The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1895-12-21

man leaned over the picket Iehce ny Tie
rosebush, picked rose with rustic free
dom, and said "Good morning.
I remarked that it was hot day.
OTIS stinger!'' he said. 81 haven't
seen so hot day for hundred years."
GLOW long did you ay?' 1 asked,
rising from the chair. "That must have
been when you were rather young
"No," he said, 81 was fifty-odd then. "
'Fifty-odd what?" inquired
81 was 81 years old, he said, "the last
warm summer l ever saw. That was a
hundred years ago, down in old Ken
lucky
He smelt rose, and pinned the white
blossom in his button-hole. He was q
youth of about %, of ford complexion,
blue eyes and long black, wavy hair. He
wore full beard ALSO neatly trimmed, but
long enough, it occurred to me, to be of
real service in cold weather.
81 was in Kentucky" he explained, Sin
1894. l didn't exactly live there. | wan
dered among the Indians. l was disguised
with the human race. But you don't care
to hear my story"
"Excuse me-" said, 81 do;' for it was
apparent that he was harmless and he
might be amusing He walked through
the gate, took a chair and continued:
''Stranger, my name is John Fitch. Did
you ever hear of me 2"
"No," | said. 'But l have heard of
your great-great- grandfather.
'That's me- he said.
"Where the dickens do you come from
anyhow % | asked.
"North Pole. That's where l got
young"
"Ah! How was that!'
He threw one leg over the other as if
he was going to stay all day, and went
on.
81 invented the steamboat some time
before l left here. In fact, l made the
steamboat. got exclusive patents to use
them on American waters l put boat
on the Delaware, and ran the Continental
Congress and the Constitutional Conven-
tiOnal down to the sea and back. l ran
that boat all one summer between Phila-
delphia and Burlington. Everybody called
me crazy, but they bought tickets. Then
1 got a concession for France; but it was
the fourth year of the Republic, and Paris
ians thought heap more of the guillotne
than a steamboat. Finally l got out o.
money, and worked my passage home.
left my specifications with the American
Consul, where man named Fulton founC
them afterward Are there so many sharp
ers to the square inch as there were il
those days? Well, about year later,
escaped from lunatic asylum, where som'
kind friends had got quarters for me, ant
died. That is, hid among the Indians o
Ohio. From there went up into British
America, and from what is now Point
Barrow | put off with two Eskimo, in &
kaiak, straight north | was mad and
SICK and did not care what became of me
Am getting tiresome 90
l reassurred him. He laughed and
added. 'Fugitives from the United
States come to our colony now every
year"
"What for? ! ventured to ask.
''To prevent the flight of time he re-
piled, ''and to get young"
| moved little further from him.
"That is impossible" said
To = ,otn,+,l L., .IJ,et n,no,t ,,,,
l am 1913 years old-do you notice any
gray hairs?"
''Will you kindly explain ?" asked.
every we'll First let me ask you
question. What makes man grow
old?
''rhe flight of years, of course"
"And what measures the flight of
years."
''The procession of days." I ans
wered.
Correct" Now, if you can prevent
the flight of days the flight of years will be
impossible, won't it?"
acknowledgement
"undoubtedly. Very well. All you've
got to do is to prevent the procession of
days, isn't it? That is, if we could 20
fast enough to keep directly under the sun
all the way round the earth each "a hours,
no day would ever mature-theIe would
be no day for u.s."
YES | answered, without venturing
more.
but the earth is about 10000 miles
round in this latitude, and the shortest
way man can 90 takes him about sixty
days to get around it; he only saves one
day in sixty. Do you follow ME 2"
"Ido'
''If an Eskimo could 90 straight round
it in the latitude of Labrador he would
make it in about twenty days, and would
gain one day in every twenty"
"Yes.'
"a Nova Zemblan would make it in
ten days; that is, every time he went round
it would give him one day longer to live
DO you catch on?'
II do answered again, for had now