Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-11-03
WONDERFUL BOYS.
Calculated Instantly the Number of SEQ,
ondu In Eorty-eight Years.

Calculated Instantly the Number of SEQ 2
ondD Ii Eorty-eight Years.
There arc Of course many excellent
books which deal with boys in fiction,
and there ara also actual biographies
which naTrafe what promising young
persons certain individuals were who In
after life achieved greatness, but in the
latter case the prophecy IS made after
the event, and somehcw or other the
youth thus eulogized has generally too
listle Of sho boy about him to be quite
believed il. What i venture to propose
is that some sympathetic writer should
tell rs "what boys have done" when
they wero boys.
This Is byno means so small q matter
IS may 30 supposed.
There are of course the musical boys. ,
Handel, who at 9 years old composed {
a church service fer voices and instru-
ments every week" and at Is brought
out three successful operas, and Mozart,
who also at 0 had a reception in Lon
don "such as Tie curious give to novel
h, the scientific to intelligence and
the great to what administers to stately
pleasure. =" at 10 he composed mass
for tho dedication OF the Church Of the
Orpha.!s at Vienna and acted as director
IL person. :"
These were certainly boys who made
some noise in the world.
Then there were the calculating boys,
who. 1t is noteworthy, distinguished
themselves IS Juveniles much more than
as groUnups-Zerah Colburn, who as
tonishod the scientific world of London
as q child "by raising the number
progressively up to the tenth power,
and whose mind was fertile soil for
cube roots when his contemporaries
were learning addition.
One gentleman, by way of q side dish
during feast Of figures, asked him how
many seconds there were in IS years, and
before the question could be written
down ne answered it correctly.
George Bidder made even this youth
take back seat, for, at II years old,
when taken to the stock exchange, he
was asked this little question, and an
swered it in one minute; eff the pen
dulum Of a clocl; yibrates the distance
Of or inches il @ second, how many
inches will it vibrate in the course Of z
years l. days hours l minute 90 Sec
onds:'
Even with pencil and paper know
persons, who ehall DO nameless, that
| could not answer this in seven years
( Then there was Chntterton, the mar
yelocs hoy, who Perished in his pride, )"
and in quito another line Of business
Thomas Maxim, who died not "a do
tard ct Z" bat undeniably the greatest
gcholar OF his age. he was an "all
around" genius. ae knew more about
Greek at 4 than some people, again I
| forbear to mention names, at Il.
| At 8 ho made copies Of some of
Raphael's heads SO admirably that con-
noisseurs prophesied he would be great
artist. His most remarkable feat, how
ever, because it showed imaginative
powers Of a high order, was his descrip-
ton of visionary country called Allie
stone Of which he considered himself
king.
Ge wrote its history in number OF
tales and letters and drew maps of it,
giving names of his own invention to
its mountains, rivers and seaports
Ee was probably the most remarkable
boy, though indeed he was but child,
who ever lived.
The most excellent boy from the
financial point Of view Was, however,
undoubtedly William King West Betty,
better known DIS ''the young Roscius,
who at IS years Of age retired from the
stage, having made something like eSo.-
| 600 for his family.
Here was something lilIo'' boy,
though, in fact, he was not in the least
like one, and happy should be the father
who has his Quivor full Of such.-James
Payn in london Illustrated News