Is not longevity in some sense a measure of true civilization or improvement of the race? It is certainly an evidence of conformity to the Divine laws of life and health, which reward right action with happiness, health, and long life. I cannot, therefore, think the study of longevity unimportant. To every one of us it is a vital question, for death is regarded as the greatest calamity, and is the severest penalty of angry enemies, or of outraged laws.

It is our duty as well as privilege to perfect our constitution, and see that it does not wear out too soon, that we are not prematurely called away from our duties. And I bring it as serious charge against modern systems of education, that they tend to degenerate mankind, to impair the constitution and to shorten life. That we should not submit to this, but should all aspire to live a century or longer, if we have a fair opportunity, I seriously maintain, and that my readers may be inspired with a like determination, I take pleasure in quoting examples.

In Dr. Cohausen’s Hermippus Redivivus republished in 1744, I find the following statements: “It is very remarkable, that not only the sacred writers, but all the ancient Chaldean, Egyptian, and Chinese authors speak of the great ages of such as lived in early times, and this with such confidence that Xenophon, Pliny, and other judicious persons receive their testimony without scruple. But to come down to later times, Attila, King of the Huns, who reigned in the fifth century, lived to 124, and then died of excess, the first night of his second nuptials with one of the most beautiful princesses of that age. Piastus, King of Poland, who from the rank of a peasant was raised to that of a prince, in the year 824, lived to be 120, and governed his subjects with such ability to the very last, that his name is still in the highest veneration amongst his countrymen. Marcus Valerius Corvinus, a Roman Consul, was celebrated as a true patriot and a most excellent person in private life, by the elder Cato, and yet Corvinus was then upwards of a hundred. Hippocrates, the best of physicians lived to an 104, but Asclepiades, a Persian physician, reached 150. Galen lived in undisturbed health to 104; Sophocles, the tragic poet, lived to 130; Democritus, the philosopher, lived to 104; and Euphranor taught his scholars at upward of 100; and yet what are these to Epiminedes of Crete, who, according to Theopompus, an unblemished historian, lived to upwards of 157. I mention these, because, if there be any truth or security in history, we may rely as firmly on the facts recorded of them as on any facts whatever. Pliny gives an account that in the city of Parma, there were two of 130 years of age, three of 120, at a certain taxation, or rather visitation, and in many cities of Italy, people much older, particularly at Ariminium, one Marcus Apponius, who was 150. Vincent Coquelin, a clergyman, died at Paris in 1664, at 112. Lawrence Hutland, lived in the Orkneys to 170. James Sands, an Englishman, towards the latter end of the last century, died at 140, and his wife at 120. In Sweden, it is a common thing to meet with people above 100, and Rudbekius affirms from bills of mortality signed by his brother, who was a bishop, that in the small extent of twelve parishes, there died in the space of thirty-seven years, 232 men, between 100 and 140 years of age, which is the more credible, since in the diet assembled by the late Queen of Sweden, in 1713, the oldest and best speaker among the deputies from the order of Peasants was considerably above 100. These accounts, however, are far short of what might be produced from Africa and North America, that I confine myself to such accounts as are truly authentic.” All of these instances the doctor sustains by reference to his authorities.

