furrier; it merits notice that in these shops, which are all vaulted, neither fire nor candle are ever allowed, and the doors are all composed of iron: at length the cause of the conflagration was discovered; it appeared that on the evening previous to the fire the furrier had purchased a roll of new cere cloth, (an article much in use for covering tables, counters, &c.) and had left it in his vault, where it was discovered almost consumed. After these several instances of spontaneous combustion, we shall relate the celebrated case which led to a satisfactory explanation of their origin, and induced the philosophers of different countries to confirm the Russian Report by an extensive series of well devised experiments. In the night of the 21st of April, 1781, a fire was seen on board the frigate _Maria_ which lay at anchor, with several other ships, in the road off the island of Cronstadt; the fire was, however, soon extinguished, but the severest examination failed in extorting any satisfactory explanation of the manner in which it had arisen; the garrison were threatened with a scrutiny that should cost them dear, and were placed under circumstances of the most cruel suspense; in the midst of this confusion, the wisdom of the Empress gave a turn to the affair, and, in the following order to _Count Chernichet_, pointed out an effectual method to be pursued by the Commissioners of Inquiry. “When we perceived, by the report you have delivered in of the examination into the accident that happened on board the frigate _Maria_, that, in the cabin where the fire broke out, there were found parcels of matting tied together with packthread, in which the soot of burnt fir-wood had been mixed with oil, for the purpose of painting the ship’s bottom, it came into our mind that at the fire which happened last year at the hemp warehouses, the following cause, amongst others, was assigned; that _the fire might have proceeded from the hemp being bound up in greasy mats, or even from such mats having lain near the hemp_; therefore neglect not to guide your farther inquiries by this remark.”