The Sun.
London, England, 1826-04-06 00:00:00

INFAN'I'!NE ARITIIMETICIAN.

The Hotta of the town nre about to receive an
accession to their number in the parson of Master GEORGE
Nom(Es, a child only six years and a half old, but who is said
to be possessed of a precocity of talentfor calculation, which has
scarcely ever been paralleled, and never surpassed. The public
exhibition is not to commence till to-morrow, but last night a
preliminary examination took place at the Gothic Hall, Picca-
dilly, in presence of a large party. A variety of difficult titles.
lions were propounded to him, to all of winch he gave correct
answers, with a promptitude and apparent facility that fully
justified the expectation excited of his astonishing natural
ability. We subjoin a few of the questions and answers as
the best evidence of the truth of what we have asserted.

Supposing a person were to take 13 pinches of snuff during
every quarter of an hour,,how many would he have taken in 15
years, reckoning 365 days to each year ?—Answer, 6,1132,000.
A person is 29 years and a half old, how many minutes has he
lived ?—Answer, 15,505,200.
Again,. supposing him to have had an income of 4d. per
minute. how much will he have received P—Answer,2s9,42oL
In 650 hogsheads of 63 gallons each, how many pints, and
how much would they come to at bd. per pint P—Answer,
327,600 pints-6,025/.
What is the square root of 576 P—Answer 24.
What is the square of 576 ?—Answer, 331,776.
There are two numbers whose united amount is 249, and
their difference 52„ what ate they ?This puzzled him for some
time; but he refused giving up the attempt, and at last an-
swered, 94 and 146, which is correct.

While answering these and numerous other questions, the
child's attention never appeared to he abstracted from stir.
rounding objects or irrelevant observations, nor, as tar as opi.
nion could be formed, did these in the least impede or annoy
him.

The child is stated tote the son of a labourer employed in
the docks to be totally uneducated; and to be totally igno.
rant of the value which the characters in common .use for ex.
rooting numerals represent. His father states, that the first
indication which he observed of his son's talent was about a
year and a half back, when he told him he could count a
thousand, and shortly afterwards that he could count a mil.
lion. No attempt appears at this or at any other time to have
been made to aid the child. in the development of his powers
of mind.; but he appears, like the great Des Cartes, without
assistance to have proceeded to discover, and demonstrate for
himself, so moch of the first principles of mathematics as
form the basis of arithmetic, and thence by induction to have
formed rules by which most of its operations could be per.
formed. It Is true that these rules are not so facile or simple
as those in general use, nor is it surprising they should not he,
when it Is recollected they are die production of a mere child,
whO could not be expected, however wonderful its natural
powers, to have nt once hit upon the method which experience
has proved to be the best. Indeed, the very imperfectness of
the rules is a strong corroborative proof of the originality. of the
boy's genius, and of his not being indebted to instruction for
the proficiency which he has attained.
The following is the method which the child stated himself
to have adopted in multiplying 70 by 123 t-70 times 100 is
7,000, 70 times 20 is 1,400, 70 times 3 is 210-4.610.
In multiplying 46 by 48, he adopted the following method-
-52 times 46 is 2,080-6 times 6 is 3674,116.
On being asked how he calculated the question as to the
pinches of snufr, he said, " I did not do it in the way it was
put to me. I began by multiplying 13 times 16, and that came
to 145, and multiplied again by 4 made 780. I called this NO,
and multiplied it by the number of hours In a year, which made
7,008,000. Then I multiplied 20 by the hours in a year,
which made 175,200, and taking this front 7,008,009 it gave the
correct answer."

When asked why he added 20 to the 760, he 31141 " because
it made it even."

Some time ago, an incorrigible dram drinking
son of the excise, called on a certain respect..
able disciple of Galen, in Stirling, to advise re.
garding a stomach complaint, with which he wa,
most grievously plagued. The learned follower
of the healing art had no difficulty in ascertaining
that his patient's disease arose from a sort of
sympathy that existed betwixt his stomach and
the " wale o' Scotia's drink," which never per-
mitted him to set his eyes on a glass of whisky,
without feeling an irresistible desire to take the
most expeditious mode of gauging its contents.
The Doctor having accordingly laid before the
poor gauger the present and future pernicious
consequences of his tippling propensities, pro-
ceeded to make up a box of pills for him, which
he presented to him with injunction to take a
certain neither of the pills three times a day, but
on no account to indulge in his old habit of dram
drinking. "To be sure," said the gauger, at the
same time laying down a sixpence us the price.
" but ye surely canna' object to my taking n
dram aforehund to fortify my stomach, maybe
another to keep the pills down, and maybe a
third to settle all." The Doctor remonstrated,
and told him it was necessary he should com-
pletely forego the pleasures of whisky drinking
to give the pills effect, " ye're sure they'll nol
agree,", said the gauger—ts Par certain of that,"
responded the. ])actor. " Then I'll no lash my-
self. wi' them—tak ye your pills and I'll tak my
sitter," said the gauger, at the same time pocket-'
ing his money and walking off very deliberately.
--(Stirling Journal.) 1

PRICE OF STOCKS THIS
Mink Stock
3 per Cent. lied. 781 i Ili ex div.
3 per Cent. gong.. 703 9.1 9
3} per Cent.
Ditto Red. B5 idle* div.
4 per Cent. New
Batik hong inn. 19fi cx div.
India Stock.., " ' shut
Ditto Bonds, 4 p. 5 pm.
South Sew Stock • —.

PLUCKS OF rottEiaN Fi
Austrian Bdii, hper cent....
Brazilian lids
Buenos Ayres lids
Chinon Bds, 6 per et.
Colombian lids

Do. 1824 53 i 1 i
Danish, 3 p. cc.
Greek lids —
Do. 11126 ..., l7
Guatimela —

II exicati MIN. 5 p. c.
1825

I)AY AT ONE 0CI.00K•
Old Annuities
New Ditto
Ex.Billl4 INU 2d....7 U 6 pm.
Ditto 501)1.2dl.
Ditto Small 2d.
Ditto Advertised
Bank for Acct.
India for .\ ect.
Cons. for Acct.