To the foregoing he adds the examples of teachers and persons who associate with the young, to which he ascribes great value in promoting longevity. Thus, “Gorgias, the master of Isocrates, and many other eminent persons, lived to be 108. His scholar, Isocrates, in the 94th year of his age published a book, and survived the publication four years, in all which time he betrayed not the least failure, either in memory or in judgment; he died with the reputation of being the most eloquent man in Greece. Xenophilus, an eminent Pythagorean philosopher, taught a numerous train of students till he arrived at the age of 105, and even then enjoyed a very perfect health, and left this world before his abilities left him. Platerus tells us that his grandfather, who exercised the office of a preceptor to some young nobleman, married a woman of thirty when he was in the 100th year of his age. His son by this marriage did not stay like his father, but took him a wife when he was twenty; the old man was in full health and spirits at the wedding, and lived six years afterward. Francis Secordo Horigi, usually distinguished by the name of Huppazoli, was consul for the State of Venice in the island of Scio, where he died in the beginning of 1702, when he was very near 115. He married in Scio when he was young, and being much addicted to the fair sex, he had in all five wives, and fifteen or twenty concubines, all of them young, beautiful women, by whom he had forty-nine sons and daughters, whom he educated with the utmost tenderness, and was constantly with them, as much as his business would permit. He was never sick. His sight, hearing, memory, and activity were amazing. He walked every day about eight miles; his hair, which was long and graceful, became white by the time that he was four-score, but turned black at 100, as did his eyebrows and beard at 112. At 110 he lost all his teeth, but the year before he died he cut two large ones with great pain. His food was generally a few spoonfuls of broth, after which he ate some little thing roasted; his breakfast and supper, bread and fruit; his constant drink, distilled water, without any addition of wine or other strong liquor to the very last. He was a man of strict honor, of great abilities, of a free, pleasant, and sprightly temper, as we are told by many travellers, who were all struck with the good sense and good humor of this polite old man.”

“In the same country (as Thomas Parr) lived the famous Countess of Desmond. From deeds, settlements, and other indisputable testimonies it appeared clearly that she was upwards of 140, according to the computation of the great Lord Bacon, who knew her personally, and remarks this particularity about her, that she thrice changed her teeth.”

The stern scepticism of the medical profession and especially among its leaders has borne so heavily against all cheerful views of life and longevity, that at the risk of becoming monotonous I again refer to this subject and present examples of longevity which cannot be denied, in addition to the list previously given. Medical collegiate scepticism can deny anything. Ultra sceptics deny centenarian life, as they also denied the existence of hydrophobia, while those who admitted its existence denied its curability.

Connecticut alone furnishes a good supply of centenarians. Three years ago Mr. Frederick Nash, of Westport, Conn, published a pamphlet giving the old people living in Connecticut, including twenty-three centenarians, whom he described. The names of twelve of these were as follows:

• Edmund R. Kidder, of Berlin, Aug. 17, 1784.
• Jeremiah Austin, Coventry, Feb. 10, 1783.
• Mrs. Lucy Luther, Hadlyme, Jan. 6, 1784.
• Walter Pease, Enfield, March 29, 1784.
• Egbert Cowles, Farmington, April 4, 1785.
• Mrs. Eunice Hollister, Glastonbury, Aug. 9, 1784.
• Mrs. Elsie Chittenden, Guilford, April 24, 1784.
• Miss Eunice Saxton, Colchester, Sept. 6, 1784.
• Marvin Smith, Montville, Nov. 18, 1784.
• Mrs. Phebe Briggs, Sherman, Nov. 16, 1784.
• Mrs. Elizabeth Buck, Wethersfield, Jan. 10, 1784.
• Mrs. Clarissa D. Raymond, Milton, April 22, 1782.

The others are either of foreign birth or former slaves, whose precise ages cannot be established.

In addition to this list the newspapers gave us Mrs. Abigail Ford of Washington, born in 1780, Mr. Darby Green of Reading, born in 1779, Tryphena Jackson, colored, born in 1782, and Wm. Hamilton, Irish, also in 1782; and an old sailor in New Haven town house claims to have been born in 1778.

The very careful investigation of Connecticut by Mr. Nash shows that “the duration of human life in this State is greater than it was a generation ago. Then only one person in 500 lived to see 80 years. Now one per cent of the population live to that age. The average age of 6,223 persons is 83 years. The number of ages ranging from 84 to 89 years is large, and those who are 90 and over number 651; nine are 99, thirteen are 98, and eleven are 97. No age of less than 80 years has been recorded.

