Longevity, 103 



peculiar to himself, and which he cannot well convey the 

 meaning of to others. His abilities, in this respect, are 

 nevertheless, so great, that he finds constant employment; 

 Most of the roads over the Peak in Derbyshire have been 

 altered by his directions, particularly those in the vicinity 

 of Buxton ; and he is, at this time, constructing a new one, 

 betwixt Wilmslow and Congleton, with a view to open a 

 communication to the great London road, without being 

 obliged to pass over the mountains.' 



Longevity, 



Dr. Fothergill gives us a treatise on Longevity, vol. i. p. 

 355, which would not satisfy Mr. Thoms, but one which is 

 inclined to view with a somewhat broader mind the tales 

 concerning age. He is a bold man who puts limits to life, 

 and who asserts that he knows the causes either of life or 

 of decay. It is in the nature of things that there should be 

 exceptions and extremes, and it would be wonderful if when 

 the natural life of a dog is ten, but of an unusual dog 

 thirty, that man also should be found never exceeding in 

 any case much more than his usual limit. Nay more, is it 

 not natural to suppose that he too has specimens which 

 double or triple the usual term of human life } It is better 

 to learn how wide nature is than to try to prove favourite 

 points. It is remarkable how consistent with each other 

 the conditions are of men who have lived above 100. 

 Of those occurring several times annually in our own 

 islands, all are poor — the poorest are in Ireland among a 

 race remarkably tenacious of life, men among whom usually 

 lives are long, and where centenarians might be expected 

 according to reason without even a grain of sentiment ; 



