Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-07-19
Live Old Men.

work may be expected tomorrow.
Live Old Men.
1t is not little remarkable that the
men now busy at the horseshoe table in
the Berlin Congress, somewhat pre-
sumptuously trying to make new map
OF Europe for the next generation, are
| all old men. Prince Gortschakoff was
born in 1900, Lord Beaconsfield in 1905,
and Prince Bismarck in 1918. The
youngest of the three is 65, the next 73,
and the Oldest 7S. Thus all had their
birth within the present century, and
although Bismarck owes to a stormy
youth and to brandy an inconvenient
cutaneous disease and an irritable tenn
per, and Disraeli's bodily condition is
very feeble, and Gortschakoff leans
heavily on his cane, and stands with
one foot, as it were, in the grave, each
and all are in full active possession of
their extraordinary mental faculties.
The Emperor of Germany was born in
1897, and, in his eighty-second year, he
is now, despite the wounds recently in
tiicted on him by the assassin Nobiling,
stronger, physically, than either of the
trio of eminent statesmen just named.
The late Plus TX died this year at the
age of Sc, and his successor, Leo XIII,
is but 68. Lord Lyndhurst was born in
Boston, Mass, in 1772, and lived to be
81. Lord Brougham was born in 1779,
and lived to be 81. Lord Landsdowne
was SO when he died, and the late Earl
Russell was sc. Guizot was 81, and
Theirs 80. Count de Walleck, French
artist and archeologist, died in 1875 at
the age of 101. All these old men were
very much alive almost up to their last
breath. So were Lord Brougham, who
died at 80. and Lord Palmerston, at 81.
So are John Bright at 81, and Mr.. Glad
stone, who writes about old Homer and
discusses domestic and foreign politics,
and cuts down trees rs Justify rs ever,
at "a.
So, too, were Charles Carroll, of Car
rollton, a signer of the American Dec
laration of Independence, who lived to
be 81; and four Presidents of the Cont
mental Congress-John Jay, "a; Thomas
Mexican, 82; Elias Boudinot, 81; and
Arthur st. Clair, "a. The first Chief
Magistrate of our Republic, George
Washington, died when he was but SO.
Five other Presidents of the United
States lived to be 80 or more-John
Adams dying in his ninety-second year;
| Thomas Jefferson, at 83; James Madi-
son, at 50; John Quincy Adams, when
almost 81, and Martin Van Buren,, at
80. Six more lived until past 70-James
Monroe, who died in his I'D year; An
drew jackson, at rs; John Tyler, at "a !;
Millard Fillmore, at IA, and James
Buchanan, at II. Stephen Girard died
at 81, and John Jacob Astor at IS.
Chief Justice Marshall lived to 80, and
Chief Justice Taney to 81, both far be-
yond the Juvenile Judge Sutherland,
who, according to ex-Mayor Hall, ought
| already to have retired from the bench
on account of his age, which nobody
would have guessed. Charles OConor
is IA. George Bancroft and Caleb Cush-
ing are each 78. Simon Cameron, at
| 80, is still deemed not safe against the
wiles of widow Oliver. Thurlow Weed
! is 81. Peter Cooper is as amiably
visionary in politics and as active in
benefcence as ever at ths age of 81.
The death of William Cullen Bryant, a
victim of sun-stroke, is now being
everywhere mourned as premature,
even at "a. Richard Henry Dana, the
poet. who first introduced to the public
the author of A" Thanatopsis' more than
60 years ago, survives him at the age
of 81. Walt Whitman, the 4" good gray
poet" Notwithstanding his venerable
| appearance, the result not of years, but
of his patriotic toll in taking care of
sick and wounded soldiers in the late
war, is only SO. Oliver Wendell Holmes
is 50. Whittier and Longfellow are
each Il. Emerson is 70. Victor Hugo
is rs. Charles James Matthews was 75.
Blackstone is 7S. Carlyle is 83.
If it were not indiscreet to say any
thing about the ages of women, numer-
GUS instances of longevity, at least
equally striking as those which precede,
might be cited. 1t will suffice to allude
to the well-attested case of the Countess
of Desmond, in Ireland, who reached
her 140th year, and is said to have re-
newed her teeth in extreme old age
and that of Susan Edmonds, who in the
Goth year of her age, had her hail
change to black and again become gray
previous to her death, at lO5. Similar
mysterious changes in the color of the
hair are sometimes remarked, nowadays
with much younger women. Withou
adding to the many ungallant editoria
conjectures as to the age of Miss An
thOny, the subject may be dismissed
with the consolatory scientific deduc
tions from statistics relating to it, that
according to Button, from 80 to Ion
years may be allowed as the natura
life of man; that, according to Hunter
mans extreme limit of life might no
be less than two centuries; and, finally
that according to DIR. Sweetser, the av
erage duration of human life has in n,
time of which we have authenti
knowledge, reached so high a figure a
at the present day.-M Y. EJpresS.
; Amherst Professor" Mr.. L., wha
D is the trouble in your demonstrations
: MIR. L.-"I have omitted step, sir.
/ Professor" What would you do, sin
. | II Won won were climbinO a laddar an