The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-18
The Duration of Human Life.

1t will be remembered tina Sir GEORGE
CoRNEwALL LEWIS persistently expressed
the belief that no man or woman had ever
lived to be a century old. BY a odd coin
cidence, opinions distinctly at variance
with his are published in the September
number of the Nineteenth Century by one
whose early education was guided by him;
we refer to Lady GLENEsK. Apparently
she has not had access to the Russian sta
~tistics, which vouch for the existence, ct
the present time, Of several persons who
have exceeded a century, not only by thirty
or forty. but even by fifty years. She, her.
self, however, brings forward some remark
able examples of longevity, upon which,
and upon the analogies supplied by the
lower animals, she bases the conclusion
that the human being was intended for
greater length of life than is usually at.
tanned in our artificial existence, and that,
under favorable circumstances, he ought to
be able to live about one hundred and
twenty-five years.
1t may be stated broadly that an animal
lives from eight times to five times as long
as it grows. This Is a well-attested scien-
tifc fact. OF fish the carp are especially
long-lived. To some members of the rep
tile tribe also a remarkable longevity is at
tributed. Among birds, the parrot, the
raven, the swan, and the eagle are credited
with great length of life. In the mamma
liza, since we nave no accurate means of
ascertaining a whales age, it may be said
that the elephant is the most long-lived.
II grows for twenty-five or thirty years, and
is said to live to one hundred and fifty, and
even longer. The horse is, comparatively,
n short-lived animal, but 1t is a we'll
known fact that, when he does little work
and passes the greater part Of his days
in pasture, he may compass about forty
years of life. Now, man In a natural
state, that is to cay, where the ripening
period Is not artilcially fastened, requires
at least twenty-five years for tho organs of
the body-not counting tho brain, which
develops later-to obtain complete growth
and full. maturity. If we apply to him the
ratio between the duration of growth and
the duration OF existence, which is exhibit
cd by other mammals. ho should reach an
age OF at least one hundred and twenty-five
years, and. in England as we'll as in Rus
sia, he has been known to go beyond this,
like, for instance, Old PARR, who, said to
have been born in 1888, died in 1895.
Striking, also. are the facts in the case
of MARIE DuRANp. which Lady GLESEsK
took pains to verify by corresponding
with the Mayor of her native town in
the Department of Isere, and by commits
sioning a friend to visit the old peasant
herself. Extracts from the parish registers
show that MARIE DURANp was born In
1850 and was married to her first hus-
band in 1854. Two sons by her first mar
riage were killed at the battle of Fried
land and in Spain. She was living In
1888, being then one hundred and twenty.
iige years old. Among modern English
examples of longevity may be mentioned
Lady SMITH, who lived TO be one hundred
and six; Miss ELIZABETH GRAY (an aunt
OF Gen. CuNNINGBAM RoBERTsl, who died
i'm 1888, within twenty-five days of her
one hundred and eighth birthday; Miss