances most to our present purpose are some recorded in the Philosophical Transactions, of luminous vapours coming from the sea, attaching themselves to corn-stacks, and setting fire to them. One of this kind is particularly mentioned in Lowthorp’s Abridgement of the Transactions, as having taken place in Ireland, coming repeatedly from the sea, and setting fire to corn and hay, so that the people were greatly alarmed. At last they found that it might be driven off by making a great noise, and that it would avoid any sharp-pointed iron instrument. Had such a vapour attached itself to a