436 He had a wee titty that loo'd na me, mother, That were na my heart light I wad die. die; She main'd and she grain'd out of dolour Till he vow'd he never wad see me again. me? Albeit I was bonny, I was na for Johnny: ee: And were na my heart light I wad die. dykes, And a' he dow do is to hund the tykes: And linking it blythe on the lily-white lee: This, we think, is very good, and corresponds also very beautifully with the idea we have formed of the author's character-at once simple, lively, and tender. An interesting notice in her daughter's Narrative, along with other circumstances, induces us to entertain a hope that further specimens of her poetical talents may yet be recovered. Lady Murray says," I have now a book of songs of her writing when there, in Holland, many of them interrupted, half writ, some broke off in the middle of a sentence," &c. Such a collection, whether altogether of her own composition or not, would probably afford some valuable additions to the lyric treasures by which Scotland has long been so peculiarly distinguished. And, should the present notice meet the eye of those into whose possession this MS. has most probably fallen, we earnestly hope they will be induced to inquire after it, and, if still in existence, to favour the public, through some respectable channel, with information as to its contents. We are enabled to subjoin one unpublished fragment of this description,-supposed to be Lady Grizzel's composition from circumstantial evidence. It was lately discovered, in her hand-writing, among a parcel of old letters, and inclosed in one of them, written about the time of her father's forfeiture to her brother Pa trick, then serving with Mr Baillie in When our blythe shepherds play on their While we're milking they're lilting baith pleasant and clear But my heart's like to break when I think of my dear! O the shepherds take pleasure to blow on the horn, To raise up their flocks o' sheep soon i' the morn; On the bonnie green banks they feed pleasant and free But alas! my Dear Heart, all my sighing's for thee! [How blythe wi' my Sandy out o'er the brown fells, I hae followed the flocks through the fresh heather bells! But In now I sit greeting amang the lang broom, the dowie green cleuchs whare the burnie glides down. O wae to the traitors! an' black be their fa', Wha banish'd my kind-hearted shepherd awa! Wha banish'd my laddie ayont the wide sea, SOME ACCOUNT OF SIGNORA GIRAR DELLI, THE INCOMBUSTIBLE LA- THE public interest is strongly and deservedly excited by the exhibition of the Signora Girardelli at present in this city. I took an early opportunity of seeing her, and made notes of every thing I observed, that I might preserve a record of her singular power of resisting the effects of heat and aqua fortis. I seated myself in one of the best places, and close to a long table, on which were the materials to be made use of in the course of the exhibition, and which it was in the power of the spectators to examine; coinmon sealing wax, pieces of lead, a flask of olive oil, a small phial of aqua fortis, &c. The lady appeared elevated on a stage behind this table, and was at tended by her husband, who prepared and arranged every thing. A brazier, full of lighted charcoal, was brought in and placed upon the stage, and as soon as the instruments and materials could be got ready, the following experiments were made: Experiment 1.-A flat iron shovel, about the size of a common room shovel, was inade red hot, and, in order to convince us that it was so, it was applied to a piece of deal board, much burnt from having been used in former experiments, and of course very dry, which it quickly set in a blaze. The lady then repeatedly drew the edge of the red hot shovel along the upper part of her foot, and the front of her ankle, without any appearance of fear or precipitation, but, at the same time, not permitting it to rest any sensible time on one spot. I observed, that, when the shovel touched any loose thread about the foot of her trowsers, it set it on fire. The contact of the hot iron seemed to produce no effect upon her skin; at least it did not seem to become red, nor did it give out any vapour or smell, nor was any sound heard. Experiment 2.-Another shovel, or flat piece of iron, was taken out of the brazier, of a brighter red than the preceding, and was laid upon the deal board. The Signora struck it re VOL. II. peatedly, with the sole of each foot, with great force, until it was a little bent. The blazing of the board all this time added to the appearance of the spectacle, but the contact of her foot with the hot iron was only momentary. Experiment 3.-She drew a shovel, the fore part of which was red hot, over her hair, which was abundant, and of a fine black, without affecting it in the least. No fumes or vapours were emitted, nor was any crackling produced.. Experiment 4.-She passed the edge of the red hot shovel along her arms, as she had applied it in the first experiment to her legs, and with the same result. Experiment 5.-She applied it in a very red state to her tongue, or rather licked it with her tongue. In this experiment we were desired to attend to the hissing noise which would be produced, and it was very distinct. She then shewed that her tongue was not injured by it. Experiment 6.-She filled a small sauce-pan with Florence oil, and, to prove that it was heated to ebullition, an egg was broke, which coagulated in it. She took some of this hot oil into her mouth, and held it a considerable time, rincing her mouth with it, and then spit it into the brazier, to show, by its blazing, that it was really oil. Experiment 7.-She took a little aqua fortis into her mouth, and, after holding it there a little, spit it out on some iron filings, when orange nitrous fumes were extricated. Experiment 8.