stood contemplatively holding the gas-jet
and the cigar in either hand, thinking
what a saving it would be to smoke a pipe,
when, in my absent-mindedness, I dropped
the cigar and put the gas-jet into my
mouth. Strange as it may appear, I felt
no pain, and stood there holding the thing
in my mouth and puffing till the man in
charge yelled out to me that I was swallowing
his gas. Then I looked up, and,
sure enough, there I was pulling away at
the slender flame that came from the glass
tube.

``I dropped it instantly, and felt of my
mouth, but noticed no inconvenience or
unpleasant sensation whatever.

`` `What do you mean by it?' said the
proprietor.

``As I didn't know what I meant by it
I couldn't answer, so I picked up my cigar
and went home. Once there I tried the
experiment again, and in doing so I found
that not only my mouth, but my hands and
face, indeed, all of my body, was proof
against fire. I called on a physician, and
he examined me, and reported nothing
wrong with my flesh, which appeared to be