Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-10-26
WONDERFUL BOYS.
Calculated Instantly the Number Of Sec
onds In Forty-eight Years.

There are Of course many excellent
books which deal with boys In fiction,
and there are also actual biographies
which narrate 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 somehow or other the
youth thus eulogized has generally too
little Of the boy about him to be quite
believed in. What venture to propose
is that some sympathetic writer should
tell us "what boys have done" when
they were boys.
This is by no means so small matter
as may be supposed.
There are of course the musical boys.
Handel, who at years old composed
a church service for voices and instru-
ments every week" and at 10 brought
out three successful operas, and Mozart,
who also at o had a reception in Lon
don such as the curious give to novel
tv. the scientific to intelligence and
the great to what administers to stately
pleasure. " At 10 he composed a mass
for the dedication Of the Church Of the
Orphans at Vienna and acted as director
in person. "
These were certainly boys who made
some noise in the world
Then there were the calculating boys,
who, it is noteworthy, distinguished
themselves as juveniles much more than
as grownups-Zerah Colburn, who as
tonished the scientific world Of London
as a child "by raising the number s
progressively up to the tenth power, "
and whose mind was a fertile soil for
cube roots when his contemporaries
were learning addition.
One gentleman, by way Of side dish
during feast Of figures, asked him how
many seconds there were in 48 years, and
before the question could be written
down he answered it correctly.
George Bidder made even this youth
take back seat, for, at l2 years old,
when taken to the stock exchange, he
was asked this little question, and an
swered it in ono minute: If the pen
dulur, # a clock vibrates the distance
Of 93l inches in second, how many
inches will it vibrate in the course Of 2
years IA days 2 hours minute SO sec
onds?"
Even with pencil and paper know
persons, who shall be nameless that
could not answer this In seven years.
Then there was Chatterton, 1.-THE mar.
velous boy, who perished in his pride, "
and in quite another line Of business
Thomas Malkin, who died not "a do
tard at T." but undeniably the greatest
scholar Of his age. He was an "all
around" genius. He knew more about
Greek at 4 than some people, again
forbear to mention names, at IA.
At 5 he made copies Of some Of
Raphael's heads so admirably that con-
noisseurs prophesied he would be a great
artist. His most remarkable feat, how
ever. because It showed imaginative
powers Of a high order, was his descrip
tion Of a visionary country called ALE
stone, Of which he considered himself
king
He wrote its history in number o.
tales and letters and drew maps OF It,
giving names Of his own invention t
its mountains, rivers and seaports.
He was probably the most remarkable
bov. though indeed he was but child
who ever lived.
The most excellent boy from tn
financial point Of view was, however
undoubtedly William King West Betty
better known as 1.-The young Roscius,
who at 3 years Of age retired from tn
stage, having made something like $50,
600 for his family.
Here was something like" a boy
though, in fact, he was not in the leas
like one, and happy should be the fathe
who has his culver full Of such.-Jame
Payn in London Illustrated News