The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1855-08-23

it might with some truth be said that these two
eminent men, whose lives had been spent in
opposing the cause of Freedom, died as its sup
porters.
Berlin, Prussia.
LONG LIFE, AND HOW TO ATTAIN TO IT.
Button SAYS that "the man who does not die
of accidental causes, reaches everywhere tho
age of ninety or hundred years" Halter goes
even beyond this, and says that man might live
not less than two centuries. But then he must
not waste himself, either with excessive labor
or with mental activity and nervous irritation.
Ease is favorable to longevity. Temperance,
cheerfulness, moderate labor, moderate exer-
else, and moderate amusement, and plenty of
rest, both mental and bodily, are all favorable
to long life. With these, and supposing that a
man avoids accidents and malaria, his natural
term of life is more than a century.
But few men die of old age. Almost all die
OF disappointment, passional, mental, or bodi-
ly toll or accident The passions kill men
sometimes, even suddenly. The common ex-
preston, "choked with passion" has little
exaggeration in it; for even though not sudden
ly fatal, strong passion shortens life. Strong
bodied men often die young-weak men live
longer than the strong, for the strong use their
strength, and the weak have none to use. The
latter take care of themselves, the former do
not. AS it is with body, so it is with mind and
temper. The strong are apt TO break down, or,
like the candle, to rum the weak burn out.
The inferior animals, which live, In general,
regular and temperate lives, have generally
their prescribed term of years. The horse lives
twenty-five years the OK fifteen to twenty; the
lion about twenty; the dog ten to twelve; the
rabbit eight; the guinea-pig six to seven years.
These numbers all beac similar proportion to
the time the animal takes to grow to its full
size.
When the cartilaginous parts Of the bone be-
come ossiied, the bone ceases to grow. This
takes place in man at about twenty years On
the average in the camel at eight; in the horse
at FIVE; in the OK at four; in the lion at four /;
in the dog at two; in the cat at eighteen
months; in the rabbit at twelve; in the guinea
pig at seven. Five or six times those numbers
give the term of life; five is pretty near the av-
erage some animals greatly exceed it. But
man, of all the animals, is the one that seldom
comes up to his average. He ought to live a
hundred years, according to this physiological
law, for five times twenty is a hundred; but in
stead of that, he scarcei Y reaches on the aver
age four times his growing period, whilst the
dog reaches six times the cat six times and
the rabbit even eight times the standard of
measurement. The reason is obvious-man is
not only the most irregular and the most intern
perate, but the most laborious and hard-work
ed of all animals He is also the most irritable
of all animals; and there is reason to believe
though we cannot tell what an animal secretly
feels, that more than eny other animal man
cherishGs wrath to keep it warm, and consumes
himself with the fire of his own secret refec-
tions.
Marvellous stories are told of the longevity of
rocks, swans, and fishes in general; but as yet
little is known Of their periods of growth fish
es, however, have soft bones, and some of them
are even cartilaginous. This is favorable to
growth, and consequently to longevity, for it is
when the cartilage becomes hard in mans
bones that he ceases to grow, and old age is
characterized by dryness and brittleness Of
bone. This fact suggested to an enthusiast,
some years ago, that the best mode Of increas.
ing the life OF man was to feed him on substan-
ces that would give softness TO his bones and,
having examined the chemical analysis of bone.
he came to the conclusion that bread was about
one of the very worst articles of diet that hui
man beings could make use Of He denounced
the staff of life with vehemence; anything but
bread eat potatoes, turnips, raw cabbage, or
eat bread. Even gin and water he preferred
to a slice of quartern loaf; and, in the sole
conversation we ever had with him, he inform
ed us that he had female patient whom he
was feeding on nothing else except apples and
gin. His idea was, that, by a certain course Of
diet, he would make lie human bones ike
whalebone-so strong and yet so pliabie, that
they would be in no danger of breaking. 1t
was philosophy in a fever but it had fact,
as all fevers have, to begin with.
Button and Halter both maintain that the
longevity of man before the deluge is to be sci
entifcally accounted for. Button says that the
earth was then less solid and compact, and all
its productions had less consistency; conse-
quently, bones were less bony, and more cartila
ginous; man could therefore grow longer
time; puberty was later. Hence, we find that
the antediuvians began to have sons and daugh-
tiers after they were far advanced in life. His
numbers however, will not work in this argu-
ment, for he wants to make out that one hun
bred and thirty years was the period of puberty
in those days-in the face of the fact that
Enoch lived sixty-ive years. and begat Methu-
seah. Seven times the age of puberty he con-
siders the natural term of life, and seven times
one hundred and thirty will serve his purpose
very well for an antediuvan; but what can he
do with seven times sixty-fve, but shrug his
shoulders and give it up? Bat it is 10 easy
matter to give up theory; so he overlooked
the unfavorable fact, and accepted the favora-
BILE one. Nevertheless, there may be portion
Of truth in his notion.
Age is evidently drying up of the texture
Of the body-a hardening of its parts. This |
growing result of time is perceptible through
out the frame. The bones of youth are soft, |
and the flesh of youth is juicy. Even the very
plumpness and hardness of young flesh is but |
The Imprisonment of juice. This juiciness is
youth--its converse is age; and it is seen every
the skin to the bone. The very
amount of age is determined by it. Fat hides
i a little but fat is not juice, and therefore it
wants energy, it wants elasticity, it is easily
ired, and has very little restorative power. Il |
S therefore even older than leanness. 1t is a
,ort of concealed age. Fat people are older
han they seem to be, and the exercise thew
axe to keep down their fat is wasting to their
strength. They will live longer by following
he example of the good old English gentle
men, who live at home at ease.
Fatigue shortens life; but it is not muscular
atigue alone, but digestive fatigue also. Phil
p Cornaro, who made living a study, and died
upwards of a hundred years old, says that glut-
ony kills more than plague, war, or famine.
To gluttony add drunkenness, and you have
wo of deaths most successful emissaries Per
laps there are very few persons whose term of
ifa ia not shortened bv one or other or both of