New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-11-05

/ Mead and the Royal Society, who encouraged Mr.
I Dawkes to prosecute his inquiries. This immense
/ creature, long known as the gigantic boy of vii.
lingham, was called Thomas Hail, and was the son
| OF little father and almost little mother. He
| himself, at his entrance upon this scene was only
fine, itlsty baby. But he began to grow at rate
| which astonshed the whole neghborhood, and,
when two years and eleven months old he was
more than three feet nine inches high. Two
months later he had reached the height of three
feet eleven; growing at the rate of nearly an inch
month. Nearly a twelyemonth after, he had
attained the height of four feet five inches; SO that
had he grown to manhood at this rate, he would
have been at least nine feet high.
The cause of the first check to his growth appears
to have been extreme stuffing. After his third year
! he was taken about for a show, and created an
| extraordinary sensation. But he was SO crammed
/ that he soon learned to care for notmng put
| dainties, and was frequently =" "debauehed with
/ winen-a nice state of matters for a child three
| years old The natural upshot was that he had
crop of boils fell into ill health and was checked
| in his growth Previously lie had been hut small
| eater and drinker.
His bulk and strength were quite proportionate
to his great height Before he was years old the
calf of his leg above ten inches round, and he
weighed in his "cleaths, p four stone two pound.
When five years old he weighed, even after his i'll
ness, upwards Of six stone. His strength was pro-
digious. When less than years old Mr.. Dawkes
saw him take hammer, seventeen pounds weight,
and throw it from him TO considerable distance.
When little more than years old, he could place
large Cheshire cheese upon his head, and Lift a
runlet two gallons, Winchester measure9 full of
ale to his mouth, and drink freely from it,
By this time he was the champion Of the school.
Boys of seven or eight years Of age had no chance
against him; he never condescended to fight
with them he simply collared them and brought
them down to the ground. Sometimes, at q
later date, he would offer to fight all the boys
in the SCHOOLS, two at time, and threaten to put
them in his pocket. When he was years old and
exhibit his strength. A wheelbarrow of uncom-
mon size and very heavy was selected; one of the
biggest boys then got into it, and Tom trundled
| him of with ease. Two of the biggest boys then
| got in, and the young Anak made 1t move
| q two rotations of the wheel.n This was all he
could do--and not amiss either, as the tive boys
weighed twelve stone two pounds, and he was not
well.
mans. When three years old he seems to have
possessed as much sense as boys of five or six,
and, by the time he had passed his fifth year, he
behaved himself in every way as grown man. He
was extremely fond of music, sculpture and paint
| ing, and seemed rather inclined to mechanics
than to any other kind of learning His look was
rather savage, and always sedate. Though never
violent cruel, he seems to have had as little OF
love of fear in his composition and of the latter
he had certainly little enough, for he was as :. in
domitable as panther, 4 except with NJ. Dawkes,
who kept him in awe by threatening him with his
| dissecting knife. Even this gentleman never seems
TO nave succeeded knotWfGfStandinS tne uiSSectlDB
knte) in thoroughly gaining his affections Always
/ cold and gloomy after his illness, he grew more
/ silent as his short life drew to close.
In January, l747, Mr.. Dawkes found he was i'll Of
1 fever, and kindly sent him some medicine. This
the boy refused to take, and his biographer heard
nothing more of him till June in the same year,
| when meeting Dir. Heberdon, he was informed by
him that the poor lad was dying OF consumption.
| He accordingly went to see him. Two days after
/ wards, he quietly breathed his last having only
/ grown one inch in the preceding eight months.
! His strong natural courage never deserted him,
| and he viewed the approach of death with per-
| fecty undisturbed fortitude though he disiked to
talk about it, as he did about most other matters.
| Some months prior to this he rejoieed in thick
| pair of whiskers, and he had o beard. Old age
| seemed to gather fast upon him towards his end.
His corpse had all the appearance, grey hairs ex-
oepted, of man who had died at extreme Old
age !: SO the story told by Pliny of a boy who at
three years of age was four feet high, and the
story of the lad mentioned by Craterus who mar
ried and died, leaving issue in his seventh year,
are not so profoundly improbable after all. Mr..
White, an eminent surgeon recently dead, men
tions boy who used to come to his house, who
was three feet two high when only two years and
a half old, and was built like Farnese Hercules,
and lifted forty pounds with ease. NJ. Breschet
showed the phrenoogist Spurzheim boy who,
at three years of age was three feet six and three
quarters Mr.. South, the surgeon. had under his
care boy who, at little more than three years
old was three feet seven high, weighed four stone
eight pounds, and had q splendid development Of
muscle. 8sS8@
In every instance this vast physical develop
ment was purchased at the expense of all that
repders life precious health, active energy intel
lect duration Of life, enjoyment of society, and the
hope of offspring. Even extraordinary stoutness
tends to produce similar results, with an instance
of which truth this paper shall close.