his visitors to melt their own lead, or boil their
own mercury, that they might be perfectly
satisfied of the gratification he derived from
drinking these preparations. He would also
present his tongue in the most obliging manner
to all who wished, to pour melted lead upon
it and stamp an impression of their seals.''

A fire-proof billed as Professor Rel Maeub,
was on the programme at the opening of the
New National Theater, in Philadelphia, Pa.,
in the spring of 1876. If I am not mistaken
the date was April 25th. He called himself
``The Great Inferno Fire-King,'' and his
novelty consisted in having a strip of wet
carpeting running parallel to the hot iron plates
on which he walked barefoot, and stepping on
it occasionally and back onto the hot iron, when
a loud hissing and a cloud of steam bore ample
proof of the high temperature of the metal.

One of the more recent fireproofs was
Eugene Rivalli, whose act included, besides the
usual effects, a cage of fire in which he stood
completely surrounded by flames. Rivalli,
whose right name was John Watkins, died in
1900, in England. He had appeared in Great
Britain and Ireland as well as on the Continent
during the later years of the 19th century.