OCR Text |
Show Curious Phenomenon. A short time since a young lady in this city had occasion to go up stairs and into her room during the middle of the day, when she witnessed a curious phenomenon. No person had been in the room for hours, so far as was known, but as she entered she happened to glance at a work basket which stood on a table in one corner of the room, and which contained sewing materials, ribbons, &c. [etc.] Smoke was issuing from this basket, and as the young lady approached it, she lifted a handful of its contents and discovered some matches in it that were burning and seemingly about to burst forth into a flame. The discovery was most providential as the entire contents of the basket would no doubt have been in a blaze in a moment, more, and thus set fire to the building. Spontaneous combustion is the only theory of the matches, and doubtless many mysterious fires have been caused by the same means. |