Did You Know?
That one of the most famous of the literati from the 19th century, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, was traumatized by watching his wife catch on fire and burn to death? Well, I sure didn't.
Apparently she had been melting wax to seal envelopes with cuttings of
their children's hair, and dropped a match on her dress. He tried to put out the flames, but was unsuccessful. She was 44. He later wrote
about how he should not even be alive after what his eyes had seen.
Longfellow
himself received burns on his hands and face in attempting to put out
the fire, which made it difficult for him to shave due to the scars,
which is why he grew a beard!
.