The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1849-04-04

but bic spoke smillin 81, and putting his
hand in his pocket book, he took out q
note Of five hundred dollars and put it
.in his child Is hand. Take this-4if ii
is not enough YOU must have another,
I suppose. But don t trouble me about
it any more. ' ~ !:
The next morning broke clear, but
the snow was q foot deep, and here end
there 10y in the huge drifts, blocking
up the door ways. AT ten o'clock the
rich merchant was on his way to his
connting.room. He turned down the
same street up which he had come the
preceding evening. a crowd hadjgath-
cred around the open cellar door of q
ruined tenement. The merchant paused
to enquire what was the matter.
"a woman, sir, has been found dead
below there" said one Of the spcctar
tors; "she starved to death, it is said, /,
and they have sent for the coroner
Hcl daughter has just come back, after
being out all night I believe she was
begging. That's her moaning"
"Ah!'' said the mercant, and pang
went through his heart like an ice-bolt
for he remembered having denied q pc
titioner the night before. He pushed
through the crowd, and descended the
cellar steps. A girl coyerd over an
emaciatcd corpse that lay on Q heap of
straw in one corner of the damp apart
ment. IT was the same girl he had fear
ed it would prove. The merchant was
horror struck.
"My poor childv'. he cried, laying
his hand on her shoulder. ssmustbe car
ed for-God forgive mo for denying
you last night. Here-take this
and he put bill into her hand.
The girl looked up and gazed vacant
ly at him. Then she put back the prof
fered money.
SIT will do no good now," she said,
s'mother is Dead" and she burst into
hysteric tears.
The merchant, at that moment, would
have given half his fortune to have re-
called her to life.
This lesson thus learned the never
forgot. The merchant personally saw
that decent burial was provided for
the mother, and afterwards took tho
daughter into his house, educated her
for a high station in life, and, on her
marriage, presented her with proper
dowry. He lived to hear her children
lisp their gratitude.
STATISTICS OF HUMAN LIFE. The
distinguished surgeon, Alexander FL.
Stevens, of New York city, recently
delivered an address before the New
York State Medical Society, in vindi-
cation ofhis profession, in which he sub
mitted the following interesting statis-
tics. He stated that throughout The
civilized world the duration of human
life has increased, and is steadily in
creasing with the advancement and diff.
fusion of medical sciene:
Gin the city of Geneva, in the 10th
century, one individual in 25 died an
nually. For the 18th century, one in
"a; at the present time, one in 49,
With us the mortality is greater. /
estimate it at one in 40, the proportion
of childhood being larger, and childhood
being the period Of greatest mortality.
In the British navy, among adults,
none of whom are very aged. the NOR,
tality is only about one in 100. Sew
enty years ago the mortality in the Brit
lsh navy was one in every ten. In
1908, one in thirty; 1886, 13 $40,
among 1000; diminution to less than o
seventh of the rate in ITO. In the
American army, with a corps of medi-
cal officers not cxcellcd by that of any
other country, the mortality is little
over one in 800 per annum. In Lon
don the mortality in the middle of the
last century was one in 80. In the
year 1888, the mortality was one in SO.
| quote from the annual report of the
Register General. Within the last
twenty years the mortality Of Russia
has been one in 81; Prussia, one in SO;
France, one in 30,07; Holland, one in
~; Belgium, one in 43.O1; England,
one in So OF; Sicily, one 80; Greece,
one in 30; Philadelphia, one in 42.O3;
Boston, one in 45; New York, one in
1888 The immigrats have made our
mortality greater than that of our Sis
ter cities; in other respects it has dimin-
lshed with the advance of medical
sceince. These statistical statements
might be multiplied at great length,
but enough have been given to show
co,nciuslvely the prodigious extent to
winch human life has been heightened,
with the advance and diffusion of mcdi.