“It may be pleasing to our grandmothers to know that in this list of more than 6,000, more than 4,000 are women, and that only eight of the twenty centenarians are men. The list adds strength to what has already been held as true, that married people always live longer than single, and it also shows that two spinsters have begun their second century. They are accompanied on the list by two sturdy bachelors.”In a sketch of centenarians published in November, 1884, are given the names of Nathaniel H. Cole of Greenwich, R. I., born in 1783, Royal C. Jameson, Papakating, N. J., born in 1784, Wm. Jovel of New Jersey, and Luther Catlin of Bridgewater, Pa., born in 1784. The last three took an active part in the last presidential election.

In Maine were reported Mrs. Sally Powers, Augusta, believed to be born in 1778, Mrs. Thankful Donnel of West Bath, 101, Mrs. Betsy Moody, 102, Mrs. Philip Pervear of Sedgwick, 105, Jotham Johnson of Durham, 100, Mrs. Small of Bowdoinham, 100. If alive to-day, they are three years older.

In Vermont, from 1881 to 1884, sixteen centenarians died; and in the last census of the United States there were 322.

In looking over my records I find so many other examples of centenarian life that I shall not weary the reader by their repetition, but examples running for over a century may be worth mentioning. Madame Lacene, one of the most brilliant women of France, died a few years ago at Lyons in her 104th year. Her will was under contest on account of her extreme age, but the court was fully satisfied of her intellectual competence. In the olden time she had often entertained Mme. de Stael, Mme. Recamier, and Benj. Constant.

The oldest person in France, perhaps in the world, is said to be a woman who lives in the village of Auberive, in Royans. She was born March 16, 1761, and is therefore 125 years old. The authentic record of her birth is to be found in the parish register of St. Just de Claix, in the department of the Isere.—Scientific American.

“Among the professors at German universities there were no fewer than 157 between the ages of seventy and ninety, of whom 122 still deliver lectures, seven of these being between eighty-five and eighty-nine years of age. The oldest, Von Ranke, was in active service in his 90th year. Elennich, of Breslau, only thirty-nine days younger, still shows energy in anything he puts his hands to.”

Mrs. Henry Alphonse of Concord, Mo., over 105, retained her memory and eyesight without glasses till after 104. Mr. Charles Crowley died at Suncook, N. H. over 104. Frank Bogkin, a colored man of Montgomery, Ala., was believed to be 115 at his death recently. When he was about 60 years old, he earned money and purchased his freedom. Tony Morgan, a blind negro, was recently living at Mobile, 105 years old. Pompey Graham of Montgomery, N. Y., lately died at 119, and retained his faculties. Phebe Jenkins of Beaufort County, South Carolina, was believed to be 120 years old when she died about a year ago. Mrs. Louisa Elgin of Seymour, Indiana, whose mother lived to be 115, was recently living at 105.

“Jennie White, a colored woman, died in St. Joseph, Mo., Monday last, aged 122 years. She was born in the eastern part of Georgia, and when twenty years of age was taken to Tennessee, where she remained for ninety-six years. She had lived in St. Joseph about ten years. She was a cook for Captain Waterfall, of George Washington’s staff, during the war of the Revolution. She remembered the death of Washington well, and used to tell a number of interesting stories about early times. She died in full possession of all her mental faculties, but was a cripple and helpless.”

Males and Females.—In the first number of the Journal it was stated that although women were from two to six per cent more numerous in population, more males were born by four to sixteen per cent. This was a typographical error; it should have been from four to six per cent, generally four. The greatest excess of males is in illegitimate births. The reversal of proportions in the progress of life shows that the male mortality is much greater than the female. Hence the more tranquil habits and greater predominance of the moral nature in women increases their longevity, while the greater indulgence of the passions and appetites, the greater muscular and intellectual force among men, are hostile to longevity. Hence the establishment of a true religion, or the application of the “New Education,” will greatly increase longevity. It will also be increased by greater care of health in manufacturing establishments, and by diminishing the hours of labor; for exhausting physical labor not only shortens life but predisposes to intemperance. The injurious effect of excessive toil is shown in the shorter lives of the poor, and is enforced by Finlaison’s “Report on Friendly Societies to the British Parliament,” which says (p. 211) “The practicable difference in the distribution of sickness seems to turn upon the amount of the expenditure of physical force. This is no new thing, for in all ages the enervation and decrepitude of the bodily frame has been observed to follow a prodigal waste of the mental or corporeal energies. But it has been nowhere previously established upon recorded experience that the quantum of sickness annually falling to the lot of man is in a direct proportion to the demands upon his muscular power. So it would seem, however.”

