in this phenomenon, with some portion of artifice.
In Timbs' Curiosities of London, published in 1867, I find the following:
At the Argyle Rooms, London, in 1829, Mons. Chabert, the Fire-King, exhibited his powers of resisting poisons, and withstanding extreme heat. He swallowed forty grains of phosphorus, sipped oil at 333° with impunity, and rubbed a red-hot fire-shovel over his tongue, hair, and face, unharmed.
On September 23d, on a challenge of £50, Chabert repeated these feats and won the wager; he next swallowed a piece of burning torch; and then, dressed in coarse woolen, entered an oven heated to 380°, sang a song, and cooked two dishes of beef steaks.
Still, the performances were suspected, and in fact, proved to be a chemical juggle.
Another challenge in the same year is recorded under the heading, "Sights of London," as follows:
We were tempted on Wednesday to the
