Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1898-04-15
INFANT rRoDre1ns
Some Notewt rthy Examples Of An.
cient and Modern Times.

Client and MODERN TtmeHs
London Standard, The study Of BIZ
oEraphy has the advantage of making us
familiar with the childhood of those who
have afterward attained to greatness,
and whose names have been inscribed on
the imperishable records of history and
fame. Select great man, and we are
Immediately referred to instances OF pre-
cocity in his infancy or childhood, whch
were the precursors OF his future ce-
lebrity or the budapest which pointed to
his genius. There have, no doubt, been
many infant prodigies, and there nave
been some who have been palmed on as
such who have no claim whatever to the
distinction. Miss Ninetta Crummles was
described by her father, Mr.. Vincent
Crummles-of theatrical fame-as the IN
FAINT phenomenon, whose talent was too
great for words, and who must be seen TO
be ever so family appreciated. MISS
Crummles was rather an elderly infant
Her father confessed to Nicholas NICK
Ieby that she was turned ten, but this
was rather too modest an estimate. for
her age had remained stationary for sew
eral years.
There are, however, many well anthem
ticated instances of youthful precocity
which may be held to have presaged suo-
sequent greatness. Take the case OF Will
lam Pitt. His genius asserted itself with
an almost unexampled quickness. Wnen
he was but twelve years or age ms
mother wrote of him: 1.-THE fneness OF
williams mind makes him enjoy with the
greatest pleasure what would be above
the reach of any other creature or MS
small age" Being of an extremely deh-
cate constitution, it was deemed mad
visable to send him to public schooi'
and his education was conducted pri-
yately at home When he went UP to
! Cambridge in 1773, his knowledge OF the
| classics Is stated to have surprised vet
eran critics, although his acquaintance
| with modern literature was OF the most
| superficial character. At twenty-tnree
| years of age he was made chancellor OF
| the exchequer, and a year later nrsf lord
of the treasury. Thus, at about twenty
five years of age he became the most
powerful subject in England, ana Ior
many years held his great position as tne
| ruler of cabinets, the favor1te OF tne
sovereign, the hero of parliament ana the
idol of the nation.
| Another statesman and politician VINO
| gave early indication of the talents when
were to gain him such distinction later
| on was Macauley. AS child he mad
contempt for toys, a passion for books,
and the vocabulary of pedagogue. Al
the mature age of four years he was on
a visit to Lady Waldergrave at straw
berry Hill, where servant split some not
coffee over his legs When, after time,
| the hostess asked the little fellow now
he was feeling, he replied with great
dignity, THANK you madam, the agony
has abated." 1t was about this time
that a maid had thrown away as rup-
Dish certain oyster shells which ne mao
used to mark as his own little plot OF
ground at the back of his fathers house
| at Chaplain Having discovered the
sacrilege Macauley at once repaired TO
the drawing room, where his mother was
entertaining some guests, ana Waikins
into the circle, somewhat startled tne
Cd 10 GnllVs Tor
1t is written, Cursed is he that removeth
his neighbours landmark. When, as q
very small boy he was about TO De sent
to school, his mother told him that the
future he would have to learn to STUDY
without the solace of bread and butter.
The reply was prompt but pompous:
Eyes, mamma, industry shall be my
bread and attention my butter" When
he was barely seven Macauley showed
his bent for historical studies by writing
a compendium of universal history which
his mother stated, gave tolerably con-
nected view of the leading events from
the creation down to the authors own
time, In poetry Macauley was equally
ambitious in his childhood days, and his
whole youth was full of examples OF the
cleverness which he afterward displayed
as statesman, historian, poet, critic
and orator.
To turn for a moment from politics Il
literature pure and simple, we get th'
name of Samuel Johnson, who, as boy
Leslie Stephen tells us, was regarded a:
something of an infant prodigy Hi
great powers of memory, characterised
of a mind singularly retentive Of all i'm
pressions, were early developed. HI
seemed to learn by intuition" His earl!
powers were thought to be traceable t.
the following epitaph, which he was salt
to have composed at the age OF three:
Here lies good master duck
Whom Samuel johnson trod on;
If 1t had lived 1t had been good luck,
For then we had had an odd one.
It does not detract from the doctor
reputation when the confession is mad
that the verses were not his but hi
fathers, and that the tokens he gave o
his future emnence were much NOR
} striking than doggerel of this kind.
These examples pale into utter insignif
! canoe before some others that can
, cited. In German work published 8
Lubbock the most wonderful case OF pre-
cccity ever heard of is recorded. Chris
! tan Henry Heinksen, who was born 6
| Lubbock in 1921, on the completion of tn
, | first year of his age, had committed I
e memory and cc I'D recite the princip,
4 facts contained in the five books OF Nose
=, | with number of verses on the creation
:, In his fourteenth month, so we are a!
= sured she knew all the history of tn
e Bible; in his thirtieth month the histor
t of the nations of antiquity, geograph.
n anatomy, the use of maps, and near
= 5000 Latin words; before the emu Oh u
third year the history of Denmark ar
= the genealogy of the crowned heads
= of Europe. In his fourth year he a.
o quired the doctrine of divinity, with II
r proofs from the Bible, ecclesiastical hi
= tory, the institutions, 200 hymns, vii
e their tunes, eighty pslams, entire cha
l., tiers of the Old and New Testaments 1,5
i verses and sentences from the ancie
II Latin classics, almost the whole Orb
IS Pictus' of Comenius, from the Lat
tongue; arithmetic and the history OF q
a European empires and Kingdoms. /
W / spoke German, Latin, French and Lo
:. Dutch, and was exceedingly good-natur
and well behaved, but of a tender 81
delicate constitution. He was o.
= ebrated all over Europe under the mar
'e of the Learned Child of Lubbock, and di
Is June 81, 1725 aged four years, TO
months, twenty days and twenty-o
s. hours, after having displayed the mo
re amazing proofs of intellectual talent
L One almost trembles to think what wou
b have happened had this remarkable CHI.
'e reached the age of manhood.
y Hungary can lay claim to prodigy
ic Sigismund Maxim w. Otto Won Prau
g who was born in Tyrnau in 1911, who W
he a scholar at two years of age, a celebrat
n lirguist at three and three-quarter yea
and as IL this were not enough, becal
ut at the same time an accomplished mu
d, clan, his playing of the violin being