FEBRUARY.]

MEMOIR OF XAVIER CHABERT. Including Authentic Particulars relative to his Surprising EXPERIMENTS.

(With a Portrait.)

FEW persons in the present day have obtained a greater share of public notoriety than the extraordinary individual, whose likeness is prefixed to the present number of the Imperial Magazine. The philosophical nature of his experiments, joined to their astonishing character, has excited an intense interest, that must render the subsequent account acceptable to readers at large. Armed with strong and efficacious antidotes, and inured by progressive efforts to the action of intense heat, this celebrated operator defies the malignity of the most subtle and deadly poisons, and exposes himself fearlessly to the terrible element of fire. Whether any essential benefits to society may result from these bold essays, it might be somewhat premature at present to assert. They will probably serve, at least, to direct the attention of the faculty to the consideration of poisons, and may eventually lead to discoveries of the first importance in medical science.

XAVIER CHABERT, better known by the appellation of the FIRE KING, is a native of Avignon, in the south of France. His family have served in arms under Napoleon; and the subject of the present memoir had the honour to hold a lieutenancy under that great captain of modern times. He accompanied the French army into Russia, and was there detained a prisoner. Whilst in that empire, he suffered from the ill-treatment of a native officer; when the Emperor Alexander strongly manifested his sense of public justice, by settling on him a pension, and by sentencing the offender to banishment in Siberia,-where, to the best of Monsieur Chabert's knowledge, he remains to the present day.

During the revolution, Chabert's father concealed in his house five Catholic priests, and eventually succeeded in preserving them from the fury of democratic power. From one of these, Monsieur Chabert, the present experimentalist, received some information on the capabilities of the human body to sustain heat, which gave the first

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impulse to his essays. The hints derived from the priest, however, only served as the foundation of a series of progressive efforts, that have at length enabled the exhibiter to bear an intensity of heat, rising, we are informed, from 600 to 800 degrees.

His daring experiments with phosphorus, prussic acid, and other powerful poisons, are entirely his own. He began with deter. mining the best antidote, and then proceeded with caution from a very small dose to a large one. His powers of bearing heat and of swallowing poisons, are it seems still in a state of progression; as he states that he can have no fear of rivalry, since the attempts of the present day may be far exceeded by something which he shall perform on the next.

Monsieur C. has travelled in Africa, and in nearly all the countries of the European continent; and exhibited before the most illustrious personages of the different nations through which he has passed. He is now about 39 years of age, and twelve years have elapsed since his first arrival in England. Previous to his engagements at the Argyll Rooms, he gave specimens of his singular talents before every member of our Royal Family, with the exception of his present Majesty.

In the neighbourhood of Waterloo Bridge, Monsieur Chabert's wife and family reside; and we believe it is his intention to continue in this country. He refuses to reveal the secret relative to the nature and management of his antidotes, for a less sum than £10,000. Whether it will answer the purpose of any one to give so high a premium for these philosophical arcana, is perhaps very questionable.

The following particulars extracted from the "Times" of the 24th September, 1829, will enable the reader to judge of the daring nature of Monsieur Chabert's experiments.

It will be recollected (says the Times) by many of our readers, that an advertisement appeared a few days ago in our journal, in which a Mr. J. Smith, after insinuating that M. Chabert, the Fire King, practised some juggle when he appeared to enter into an oven heated to 500 de

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grees, and to swallow 20 grains of phosphorus, challenged him, for any sum which he might please to mention, to perform the exploits which he professed to be performing daily. It will also be recollected, that to this challenge was added an explicit "pledge," given " upon the honour" of Mr. Smith, that if Mr. Chabert "fairly accomplished such an undertaking, he would likewise do the same."

To those who are acquainted with the various shapes in which ambition clothes itself, it will not appear surprising, that the "Fire King's soul was all on fire" to answer the daring defiance which he had received from an adventurous calumniator; and in consequence he publicly accepted Mr. J. Smith's challenge for £50, requesting him to provide the poisons himself, and offering, with true chivalric courtesy, to allow him the same conveniences which he used himself whilst he remained in the oven. This unexpected retort appeared to make Mr. J. Smith feel that it was necessary for him to be more magnificent in his promises than he had hitherto shown himself; for in his rejoinder to Mr. Chabert, he informed him that he would meet him in the Argyll Rooms, at his ordinary hour of performance, and would then "enter the oven with him, and perform his other feats." Yesterday was mutually fixed upon as the day on which the two contracting parties to this extraordinary challenge were to try their merits by the ordeal of fire, and on which they were to submit their powers of resisting poison to the test of experiment. Accordingly, at two o'clock, the hour appointed for the combat, a number of gentlemen were attracted to the arena in which it was to take place; and as they entered, care was taken to inform them that the money had been regularly posted, and that Mr. Smith was ready.

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put his hands into some melted lead, took a small portion of it out, placed it in his mouth, and gave it in a solid state to some of the company. This performance, according to his account, was also very easy; for he seized only a very small particle, which, by a tight compression between the finger and thumb, became cool before it reached the mouth.

The challenger being on the ground, the time for trifling was now over, and M. Chabert forthwith prepared himself for mightier undertakings.

