The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-07-03
The Worlds Grand old Men.
From inc Westminster Gazette l

celebrated instances m modern tiHies where remarkable vitality preserved life far beyond the ordinary span. Thus Titan. who spent all his life about n court. painted fine picture at the nge Of ninety-six. At ninety-nine he still retained his energy for work and undertook n large picture for the Franciscans. Unfortunately he died Of the plague in his hundredth year. or there is no knowing what he might not still have achieved. Michael An gelo, too. the most distinguished sculp- tor of the modern world. was working away most cnergctically in his eighty eighth year. But n truly surprising example of physical strength in n green old age was witnessed in the case of Enrico Dandolo, the famous Doge of Venice. This most illustrious member of n family which gave four Doges to the republic. was born in lll0 or lll2. After leading q most active life, and raising Venice to q condition of great power and magnifcence. he subdued Constantinople in 1903, being then upwards of ninety years of age. He led his troops to the assault with irresistible force and vigor, and lived for five years after this extraordinary feat, which is probably unparalleled in the worlds history.
 Crebillon, the French dramatist, wrote his "Le Triumvirat" at the age of eighty-one, and did not die till sev- en years after that. At the age of eighty-three, Voltaire superintended the arrangements for the performance of his last tragedy, Irene" Frances Burney, Madame d'Arblay, was wri- ting away briskly at the memoirs of her father in her eightieth year, and she survived for eight years after that. Benjamin Franklin, the great Ameri- can patriot, was in office as president of the state of Pennsylvania at the age of eighty-two. He was an old man when the Declaration of Independence was signed, and he made capital joke on that occasion. Some one having said to him, You know, Franklin, we must all hang together in this matter" he instantaneously replied, "Yes. or we shall assuredly all hang separately"
 Coming to our country, we find many extraordinary examples of longevity combined with the continuous exercise of the intellectual faculties. Herrick lived to be eighty-three; old Izaak Walton wrote his beautiful Lives of tn,, ato nt al age, and died himself in 1883 at the age of ninety; and John Evelyn, of "Dia- ry" fame, lived to be eighty-six. Sir Isaac Newton rendered active service to the Royal society as its president when he was eighty-three. Charles Macklin, the dramatist and actor, au- thor of "The Man of the World" lived to the patriarchal age of one hundred and seven. Colley Cibber, another well-known dramatist, and sometime poet laureate, lived to be eigty-siX and two of the late poet laureates Wordsworth and Tennyson, were octo- genarians. Joanna Baillie, still anoth- CT dramatist, was writing vigorously in her old age, and lived to her eighty. ninth year.
 But if we wish to see what the in tellectual faculties are capable of ir the supposed 'sere and yellow leaf, we need only turn to the works of that master of fine, nervous English, Wal. ter Savage Landor. Five scenes, ol dialogues, being the last Imaginary Conversations" written by the poet were produced between his eighty. eighth and eighty-ninth year; and one or two. at least, are worthy of their predecessors. Exceptional, indeed and very wonderful was the dot of Ian. dor, who carried the weight of ninety years with little loss of intellectual power, and that after much self. achieved greatness and self-inflicteG misery. The patriarchal poet so weak, ened himself by abstaining from food | that death probably came at last ear. 1 Her than it need have done. The cele brated Lord Lyndhurst, who was thrice lord chancellor of England, was threatened with blindness after he be. came an octogenarian. Like MT. Glad. stone, he successfully underwent an op. eration for cataract, only in this case the courageous old man was ninety years of age, and he spoke in the House of Lords afterwards. M. Jules Simon, the eminent living French | statesman,is another octogenarian WhC is about to undergo an operation fol cataract. The great and versatile Lord Brougham entered into debate long after he was eighty, and wrote more than one work after he was eigh. ty-three. The present writer con
 versed with him when he was eighty eight, and he then seemed to have al his fingers ends knowledge of pub lie events at home and abroad. Victol Hugo, the illustrious, was in literary harness to the last; John Barnett, tn, historian, took horse exercise at nine | ty.
 The world has still some living ex amples of marvellous vitality. Gene ral Neal Dow has just celebrated his ninetieth birthday. Another eminen American, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Gladstone, and is proud of the fact. II England we have the truly surprisin. case of George Miller, the founder O the Orphan Homes at Bristol. He i now in his eighty-ninth year, hale ant hearty, and since he was eighty he hal twice gone as far as the Antipodes Earl Grey is still q sleepless politica critic at the promising age of ninety one while MT. c. P. Villiers. the grea free-trader and the Father of thu House of Commons" is still able to at tend in Parliament at the age of nine ty-two.
 l Archdeacon Denison, MT. Gladstone'' old antagonist, is still hale and vigor ous in his eighty-ninth year; and W,