ABSTRACT
The fractures healed but for the rest of David Kennison life he suffered from festering sores on his legs. Later on he was murderously kicked in the face by a horse and permanently disfigured. He battled on and died in 1851 at the great age of 115, the oldest surviving person to have taken part in the Boston Tea Party. The new Grand Vizier ordered the throats of ten or twelve persons to be cut, on being accused of having concealed combustible materials in different quarters of the city.’ ‘As for the great city a fire was kindled therein and there was none could quench it. Alum is a useful fireproofing material, so this was a good-natured gesture. Victorian ladies mixed alum with starch to fireproof dress fabrics; a necessary precaution when all too many swaying crinolines caught fire as their wearers floated past the open fireplaces.
