Who has had the honor to exhibit, with universal applause, the most surprising performances that were ever attempted by mankind, before His Royal Highness William, late Duke of Cumberland, at Windsor Lodge, May 7th, 1752 before His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, at Gloucester House, January 30th, 1769 before His Royal Highness the present Duke of Cumberland, at Windsor Lodge, September 25th, 1769 before Sir Hans Sloane and several of the Royal Society, March 4th, 1751, who made Mr. His advertisements show that he was before Obliged to wander from place to place, instead of indulging himself in private with his favorite dish, he is under the uncomfortable necessity of eating in public, and helping himself from the kitchen fire of some paltry alehouse in the country." It is somewhat surprising that the friends of real merit have not yet promoted him, living as we do in an age favorable to men of genius. Lounger's Commonplace Book says of Powell: "Such is his passion for this terrible element, that if he were to come hungry into your kitchen, while a sirloin was roasting, he would eat up the fire and leave the beef. It was mainly through the instrumentality of Sir Hans Sloane that, in 1751, the Royal Society presented Powell a purse of gold and a large silver medal. His programme did not differ materially from that of his predecessor, Richardson, who had antedated him by nearly fifty years.īy far the most famous of the early fire-eaters was Robert Powell, whose public career extended over a period of nearly sixty years, and who was patronized by the English peerage. He was preserved from this unwelcome ordeal, however, by the interference of the Duchess Royal, Regent of Savoy." He performed five times a day at the Duke of Marlborough's Head, in Fleet Street, the prices being half-a-crown, eighteen pence and one shilling.Īccording to London Tit-Bits, "De Heiterkeit had the honor of exhibiting before Louis XIV., the Emperor of Austria, the King of Sicily and the Doge of Venice, and his name having reached the Inquisition, that holy office proposed experimenting on him to find out whether he was fireproof externally as well as internally. The secret methods employed by Richardson were disclosed by his servant, and this publicity seems to have brought his career to a sudden close at least I have found no record of his subsequent movements.Ībout 1713 a fire-eater named De Heiterkeit, a native of Annivi, in Savoy, flourished for a time in London. without touching the pot or ground with his hands, with divers other prodigious feats. Then he stoode on a small pot, and, bending his body, tooke a glowing iron with his mouthe from betweene his feete, Then he melted pitch and wax with sulphur, which he drank down as it flamed: I saw it flaming in his mouthe a good while he also took up a thick piece of iron, such as laundresses use to put in their smoothing-boxes, when it was fiery hot, held it between his teeth, then in his hand, and threw it about like a stone but this I observ'd he cared not to hold very long. He devoured brimstone on glowing coals before us, chewing and swallowing them he melted a beere-glass and eate it quite up then taking a live coale on his tongue he put on it a raw oyster the coal was blown on with bellows till it flamed and sparkled in his mouthe, and so remained until the oyster gaped and was quite boil'd. She made me stay dinner at Leicester House, and afterwards sent for Richardson, the famous fire-eater. I took leave of my Lady Sunderland, who was going to Paris to my Lord, now Ambassador there.
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