The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1903-06-20
GREAT MEMS BIRTHDAYS.
From This Account the Stars Seen
90 Have Little to Do with the
Birth Of Genius.

The birthdays Of noted people are
an interesting study, says the New
York Mail and Express. 1t is certain
ly hard to derive any deduction as to
| their character from their birthdays
or their birth months. We find poets,
warriors, sages, craftsmen and min
ers inextricably mingled ON the cal
endar, apparently. There are curious
coincidences-such, for instances, as
the birth Of Cornelius Vanderbilt and
Jay Gould on the eth of May (1794
and 1856; but IL we hasten to infer
some quality about that date which
tends to make millionaires, we won
der why It did not make millionaire,
too, Of Dante Alighieri, who was born
on the same day. Dante, Vanderbilt,
Julia Ward Howe, Jay Gould and Gen.
Nathaniel Greene make sufficiently
incongruous showing for that one day.
| Again, il we find in the somewhat re-
markable circumstance that Robert
Schumann, Hans Won Buelow and Low
ell Mason were born on January 8
Oslo, 1880 and 1897, an influence IA
yorable to the development Of musical
| genius, We wonder why ii did not make
musician of Wilkie Collins, who was
born on the same day. The nth Of
January might be accounted propi-
tious for literary geniuses, on account
of the birth uponit of Calderon, Frank
lin and Alferi; but what an inter-
loper that canny Yankee politician,
Caleb Cushing, was in such company!
1t Is impossible to discover any astro-
logical relevancy between Daniel Web
ster, Montesquieu, Charles Kean and
Austin Dobson, who first saw the
osty light on various 1sths of Janu-
a<y; and there is distinguished ir-
relevancy between Hanna More and
Nell Gwynn, who came to the earth
on the cd of February.
| Here are three distinguished SOL
diers. all born on March 6-Jomini, Sir
| Charles Napier and Philip ii. Sheridan.
Perhaps the star-gazers could tell us
why they came thus together; and
while they are telling us, we should
like to know why one great woman Of
letters, Elizabeth Barrett Browning;
one great artist, Michaelangelo Buon-
arotti, and one man who united the
qualities of artist and man of letters
in no eminent sense. George Du Maur-
Ter, came into life on February2 2.
John c. Calhoun and Grover Cleve-
! land were born on March IS. Doubt
less they had some views in common;
: but very different fortune presided
f, over their destiny.
| And now for day OF charming in
conguities: the same day that saw the
birth of Ovid, March 20, also witnes sed
the appearance in the world of Neal
Dow, Henrik Ibsen and CHARLES w.
Eliot! But April , was surely great
day for letters; behold the advent up
on it of George Herbert, Washington
Irving, Mary Carpenter, Edward Ever
EFT Hale, John Phoenix and John Bur
roughs! Among incongruities we shall
perhaps find nothing more startling
than the birth of Plato and Paul de
Kock on May 81, unless it were the
appearance of Socrates and George III
on June 4, and George Washington and
Arthur Schopenhauer on February %
Hawthorne, on his birthday, which was
July 4, has the company of NJ. Pierre
Lott; one wonders il he would like it,
and also whether he finds Garibaldi
and Carolus Duran, also born on our
patriotic anniversary, more congenial
The more, in fact, the matter OF
great mems birthdays is studied, the
more likely is one to be convinced
that greatness is matter of inner.
itance and environment, and not OF
astrology.