The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1828-11-05

From this confinement he was at last re
leved by his keeper, who, after foot
journey of two days, brought him to athe
gates of this city, where he gave him the
letter, and enjoining him to enter, left him.
He has now learnt many new words and
things: the former of which are easily dis
tngushed, from his pronounciDg them diff
ferently from those of his original stock
and for every one of the latter he can ac-
count himself, by mentioning his respective
informants. He is as credulous as child,
receiving every information with implicit
belief; and it is very difficult to make him
change notion or opinion after he has once
received it, as he seems as yet stranger
to doubt or investigation. The least sound
which strikes his ear unexpected, even the
ticking of clock, creates u slight convul-
sion in his face; and when his olfactory
nerves are affected by the smell of flowers,
lemons, &C., he points to the middle of his
forehead, as the place where he says he feels
/ pain. In the same manner he rejects every
food but bread and water, as disagreeable
to his unused palate. His sight alone seems
to receive pleasure from new objects, all his
other senses appearing Influenced by the
painful only.
The feeling of his fingers seems to be
acute, and he uses them often to assist his
weak sight. His hearing has improved, and
| he is fond of the piano forte, which they are
teaching him, but he expresses his dislike
of singing. which he calls screaming. His
memory is very good, he repeats the names
and titles of persons, as well as expression
of civllity, with unerring correctness, always
mentioning the people from whom he has re-
ceived every individual word. But bis atten-
ton is not great, except to what he is himself
engaged in, where it is quite exclusive. He
I uses as yet the verb in the inhnltive mood
only. He seems to have no general idea !;
no trace of any religious notion; no concep-
ton of past or future, every thing being
present with him, even the succession of
light and dark nor does he seem aware of
tight or wrong. He complains of the i'll US
age he received from his keeper, only as to
the pain it caused him. in the same manner
as he does about the pain he receives from
the perception of an object new to his sens
es, or about burn, which he received at
once touching fire. He is very compassion
ate, and expresses his concern even on see
ing flower pulled to pieces; and he could
not be reconciled to the correctness of pull
ing down an old house, which he witness
ed, till he was told that it would be made
fine, as he was made, when they gave him
new clothes for his old ones. Finding it
difficult to express himself fully with his de .
fciency of language, lie Is very vehement
in bis gestures.
! WILLIAM EMERSON, the celebrated
Mathematician, was a man of rude and
eccentric manners, vulgar in his conversa-
ton, and slovenly in his dress. He kept
school at Hurworth, near Darlington, for
many years, and declared that, of all his
scholars, there was but one boy that pos
sessed the least genius. He married the
daughter of a DR.. johnson, in the neighbor-
hood, who was displeased with the match.
This so irri,ated Emerson, that he packed
up the whole of the lady's wardrobe and
sent it to the Doctor, with a letter, stating
that he would not he indebted to him for
any thing, and that he would soon prove
himself the better man of the two. This
was no difficult matter to Emerson, who
soon became the most eminent mathematl-
clan of his day. His scientific apparatus,
which was constructed by himself, was of
the rudest description his telescope was
formed of three or four cask slaves, tied to-
gether; and his microscope was a small
lens, set i'll the top of a spring window fast
ener. He wore, as he sat by the fire in the
winter, two pieces of bark on mis- legs, to
prevent their being injured by the heat.
lie was constantly in the habit OF walking
TO Darlington on the market day, but his
return was not quite so regular. tie had a
great aversion to riding, and when the Duke
of Montague once offered him seat in his
carriage, Emerson said :" he did not like the
whim-wham, and would rather walk" A
neighboring geometrician once called upon
him to request the solution of a problem of
Euclid. Emerson was at the time on the
roof of his house, repairing the thatch. He
come down Immediately, and, with piece
of chalk, solved the problem on his hat.
His neighbor not readily understanding it,
) Emerson grew impatient, and babe him
take the hat home with him, and return it
when he had discovered the solution, and
immediately returned to his labor as a
thatcher. He always walked to London,
when he had any thing to publish, and care
fully revised every sheet himself He died
in his native village i'll 1852. lie wrote
Treatises on Fluxions, Mechanics, Algebra,
Optics, Astronomy, Navigation, Arithmetic
a Commentary onthe Principal, and several
other esteemed woiks.-Engtish paper.
A NEW CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT
"Who are you for, for President?" enquir.
ed couple of ways of one of our steam.
loving neighbors, who was going to the
general training last week, and whose skin
was then full of the o-bejoYfl stuff: "Whc
be | for hey (hiccup) gentlemen" an
swered he, as soon as he bad brought him
self to fair balance in front of them,-
"Why, gentlemen, Pm for GineraI (hiccup
Pm for (hlccup) Gineral-." 30" re
piled one of the interrogators, inturrupting
the hero before he had finished hiccupping