VI CENTENARIANISM 231 



have attained even one hundred and three or four, 

 though this he considered exceedingly rare and as the 

 ultimate term of life. 



By far the larger number of cases of centenarianism 

 which are reported are not backed up as they should 

 be by evidence. The appetite for the marvellous is 

 so keen, that people would rather take the centenarian 

 on his own assertion than risk losing him by investi- 

 gation. This is the case with a certain Thomas 

 Geeran, now receiving parish relief at Brighton, who 

 is declared to be one hundred and four years old, and 

 states that he entered the British army at thirty years 

 of age, and served for more than thirty years. A 

 pamphlet has been published concerning this case, in 

 which there is not a shred of evidence given in support 

 of the man's statement. No inquiries appear to have 

 been made at his reputed birthplace, viz. Scariff, county 

 Clare, Ireland, and an application to the War Office, 

 with a view to getting him a pension, has entirely 

 failed, in consequence of his name not being discover- 

 able in the books. This is the kind of case which we 

 must guard against, and others like it, testified only 

 by epitaphs or village gossips. The next generation 

 will not be troubled with this question as we are to- 

 day, for the registration of births will, in the course 

 of time, furnish all the required evidence on one 

 point, whilst the only remaining difficulty, that of 

 establishing identity, is daily decreasing with the 

 growth of intelligence and the spread of education 

 among our peasantry. 



It is to be hoped, however, that we shall not have 