-She put some aqua fortis on a plate, and put a halfpenny into it, upon which it acted briskly. The whole was then thrown upon a stone or slab, and she rubbed about the halfpenny until it was scoured bright. Experiment 9.-She put a halfpenny into the palm of her hand, and poured a little aqua fortis upon it, and allowed them to act upon each other there a considerable time. Her hand was not at all discoloured by this experiment. Experiment 10.-She passed a bundle of eight lighted candles repeatedly, and pretty slowly, beneath each fore-arm, which they discoloured by their smoke, but did not seem to affect in any other way. Experiment 11-She passed the 3 L sole of each foot slowly and deliberately over the flame of a bundle of eight wax-candles, so that the flame was seen rising between her toes, apparently without effect. Experiment 12.-She applied melted sealing wax to her tongue, and an impression of a seal was taken on it. Experiment 13.-She seemed to dip the points of her fingers repeatedly into melted lead, and put a little of it each time into her mouth, and she afterwards spit out some lead in the form of thin masses chewed together. Experiment 14.--A considerable quantity of melted lead was poured out on the slab, and she put the soles of her feet upon it repeatedly. Experiment 15.-She seemed to pour melted lead into her mouth, and afterwards spit out a small chewed piece of lead, which might be about a drachm in weight. Signora Girardelli is a pleasantlooking woman, above 40 years of age, though, at first sight, she appears younger. She has a good address, and appears desirous that all the spectators should see and be satisfied that she performs what she undertakes. Indeed, in the whole exhibition, the suspicion of juggling or deception is scarcely excited, but, on the contrary, there is such an appearance of fairness, and so much encouragement to close examination is given, that any such suspicion is quickly removed, The experiments are also conducted with great decency, and do not excite any unpleasant feeling in the spectators, as the Signora evinces not the slightest suffering from any of them, but looks always pleased and gratified with her success in producing astonishment or exciting applause. When she had any thing to say to her husband, she spoke in German, but, although she could scarcely expect to be understood by any of the spectators near enough to hear, she only gave directions to her husband to arrange the exhibition, so that every one might be satisfied, and to tell the spectators what she was going to do, or wished them to attend to. After the exhibition, she was so obliging as to comply with a request to allow some of the spectators to examine her tongue, and came out from behind her skreen, although she had begun to undress. Her tongue was clean, of its natural red colour, and not apparently changed either by the degree of heat or acid applied to it. On the stage her teeth seemed bad, but this appearance is owing to her upper front teeth being unusually short and small. The parts of her arms and legs subjected to the experiments were in every respect natural, except that they seemed destitute of hair, and there was no remains of any applica tion upon them. She, however, said, that the power of resisting fire and acids was owing to a preparation which she applied to different parts of her body, that these parts alone possessed this property, and that the effects of the application gradually wore off. She also told us that she had repeated the experiments once a day at least, almost regularly, for many years, sometimes three times a-day, and that she never met with any accident, or, if she did burn herself, (perhaps she wished us to understand some of the unprepared parts,) the burn healed in the course of a night. She is evidently a native of Germany, and said that she was the daughter of Odhelius, a celebrated professor of chemistry at Munich, and that she had discovered the secret in his papers and books. In mentioning these particulars, which were frankly communicated, I trust there is no breach of confidence, nor in the remarks which I am about to make, have I any desire to expose the Signora as an impostor: but, on the contrary, to recommend to all those who have any curiosity to observe natural phenomena, not to lose this opportunity of satisfying themselves as to the extent of her powers, and of reflecting upon the most probable explanation of them. This will be attempted in very different ways by the credulous, the sceptical, the confident, and the cautious. Some at once declare the whole to be imposition, such as is practised by the fireeaters at fairs; a few cannot divest themselves of the impression that she is a preternatural being, and performs miracles; some find no difficulty in accounting for it by some secret application; while others declare their ignorance of any substance capable of producing the effects ascribed to them. Having thus given a faithful statement of the experiments I witnessed, I shall first state some facts which seem to bear upon the subject, and then endeavour to explain them upon rational principles. The power of resisting the action of heat has been claimed or possessed by individuals in all ages. At first it was supposed to be miraculous, and owing to the immediate interposition of the Deity. It has even been admitted in courts of justice, as a conclusive proof of guilt on some occasions, and of innocence or superior sanctity in others. An exceedingly minute and interesting account of the fire ordeal of the Hindoos was given in the Asiatic Researches by the celebrated Governor Hastings. In the Antigone of Sophocles, the guards accused of neglect by Creon, to prove