PF.TKTl THE WILD BOY. 
3f)9 
lordship of Elmton, of some thousand acres, belonging to Sir Joloi 
Rhodes, and brought him the contents, not only in acres, roods, and 
perches, but even in square inches. After this, for his own aniuse- 
ment, he reduced them into square hairbreadths, computing 48 to 
each side of the inch. His memory was so great, that while resolving 
a question, be could leave otf, and resume the occupation again where 
he left off, the next morning, or at a week, a month, or at the end of 
several months, and proceed regularly till it was completed. His 
memory would doubtless have been equally retentive with respect to 
other objects, if he had attended to them with equal diligence ; but 
his jierpetual application to figures prevented the smallest acquisition 
of any other knowdedge. 
' He was sometimes asked, on his return from church, whether he 
remembered the text or any part of the sermon, but it never appeared 
that he brought away one sentence, his mind, upon closer examination, 
being found to have been busied, even during divine service, in his 
favourite operation, either dividing some time or some space into the 
smallest known parts, or resolving some question that had been given 
him as a test of his abilities. As this extraordinary person lived in 
poverty, his life was uniform and obscure. Time, with respect to 
him, changed nothing but his age ; nor did the seasons vary his 
employment, except that in winter he used a flail, and in summer a 
ling-hook. 
In 1754 he came to London, where be was introduced to the Royal 
Society, who, in order to prove his abilities, asked him several ques- 
tions in arithmetic, and he gave, them such satisfaction, that they 
dismissed him with a, handsome gratuity. In this visit to the metro- 
polis, the only object of his curiosity, except figures, was to see the 
king and royal family ; but they being at Kensington, Jedediah was 
disappointed. During bis residence in London, he was taken to see 
king Richard HI. performed at Drury-lane play-house, and it was 
expected either that the novelty and splendour of the show would 
have fixed him in astonishment, and kept his imagination in a continual 
hurry, or that his passions would in some degree have been touched 
by the power of action, if he bad not perfectly understood the dia- 
logue. But Jedediah’s mind was employed in the play-house just as 
it was employed in every other place. During the dance he fixed his 
attention upon the number of steps; and declared, after a fine piece 
of music, that the innumerable sounds produced by the instruments 
had perplexed him beyond measure, and he attended even to Mr. Gar- 
rick only to count the words he uttered, in which he said he perfectly 
succeeded. s 
Jedediah returned to the place of his birth, where, if his enjoyments 
were few, his wishes did not seem to be greater. He applied to his 
labour with cheerfulness ; he regretted nothing that he left behind 
him in London ; and it continued to be his opinion, that a slice of 
musty bacon afforded the most delicious repast. 
Peter the Wild Boy. 
This was a savage, found in the woods near Hamelen, a town in 
the electorate of Hanover, when King George I. with a party of 
