The Dickinson press., 1895-08-31
CENTENARIANs.
People of Seventy who Decline ia
he Considered Old.

PEOPLE OF seventy Who Decline to
De Considered Old.
About thirty years ago there was an
Engltshman. Capt. I.arbrush, who
gained certain notoriety, much sym.
pathy and less cash, through the as
sertion that he was 100 years old
Among his friends was a penny liner
newspaper man, who worked the old
captain as an item-mine, till so many
paragraphs had been printed as to
quite stir up the medical men on both
sides OF the water; and at O meeting
of distinguished doctors in England
the proposition was made to have a
thorough search of parish records
made to prove or disprove the claims
OF the 'centenarians." Even Capt.
l4arbrush's record was hunted up and
he fell short two or three years Of his
alleged hundred; and it was discov-
cred that several other Claimants"
We're suffering from defective men,
ory; and what wonder? When events
get to he ninety-five or 100 years old
the details are pretty much lost. and
many minds of that age would be in
capable Of discriminating between
what had been seen and what had been
told them as happening. 1t will be
noted by people for whom the subject
has an interest that many of the per-
sons reported as attaining 100 years
are colored or Irish. We know that
there was an utter absence of au-
thentic records of the former, and gen-
erally it is quite impossible to au-
thenticate the Hibernian claims.
But times are changed, and in spite
of a chorus Of pessimistic groans over
these ''evil days''-now a generation
later than the famous Iarbrush-what
do we see? No week passes, and, in
fact, but few days, in which the news
papers do not print accounts Of the
celebration in the United States of
some persons Tooth birthday, and
generally there is an unimpeachable
record extant, in the family Bible, If
not in public book. of the birth Of
the centenarian. Now and again
comes to light case-generally IN
Mexico or some far-off land-Where
we are asked to believe in the dura-
ton of life to 100 or 100 or 14O years;
but investigation generally riddles the
claim; but of the frequent attain
ments of 100, and the number of death
notices of people past 9O there il no
doubt. and the plain inference is that
the claims of the sanitarians that the
average of human life is steadily
lengthening are just. Many people
whose minds have been dominated by
the scriptural assertion, "The days of
our years are threescore and ten, and
if by reason of strength, labor and
sorrow" have allowed themselves to
"give up," and made themselves be-
lieve that they couldn't do this or that,
simply because they fancied them
selves too old; but the living example
of Mr.. Gladstone and that of Dr.
Holmes, so lately dead at S5, teach us
to hope that the passage which has
really cut short many useful careers
was mistlanslated.
We have heard of one brisk and in
teresting woman who was approach
ing 20, and who to her dying day re-
tained hcr interest in dress. saying. II
suppose l might bend over and limp
around and tell how old I'm growing,
and how feel; but won't; WON'T"
and she kept her word, and at nearly
50 was taken away by a sudden
stroke" Here is a field for a certain
type of mind cure that would be worth
something.-New York Independent.