A cruise of oil was brought forward and poured into a saucepan, which was previously turned upside-down, to show that there was no water in it. The alleged reason for this step was, that vulgar conjurors, who profess to drink boiling oil, place the oil in water, and drink it when the water boils, at which time the oil is not warmer than an ordinary cup of tea. He intended to drink the oil when any person might see it bubbling in the saucepan, and when the thermometer would prove that it was heated to 360 degrees. The saucepan was accordingly placed upon the fire, and as it was acquiring the requisite heat, the Fire King challenged any man living to drink a spoonful of the oil at the same temperature as that at which he was going to drink it. In a few minutes afterwards he sipped off a spoonful with the greatest apparent ease, although the spoon, from contact with the boiling fluid, had become too hot for ordinary fingers to handle. "And now, Monsieur Smith," said the Fire King, now for your challenge. Have you prepared yourself with phosphorus, or will you take some of mine, which is laid on that table?"

Mr. Smith, who is a thickset man of middle size, walked up to the table, and pulling a vial bottle out of his pocket, offered it to the poison-swallower.

The Fire King.-I ask you, on you ho nour as a gentleman, is this genuine unmixed poison?

Mr. Smith.-It is, upon my honour. The Fire King.-Is there any medical gentleman here, who will examine it? [Speaking to a gentleman near him.] Will you try it for me, sir?

The gentleman declined: he believed that the Fire King was a better judge of phosphorus than he was.

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on which a formidable collection of poisons -such as red and white arsenic, hydro-cyanic acid, morphine, and phosphoruswas placed, and examining the vial, declared, that to the best of his judgment it was genuine phosphorus.

This did not content several gentlemen in the room; they desired to see whether it would ignite by friction. The experiment was made, and a small piece soon set the paper in which it was wrapped into a blaze. The same experiment had been tried on the Fire King's own phosphorus; and if we may judge from the volume of flame which it sent forth, his phosphorus was stronger than that provided by Mr. Smith. The reality of the poison being thus ascertained, M. Chabert asked Mr. Smith with great politeness how many grains he wished to commence his first draught with.

Mr. Smith.-Twenty grains will do as a commencement.

M. Chabert.-Ah, my good sir, it is a very small dose. I should not object to take a pound or two-will you weigh the quantity yourself?

Mr. Smith declined.

A medical gentleman then came forward and cut off two parcels of phosphorus, containing 20 grains each. He was placing them in the water, when the Fire King requested that his phosphorus might be cut into small pieces, as he did not wish the pieces to stop on their road to his stomach.

The poisons were now prepared. A wine glass contained the portion set aside for the Fire King-a tumbler the portion reserved for Mr. Smith. It would be difficult to say whether the challenger or the challenged at this moment showed the greater composure. This may be safely said they were at this moment the two least agitated persons in the room.

The Fire King.-I suppose, gentlemen, I must begin. Well, then, to convince you that I do not juggle, I will first of all take off my coat, and then, as another precaution, I will trouble you, Doctor (speaking to Dr. Gordon Smith,) to tie my hands together behind me.

Here a loud cry was set up that it was unnecessary to have the Fire King bandaged in this manner.

The Fire King.-Oh! gentlemen, I beg your pardon, it is necessary; for I want to show you that I do not juggle.

After he had been bandaged in this manner, he planted himself on one knee in the centre of the room, and requested some gentleman to place the phosphorus on his

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tongue, and pour the water down his throat. This was accordingly done, and the water and phosphorus were swallowed together. He then opened his mouth, and requested the company to look whether any portion of the phosphorus remained in his mouth. Several gentlemen examined his mouth, and declared that there was no phosphorus perceptible either upon or under his tongue. He was then by his own desire unbandaged. The Fire King then turned to Mr. Smith, and offered him the other glass of phosphorus with a ceremonious politeness which was highly entertaining"And now, my good sir, I shall have great pleasure in seeing you take off your glass too."

Mr. Smith started back in infinite alarm -"Not for worlds, sir, not for worlds; I beg to decline it."

The Fire King.-Eh! mon Dieu; you decline it! Oh dear sir; no, no; you will drink von little glass to oblige the company.

Mr. Smith.-The company must excuse me. I don't often drink in a morning, and least of all such an ardent spirit as phosphorus.

The Fire King.-Then why for did you send me a challenge? You have pledged your honour to drink it if I did. I have done it; and if you are a gentleman, you must drink it too.

Mr. Smith.-No, no; I must be excused I am quite satisfied without it.

Here several voices exclaimed that the bet was lost. Some said that there must be a confederacy between the challenger and the challenged, and others asked whether any money had been deposited?

The Fire King called a Mr. White forward, who deposed that he held the stakes, which had been regularly placed in his hands, by both parties, before 12 o'clock that morning.

The Fire King here asked Mr. Smith if he intended to go into the oven with him?

Mr. Smith replied that he could answer that question better after he saw the Fire King come out.

The Fire King. But, my good sir, that makes no matter, for you have lost your bet already, if you do not swallow the phosphorus. Are you satisfied on that head?

Mr. Smith, after a very slight hesitation, admitted that he was.

The Fire King here turned round with great exultation to the company, and pulling a bottle out of his pocket, exclaimed with great good feeling, "I did never see