their innocence, offer to handle hot iron or walk through fire. Virgil tells us, that the priests of Apollo, who attended the temple on Mount Soracte, had the faculty of walking with naked feet over burning coals, and Varro affirms, that they were rendered insusceptible of the effects of fire only by means of a composition. The priests of the temple of the goddess Feronia were not less dexterous; and Strabo tells us, that this drew every year a great number of curious people to visit and enrich the temple. The city of Thyane had a temple dedicated to Diana Persica, whose priestesses could also tread with impunity on the hottest coals. In more modern times, Spain had its Saludadores or Santiguadores, who were nothing but impostors, pretending that they were descended from Saint Catherine. To prove their illustrious origin, they shewed on their body the impression of a wheel, called themselves incombustible, and managed fire with great address. Leonard Vair reports, that one of them having been in good earnest, shut up in too hot an oven, was found burnt to a cinder when it was opened. For a long time the criminal jurisprudence of Europe tolerated, to those who did not carry arms, the trial by fiery ordeal as a mode of appealing to God. It was performed in various ways. The first, which was used by the nobles, priests, and other free persons, was the trial by red hot iron. It consisted in carrying a bar of iron about three pounds in weight, heated to a greater or less degree, according to the nature of the accusation, and to a greater or less distance, according to the sentence; or in putting the hand into a red hot iron gauntlet, or in walking over hot iron bars or ploughshares, from nine to twelve in number. The trial by boiling water consisted in plunging the hand into it to take out a ring suspended at a greater or less depth from the surface. For the common people, the proof by cold water only was allowed. * After some ceremonies, the unfortunate person was thrown into the water with his left hand tied to the right foot. If he sunk he was innocent, if he swam he was guilty. Thus, it appears, that a miracle was required to condemn the poor and to save the rich, but the innocence of the latter was proved by their escaping unhurt, that of the former by their being drowned. The earliest instance of fire ordeal in Christendom occurred in the fourth century. Simplicius, Bishop of Autun, had married before his promotion, and his wife, unwilling to quit him after his promotion, continued to live with him. The sanctity of Simplicius suffered by the constancy of his wife's affection, and it was rumoured that the Bishop persisted in opposition to the ecclesiastical canons to taste of the sweets of matrimony; upon which his wife, in the presence of a great concourse of people, took up a considerable quantity of burning coals, which she held in her clothes, and applied to her breasts, without the least hurt to her person or her garments, as the legend says, and her example being followed by her husband, with the like success, the multitude admired the miracle, and proclaimed the innocence of the loving pair. A similar trick, as Mosheim terms it, was played by St Brice in the fifth century. The Empress Maria of Arragon, wife of Otho III. had accused a young Italian Count of having endeavoured to seduce her, and he was put to death; but his widow, with the head of her husband in her hand, demanded to be admitted to the fiery ordeal in order to prove his innocence, and holding, as long as was thought necessary, a red hot bar of iron without being burnt, this miracle was admitted as proof, and the Empress was condemn ed to be burnt alive. 440 Account of the Incombustible Lady. If the Monkish historians tell the truth, our Queen Emma, mother of Edward the Confessor, passed unhurt over nine burning plough-shares. Another form of trial, attended with greater ceremony, was that undergone by Luitprand, a Milanese priest, who, in 1103, offered to prove the truth of an accusation against his bishop, by walking through a blazing pile of wood. He entered, it is said, through volumes of flame, which divided before him, and came out amid the acclamations of the people. It was remarked, however, that his hand had received some injury from the fire when throwing holy water and incense into the pile, and that his foot was bruised. However, this proof was thought insufficient by the Pope, who acquitted the archbishop. In truth, says Duclos, who has inserted an able essay on Trial by Duel and the Elements, in the 15th Vol. of the Memoirs of the Academie Royale des Inscriptions, if we consider the whole story, diminish the size and brightness of the pile, and increase the injury done to the hand and foot, and regard the sentence of the Pope as directed against a fanatic, the wonder of this pretended miracle will cease. Aldobrandini, a Florentine monk, in All trials of this kind were con- Hinc innocence, she substituted an inno- But while insensibility to the action of fire was held to be a proof of innocence in many instances, in the case of the unfortunate old women suspected of witchcraft, it received an opposite interpretation, and witch-finders carefully looked for insensible spots, a certain proof of connection with his Satanic Majesty. As the minds of men became more enlightened, the miracle of the resistance of fire was disputed, and it was referred either to imposition or natuJerome speaks of an imral causes. postor, calling himself the Messiah, who held in his mouth straw on fire, and vomited forth flames, and by this means excited the Jews to revolt. He was put to death after the capture of Bettas. Itinerants have, from time to time, appeared, who have exhibited feats with fire, which have attracted the |