The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1870-05-05
A ~ Odeyy ia CAscui.stisn.

| The rarity VI bsrmnnious rnenta
development ia palp,bls TO all VIII,
take any pains to examine the char
acte,s of those who surround him
Here aud there one is copspicuoasl,
above the rest in capacity aud |,
looked upon with admiration, bu
should such conspicuous mind be an.
allied. IL would be found that its su.
periority lay in the patural develop.
ment aud culture of a few organs
while 10 other respects 1t did not rails,
above mcdiocrity. Now aud then We
meet with Instances Of unique develop
uent so extraordinary that they amount
almost to insanity. There have been
meo who have shown great artistic
ability, but 10 everything else were
the variest ounces. Some of the Gre.
tins of the Alps surprise US by their
mechanical dexteri,y, but they are SO
lacking in intellect that To render
their mechanical skill of service tuey
require direction aud guidance.
Everybody 10 America, or ut least in
the United States, has heard Of Bllni
Tom, the wonderful musician, whose
talent seems to lie in the great activity
Of tuue, while IN other respects he is
said to bc but little removed from the
idiot.
An unique development in the d.
rcCtion oil "a culatIon has lately been
announced to us, which is we'll worth
u place in these columns. Our author
ny Is the st. Louis R,pubi,ean, which
thus alludcs TO it:
AT Or near Warrensburg, johnson
county, in this State, resides poor
widow woman, who has son, Reuben
Field, mere boy. untutorrd, aud
seemingly almost incapable Of literary
culture, who yet Possesses most re-
markable powers OF mental calculation
As evidence OF this, among many other
evidences that might be clted, "a gen,
tlenan oi st. Louis, who had heard VI
his poss, sing this faculty, sent him the
following figures, VIZ; lI5, ,l45, 49,
li5, asking him TO square this number
mentally, that is, multiply the number
by itself, aud send b,m the result, with
the tlmo taken To preiorm It, scarcely
believing, however. Notwithstanding
The extraordinary accounts related vi
him, that he could bo capable OF the
task. In this, however, be was mis-.
laken, "a were others to whom the
proposition had been namei. A letter
has been received by tie gentleman
named, from highly respectable aud
reliable citizens Ct Warrensburg, who
states that in 10 three minutes tine
the boy Field mentally aud accurately
pronounced the result, 2l ,OOI ,li3, 49,
1853, ,ll7,07l OPS, or 10 written WORDS,
twenty one sextrillious, sixty-seven
quirtiiIions, one hundred and Hty-Diue
irIIions, one hundred aud SIXTY three
billions, oue hundred aud seventeen
millions, seventy.ono thousand aud
twenty-five.
Though such exhibitions Of mental
power Of calculation as the one eXhIb-
tied in the above ero not altogether
unhcard Of, they are nevertheless rare.
10 this instance il will appear all the
more marvellous when IL Is stated, Shat
this boy, Reuben Field, is almost en-
t,rely uneducated JUDGED, the letter
referred above says Field wsintains il
is OF no use for boys to 60 10 school,
as he cant Learn anything, aod never
could 10 fact, except'lu this matter
Of calculation, in which lie is u marvel.
he is said to bc very ignorant iu other
matters lazy, uucouth. disposed to
wander from place to place, and, worst
Of all, perhaps, is very fond of drink.
Yet the letter states he can repeat
the eighty. seventh line in multiplied :.
tion back wards and forwards, anu does
many marvellous things 10 calculating
mentally Let those who think ihe
solution required in the proposition
given above can not be difficult one,
because rendered by an iiiterate anu
uucul,ivated boy, call to mind that this
solution, BY the usual forms OF multi
plicaiiou, requires tie use OF l9l
figures, l44 nultiplicaiious, % addi.
tious, and 10 combinations Of figures,
aud that this, by the ordinary pro-
sesses oi multiplication. IS to bs per-
formed and retained 10 the mind until
the process is completed. When they
realize this, or attempt tho solution
itself, they will very likely como to
the CONCLUSION that Reuben Field is a
PRODIGY in mental calculations"