Missouri ’ ' ‘ ■ 
THE ^TfdsltlEE OF ‘FONbEVITY. 
36 
lived to be 152, and that Henry Jenkins died 
at the age of 169. But it will take a good 
many grains of salt to confirm the world in 
the belief that Peter Zartan, the Hungarian 
peasant, lived to be 185, or that Thomas 
Cam (notwithstanding the parish register of 
St. Leonard’s, Shoreditch) died January 28, 
1588, aged 207 years. Indeed the great 
age of the latter resulted from the trick- of 
some wag, who, with venerable intent, fash- 
ioned the figure ‘‘ i ” on his tombstone into 
a ‘‘ 2,” thus jumping a century in a few min- 
utes. The friends of Thomas Damme, who 
died 1648, aged 154, provided against similar 
trickery, and had his age cut on the tomb- 
stone in words at length. It might be sup- 
posed that statistics would furnish very valu- 
able evidence on this subject. But, in the 
first place, it is only within certain European 
areas and a part of America that tables re- 
lating to age are prepared, and the qualifi- 
cations to which these are subject from the 
shifting of population are of a very complex 
character. These records show that ex- 
treme age is almost uniformly found among 
the poor and the degraded. And although 
one might suppose that the possession of 
wealth, education and intelligence, would 
contribute to long life, the evidence seems 
to point the other way. The cases that are 
handed down to us from the earlier centu- 
ries of the Christian era are often but tradi- 
tion. In later days more positive evidence 
exists ; and yet the dusty parish registers 
are not above question, and the family re- 
cords and familiar obituary notices frequently 
come to us unverified. It is also a strange 
feature that miraculous length of days 
occurs in obscure villages, where no evi- 
dence exists but the mere ipse dixit of Old 
Mortality, and that as soon as we draw 
near the cities, where science can handle 
the case, the wonderful story flies the light. 
The fact is, aged people have their full 
share of the marvelous appetite; they 
have too frequently lost their memories, 
and so, from ignorance or deceit, do not 
tell the truth. And then a vanity which 
never grows old affects equally the state- 
ments of old and young. The register, 
to which we are often referred, is a record, 
not of birth or baptism, but of death, and 
merely contains a statement of the age 
as derived from the friends of the de- 
ceased, and which will soon be found 
carved and unquestioned on the tomb- 
stone. This is valueless in proof of 
longevity. Then in villages, where many 
of the same name are found, a confusion 
in identity has often taken place, and, 
where nobody will rise up to prove the 
contrary, some octogenarian has doubt- 
less felt himself called upon to assume 
the years of both his father and his 
grandfather. If we bear these things in 
mind, it will not appear very marvelous that 
negroes live long. Louisa Truxo, at the 
age of 175, was living in Cordova in South 
America in 1780, and another negress, aged 
120, was called in evidence to prove the 
case. Of course to ignorant folk and inno- 
cent statisticians this was satisfactory. Let 
us mention a few cases where the evidence 
has been considered satisfactory. Sir Henry 
Holland, a few years ago, when in Canada, 
met an officer whose commission proved him 
to be 104 years old. Henry Jenkins, who 
died 1670, aged 169, remembered the great 
battle of Flodden Field, fought between the 
English and the Scotch in 1513. When 157 
years old he was produced as witness to prove 
the right of way over another man’s ground. 
Being cautioned by the Judge to speak 
truthfully in regard to his great age, he re- 
ferred the magistrate to two other witnesses 
in court, each over 80 years, who testified 
that when they were small boys Jenkins was 
a very old, gray-haired man. James Sands, 
of Staffordshire, is mentioned in Fuller^s 
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