The Portland daily press., 1898-12-17

stantly described in America as little
man, could not get into the average suit
OF armor that is in the Tower of London,
and full-sized Englishman or American,
clad in one of the ordinary suits Of armor
OF two or three hundred years ago, would
look like a grown man in boys cloth
Ing. Men were many inches shorter than
they now are. My impression would he
that the average height of Englishmen
In Shakespeare's time was probably five
feet six and that six-foot man was a
giant.
| LONGEVITY HAS INCREASED.
Now, for another important point-the
longevity of the people. 1t is perfectly
lolear that the longevity of the people today
Is greater than In the past. II you look
at the plays of Shakespeare you Will nno
that man Is old between forty and nfty
years Of age. My personal recollectlon
with reference to this is that John daunps
whose age lis SO much played upon. Is
| q man of fifty years or thereabouts.
probably rather under than over hfty
II think forty mine. Shakespeare him
self died of fever, according to authori-
ties, at ffty-two-and my Empress
sion is that he died at ripe old age. I
won't press the point, but would hint
| OF old age as a possible reason for
his retirement from London and the work
of a dramatist, to the absolute seclus1on
of his life at Stratford. My impression Is
that it Is better one than the tradition
that he had some trouble with women in
London, and that Mrs Shakespeare was
| becoming a little concerned; he simply
| concluded that he had done his full life's
work in his own view, and that it was
| time to take a long rest.
Speaking generally, think that the
best specialist would say that the lives of
men and women were very much shorter
in Europe as recently as two or three hun
dred years ago than they are at present.
This increase in longevity is, of course,
due in the first instance to the much
greater attention paid to the sanitary mat
ters, and our people being better housed
are not open to great plaques, and are
better cared for In the matter of the food
| they eat and the water they drink, are
not SO liable to diseases which shorten
life. And the RESULTS that the average
age of man has risen from fifty to sixty
years or more, and that man is in the
prime of life in the intellectual walks of
activity at fifty years at the earliest and
he may go in every department. of life to
seventy or eighty or even ninety years.
The present indeed may be said to be an
age of old men, and there never has been
time within measurable distance when
old men played SO great part in the
| own Senate for want of special knowledge
but I believe it holds true of that body
also. But can speak more of Europe.
Take politics, for example. We have just
| lost Mr.. Gladstone and Prince Bismarck,
| both pretty well into ninety and retain
| ing down to the last every faculty and
also their fullest intellectual vigor-even
to their last Illness. Take another still
more notable example, His Holiness the
| Pope, who was born, L think, a little
| before Mr.. Gladstone.
HIGHER INTELLECT UAL LIFE.
| Let us look at the intellectual life of the
people of the world. 1t goes of course,
without saying, that the intellectual life
| is higher now than it ever has been. This
is not to say that we have in the nine
teenth century examples such as could
not be pointed out in the past. But the
| people today are better educated.
| AS to the material aspects of the world,
take travelling mean to say not in
facilities. but in the disposition to travel.
| People travel much more than they did in
| the old times For the most part people
| in past ages lived all their lives where
they were born, and their knowledge of
the outside world was nothing. That is
not SO now in any measurable degree.
There is not a village in England where
somebody is not to be found who has trav-
elIed to the ends of the earth. No doubt
| that it is also true of every village in
America.
This disposition to travel much, think
will be found characteristic Of the whole
civilized world, and is great factor In
making the world better. 1t increases the
information of the people. but it also in
oreases enormously their intellect and
moral tone from knowing something OF
the rest Of the world. 1t gives them more
confidence in the ways of life. 1t makes
them better subjects. it makes their rulers
be tier rulers.
---
THE QUESTION OF RELIGION.
Now let us take religion. 1t is not
! necessary to dwell on the pagan world.
Let us think of the Christian world only.
know it is customary TO think OF the
birth Of the Christian world as II the
Christian came as white flower upon the
b lack soil of paganism. I do not think
there is much in our testanents to justify
| that, delightful as it is, and much as we
G hristians would like to believe.
When we talk now of the worldliness of
many Christians we seem to overlook the
story of Ananias, and when we hear of
the fall of certain notable figures in the
| religious world we forget to consular how