Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-12-15
AN OPTIMlST OF EIGHTY
Rev. Robert co1lyer Says the
 World Is Growing Better.
THE WORK OF WOMEN PRAISED.

Unitarian Minister on His EiShtieth
 Anniversary Declares Their Activ-
 ity Is One of the Great Indications
 of Advance-He Recalls Early Inci- ! dents of Ills Life and Gives a Recipe
 For Longevity.
 Like the famous Countess of Des- mond, whose case he gayly quoted, who ''lived to be no and died from a fall from cherry tree then" the Rev. Rob- ert ColIyer of New York, who rounded out his fourscore years the other day, believes the mere passage of time does not make age, says the New York World ~+ T -.-
 1T have never been sick day in my life,'' said Dr, Collyer, "and I have never even eaten my breakfast in bed. What is my recipe for longevity? Live. a natural life, eat what you want and walk on the sunny side of the street"
 To this the famous preacher has add ed two instances of self denial, which he holds largely responsible for his per- feet physical condition-he did not even smoke until he was forty and did not drink at all in youth, though he per mits himself an occasional glass of wine now.
 With evidences of love and remem- brance on every side, Dr. Collyer, whose. retirement from active duty in the Church of the Messiah, of which he will be pastor emeritus, is coincident with his eightieth birthday, grew rem iniscent. For twenty-four years he has filled the pulpit, and for ten he has had the assistance of the Rev. Minot J. Savage.
 My birth" said Dr. Collyer, with twinkle in his keen and kindly gray eyes, which took place in England on Dec. 8, 1923, has always seemed to me a sort of geographical mistake, for when reached America immediately seemed to fit I have never seen the day I wanted to go back, except to vis- it, of course have crossed seven times for that purpose.
 My grandfather, who was sailor with Nelson, is the earliest ancestor we have any record of. Mothers father was also d sailor named Thomas Nor man, so can claim Norman blood, you .see''-agaln the twinkle. He was drowned, and his children, my mother among them, were placed in an asylum in Norwich. When was a little lad
 worked for seven years in the factory of our village, then at the forge.
 Before I became a Methodist preach er-oh, yes, I was Methodist to be- gin withv' and he broke into broadest VnfLy Ghipn a1 to I1n act countryman who had helped him on by "naking a spare raii' of hiln-that is, putting him in here and there where
 there was a pulpit to fill
 Mr. Collyer told of his leaving the Methodist church and his. call as & Unitarian minister to Philadelphia then to Chicago and lastly to New York city in 1879. He told of the wide experience of his eighty years, and tL n the clergyman said:
 Do think people are less interested in religion? No; q thousand times no. They are thinking out tue meaning of religion as they never have before. I have seen great changes. Yes; it is an evolution. People do go to church to- day and they go because they want to, not because they are driven, as they were formerly.
 ''Woman's activity is one of the great 1 indications of advance. She is help {! ing herself and man at the same time. | The church is to be greatly helped 1 through her endeavors. Women ~ill preach too. They do pow sometimes, but they don't get outside of them
 selves enough for the most part. Mrs. Livermore did, and she was a success full preacher. I have always believed in woman's rights. Lucretia Mott was l great friend of mine.
 sIthave no patience with the talk that the world is growing worse. l won't