Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-09-01
Cur ouT ZOE A aIErHusEnAa.
A Doctors specuiations on the Case of q
4O-Xear-Old West Virginia Boy

~
Indianapolis Journal
The Journal OF Friday contained an
account ola West Virginia man, 40 year:
old, who is declared to be an example
Of slow intellectual development. This
person, Russell Barnes, of Clarkesburg,
has been regarded from infancy as an
imbecile, but his development has gone
on slowly, and now he exhibits the apti-
tude of school boy of fourteen, and
betrays love of study. Prof. Morris,
who is much interested in the case, says
that Barnes In reality possesses fine
mind, and II he lives long enough for 1t to
reach its full development, will be capa-
BILE Of great things.
THAT" remarked q physician to the
reporter, 'is directly in line with a
theory that l have long held, and by
means of which l reconcile the longevi-
! ty of the patriarchs who existed before
the flood with the length of years OF
those who rush through life in these
days.
"Look at the Biblical record Of the
first men of the race OF which we have
any record at all. Adam lived to be
$50 years old, Seth 912, Enos 9O5, Cain
an 9l0, Mahaleel sos, Jared 962. Enoch,
the brightest man of that epoch, only
remained on the earth 365 years. He
was 65 years old when Methuselah, who
was probably his first born, saw the
light. He married young for that time,
as, by observing the record In the first
chapters OF Genesis, you will see that
most Of the patriarchs did not marry
until they were in the nineties. That
can be inferred, not from the inform
alton given as to the wedding, but from
the chronicle Of the birth Of the first
son. You see, the world was young,
and outside of the beauties Of nature
the mind had nothing to feed upon.
Pastoral people are slow, and these the
first of pastorals were, without doubt,
the sloweSt. II is the cultivated mind
that sees the beautiful in nature.
what l mean to say is, the reason
these patriarchS achieved such great
length Of years is because it was neces-
Sary for their development. At twenty
years old they were no better intellec-
tually than babies in arms; at forty they
were like this West Virginia wonder,
like schoolboys Of fourte en- years old.
Rather less mature, imagine; more like
kindergarten boys of four or five. Me-
thuselah, who lived to the age of 900
years, was probably the slowest OF these
old fellows. If he had lived to-day he
would be fit subject for a gold-brick
swindle or a man of bunco. He would |
probably be member OF the Farmers |
Alliance. But in this time he could |
hardly live to be 900. Along in the |
eight hundreds, when getting somewhat |
advanced in the sere and yellow leaf,
his hearing would begin to thicken. He
would then begin to take daily walks |
along the railroad tracks-he wouldn't |
ride on one of the peskY cars for any
one day he would be struck
by passing train, and he would sleep
with his father"
''Your theory is somewhat fanciful,"
suggested the reporter.
mot at all, not at all, said the doc
tor, warmly. THE human machine
only wears out as it is used. 1t took
who was doubtless possess
ed of even a better constitution than
the other patriarchs who lived before
The flood, little longer to wear out
han the others. Brains never wore any
body out in those days. There were
10 sleepless nights leading along the
highway to nervous exhaustion or
unacy. There are many nowadays
!, l1y w -tftUEsssSssy eIIVE rAS-.---'sg
It forty. That would appear very
.apid waste of life to the slow-going
1atriarchs. It would not be
much more rapid, comparatively,
han the whimsical idea OF
2rief and rapid existence conveyed in
he 'Ephemerals, sketch in a spectacu-
ar play exhibited here few years ago,
where boy was born, passed through
he stages Of youth, manhood and ola
.ge, and died all within twenty-four
hours. Existence is not comprised In
mere length of years, but in experience.
In an Arabian tale man immerses his
head in tub of water. 1t is under
water but a moment, less than minute,
vet in that time his mind travels to a
Tar country, where he lives seven years,
IS married, raises family, and acquires
4 fortune-a longer life so far as expert
ance is concerned than that OF Methu-
selah, Of whom the record is that all
J06 udlS VI hO0n0SOlUA WIZ NNA~
dred and sixty-nine years; and he died.
''When the race began to think" re-
sumed the doctor, their years began |
to shorten. Abraham died at the early |
age of ga hundred three score and tf-
teen years. Human life must have |
been greatly shortened by that epoch,
for the comment is made that 'Abra-
ham gave up the ghost and died in a
good old age, an old man, and full OF
years'-and he was little more than one
fifth as old as Methuselah. When the
Jewish race was at the height Of its in
Solomon gives the space OF
human life as three score and ten, and
that is what it is to-day. Life insur-
ance tables give figures showing that
the expectancy of years is continually
growing greater. This may be so, but
snch statistics cannot be absolutely re-