St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1882-04-15
The Voyage of Life.

The Cincinnati Times-Star, i'll a revue" OF
the last annual report OF the Registrar General
of England, puts the gist OF that Official $
figures Ill the following happy form:
The Registrar General starts out with an
army OF l,Oo00oO new born infants on MS
squtlly and tehpestous journey; 5ll,14o OF
these he finds would i'll the average course Oh
things, be boys and the baIance-lS8, 255-sills.
This discrepancy of the sexes disappears yer!
rapidly 10, 1872 more little boys drop out OF inc
ranks than girls during the first five years OF
the march. The turbulent nature OF the !or-
mer, demanding more paregOric and sootnll%
syrup and shaking, and the exhibition OF lhelf
| cheruhic limbs by fond mothers beng more
tempting, Is supposed to explain TINS StdftlllS
dispropor5ion. Death has fearful SWING al
human life during the first five years through
the carelessnesS OF nurses ami the lSnoi'tnct
and vanity of mothers. The aggregate or 2OJ'-
1872 gather their little togas about them ana lie
down to sleep before they have completed
their fifth year. At the commencement OF tht,
new period OF five years the Registrar Genera
finds only 736,61S answering at roll ct AZ
the next five years halt he finds that death
has been dealing very gently with It's corps,
and between the tenth and fifteen years Oh
life most gently of all. The ScIlla or tettnlnS
and collie has been passed, and the CharryDilS
of baseball, tight lacns, deceptive firearms ana
fashionable dissipation not yet Icacheu. DIT
tween fifteen and twenty-five the fatality III
creases. Consumption ana other ailments III,
cidental to promotion il the ranks OF lnaililooH
and WOmanh00d explain this result III tNt
whole period of twenty wears only l02,1 13 have
been cropped from the rolls. us against inc
263, 1S2 who retired during the first five years VI
their existence.
And now the grand army Of young men and
WOlnen, 63i ,054 strong, start out i'll nearly cua
numbers. Almost every Jack has BIS Gll-of
can have for the asking-thougll unfortunately
may prefer the fluid measure to the lnatrllio-
Mai. From twenty-five to tlIrty-hVe the
deaths Will average less than ten per cent, ana
OF the 56S,993, living 1T the latter period tNu-
thirds OF the women iii the Registrar Generals
ranks Will have been married; but that ohceF
may cusue in his final and full report OF the
original million. The next ten years bring
more casualties. At forty-iVe GG,07S are re
ported " missing" And now but 4 triie over
one half Ut tie million WHO started are lelt 10
draw their ratlon5
Each decade now ensuing presents fearful
death rate Between fOrty-iiYe and htty-tivt 1t
rises to 8l.S0O, and the next ten years retire
ll2,005 veterans from the line OF march. Now
comes the Balaklava charge across the llne
marked by the words OF the PSalnist. 1t IS a
rush into the jaws OF death 10 crop the pellou
OF tllrec-scOrc and ten, AID when the three
quarter century station Is reaclieu 14o,905 nave
struck for the other shore.
On push the 19l.154 eager veterans as nope
full of life as i'll their rosieSt youth, but less
than 20 per cent. reach the end OF their lohS
weary march.
At eghty-1ive only $3.50 of the vast throng
Of nurSeings who started on this life trip stil
remain and another period OF ten years only
leaves upon the field g 1913. Now comes the
struggle to reach the centenarians fame and
cross the threshold of new century, but OF
the little trembling, shaky. palsied array only
about 223 reach the point. The next decade
wipes ont the last vestige of the million, for
the Registrar General figures out the last man
as laying down his heavy burden OF life III his
10Sth year. He has answered at the last roll
call.
Modern social statistics make it more than
probable that this remarkable "last man.
proves to be colored woman, or else the
body servant OF Gen. Washington.