The Brookhaven ledger. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1875-1883, 1882-10-05
..as Il
DURATION OF LIFE.

! DURATION OF LIFE.
The duration Of the life of man has
been q subject Of discussion for ages il
all civilized lands. Life seems, and is,
indeed, SO very short to those who car
really enjoy it, and who are anxious te
achieve something, that there is a nat
ural longing in the human family for its
extension. Quacls. charlatans, and ad
venturers have always taken advantage
of this desire and turned it to thei,
profit. Casanova, st. German and
Cagliostro traded extensively on it, pre-
tending to have lived for centuries, and
to be immortal. The elixir Of life and
the waters of the fountain of perpet.
,lal youth were myths Of the Middle
Ages, and appealed to the credulous
long after. Men of much learning and
rare scientific attainments have had
faith in the potential longevity that has
never been attained. Button declares
that every person who does not die
by accident should turn his hundredth
year. Hufsland, the eminent German
physician, contends, i'm hiss~ renowned
art OF Prolonging Life" that it may
reach 200 years. So very little is known
Of the laws Of human being and continu-
alton that their possibilities suggest
endless and curious speculation. 1t is
by no means improbable that in this era
Of scientific progress and discovery, cer-
tain momentous truths may be arrived
at, which shall be the means of length
ening Life. 1t is altogether reasonable
to suppose, however, that the race lasts
as long now as it has ever done, if it
does not last longer. 1t is a natural
tendency Of the average mind to regard
the past as superior to the present, al
though whatever We know OF the Kos
mos teaches us that things do not inn
prove backward. The many accounts
We have of extraordinary longevity in
"ncient, and even in later days, must be
received with large allowance, for most
Of them are plainly falsehoods. Pliny's
story ef men in the reign of Vespasian
who lived to be 1876 and 14O
must be set down with the
averment about Henry Jenkins
lying in Yorkshire, England,
some two centuries since, at 1859, and
of Thomas Parr going to his grave
1t 152. They are obviously gross exag-
gerations, having little more foundation
in fact than Barnum's advertisements
that Joice Hcth was 161, when an au-
topsy proved her to be not over 80.
There have been instances of persons
staying on this planet for 11O or 112
years but they are very select few,
ind have hardly ever been verified. The
Utmost limit of ascertained life seems to
be 106 to 10S, and very rarely do they
who are credited with such age actually
reach it. Man usually claimed, with his
supreme egotism, to be the longest
lived of animals. But the pike, the
crow, the elephant and certain species
# the eagle are reputei to outlast him.
---1NeV York Times. o.
THE BREAK -HEdKIS YOUNG
.t E...-. MAN MI ... g vi. 1
There ore certain yoatfA in this day
and generation who consider themselves
thoroughly proficient in the art suscep-
tible. They profess to know all the
hutterings going on in the feminine
breast. The Break Their Hearts Young
Man is OF this class. He spends his
time in crushing the little hutterings of
the opposite sex. His only aim in get
ting acquainted is for the purpose Of de-
molishing the heart Of his newly, made
friend. He considers it very smart to
pour out honeyed words and act in q
sweet way SO as to gain the affection Of
some unsuspecting girl. He breaks her
heart, or tries to, for the fun Of it. All
the pain, sorrow and sadness which may
result from his conduct do not troEble
him in the least-that is the business Of
the Break Their Hearts Young Man.
1t is fortunate thing that the Break
Their-Hcarts Young Man is very often
unsuccessful. Only sentimental girls,
as a general thing, are victimized by
him. Sensible girls abhor him, or else
toy with him for the fun of it. He is
left severely alone by those who know
what affection really is. They see
through him and know him to be o hol-
low mockery. His character won't
stand the least strain-it is too hypo-
critical and unstable.
The Break Their-Hearts Young Man
presumes he is o ccnnoisseur i'll love-
making. He is in reality G perfect ig-
noramus. His conceit leads him to sup
pose he conquers when he is defeated.
He has no heart. If he woos at all, he
woos with his cheek, and if he wins at
all, it is by means of his overdrawn as
surance. The Break-Their-H Hearts
Young Man is fop, fool and a firt.
If he was any one of these without the
others it would be bad enough, but as q
combination of the three he is past en-
durance. He ought to be broken un-