The cage of fire has been used by a number
of Rivalli's followers also, and the reader will
find a full explanation of the methods
employed for it in the chapter devoted to the
Arcana of the Fire-eaters, to which we shall
come when we have recorded the work of the
master Chabert, the history of some of the
heat-resisters featured on magicians'
programmes, particularly in our own day, and the
interest taken in this art by performers whose
chief distinction was won in other fields, as
notably Edwin Forrest and the elder Sothern.



CHAPTER FOUR

THE MASTER--CHABERT, 1792-1859.

Ivan Ivanitz Chabert, the only
Really Incombustible Phenomenon, as he
was billed abroad, or J. Xavier Chabert, A.M.,
M.D., etc., as he was afterwards known in this
country, was probably the most notable, and
certainly the most interesting, character in
the history of fire-eating, fire-resistance, and
poison eating. He was the last prominent figure
in the long line of this type of artists to appeal
to the better classes and to attract the attention
of scientists, who for a considerable period