Philanthropists should therefore unite in limiting the hours of daily labor to ten or less. But more quiet pursuits have greater endurance; women keeping house have no ten hour limit, and the editor of the Journal generally gives more than twelve hours a day to his daily labor.

A Negro 135 Years Old.—The St. Louis Globe Democrat says: James James, a negro, and citizen of the United States, who resides at Santa Rosa, Mexico, is probably the oldest man on earth. He was born near Dorchester, S. C., in 1752, and while an infant was removed to Medway River, Ga., in the same year that Franklin brought down electricity from the thunder clouds. In 1772 there was quite an immigration into South Carolina, and his master, James James (from whom he takes his name), moved near Charleston, S. C., in company with a number of his neighbors. On June 4, 1776, when 24 years of age, a large British fleet, under Sir Peter Parker, arrived off Charleston. The citizens had erected a palmetto-wood fort on Sullivan’s Island, with twenty-six guns, manned by 500 troops under Col. Moultrie, and on June 28 the British made an attack by land and water, and were compelled to withdraw after a ten-hours’ conflict. It was during this fight that Sergeant Jasper distinguished himself by replacing the flag, which had been shot away upon the bastion on a new staff. His master, James James, manned one of the guns in this fight, and Jim, the subject of this sketch, with four other slaves, were employed around the fort as general laborers. Jim followed his master throughout the war, and was with Gen. Moultrie at Port Royal, S. C., Feb. 3, 1779, when Moultrie defeated the combined British forces of Prevost and Campbell. His master was surrendered by Gen. Lincoln at Charleston, S. C., on Feb. 12, 1780, to the British forces, and this ends Jim’s military career.

He remembers of the rejoicing in 1792 throughout the country in consequence of Washington’s election to the Presidency, he then being 40 years of age. In this year his first master died, aged about 60 years. Jim then became the property of “Marse Henry” (Henry James), owning large estates and about thirty slaves near Charleston. On account of having raised “Marse Henry,” Jim was a special favorite with his master, and was allowed to do as he chose. His second master, Henry, died in 1815, about 55 years of age, and Jim, now at 63 years of age, became the property of James James, Henry’s second son. In 1833 the railroad from Charleston to Savannah was completed, then the longest railroad in the world, and Jim, with his master, took a trip over the road, and was shown special favors on account of his age, now 81. James James was ten years of age at his father’s death, and when he became of age he inherited large estates, slaves, etc., among whom were “old Uncle Jim” and his family. James James in 1855 moved to Texas with all his slaves. He desired that his slaves should be free at his death, and in 1858 moved into Mexico, so that they could be free before his death. James returned to the United States and died in Texas, and in 1865, after there were no longer slaves in the United States, Uncle Jim’s children and grandchildren returned to the United States. Five years ago, at the age of 130, Jim could do light chores, but subsisted mostly by contributions from the citizens, but for the past two years, not being able to walk, he remains for the most part in his little jacal, his wants being supplied by generous neighbors. The rheumatism in his legs prevents him from walking.

So many cases of great longevity have recently been announced, that their detailed publication would be tedious. The New York Sun says: “A town in Cuba prides itself upon being the home of eleven women, each of whom is over 100 years of age.” According to the census of Germany, December, 1875, there were 160 persons over 100 years of age, of whom there was one woman of 115 years, and another of 117, one man of 118, and another of 120. Our own country has a better record of longevity than this.

Let us rest content with the fact that the world has many centenarians, and that we too are free to live a hundred years, if our ancestors have done their duty in transmitting a good constitution, and we have done our duty in preserving it.