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1852.]
LONGEVITY IN RUSSIA.
Few of the marvels in print are more
to be suspected than the stories of lon
gevity. Here is an expose of this clever
fraud. The average duration of human
life in Bessarabia has long puzzled all the
statistical societies in Europe; but the
problem will be easily solved, when the
contrivance of the civil authorities to in
crease the numbers within their munici
pal jurisdiction is understood. A refugee
appears, and prays to be enrolled as a
citizen of the town. He is at first told,
“that is not a matter of course, friend ;
you have no passport, too; but wait
awhile, and we will see what can be
done for vou.” The refugee waits till
one of the community dies, and then he
is summoned to appear again before the
lied Table, in the magisterial office. Now
the business proceeds thus : —“What is
your name?” “Ivan Gritshow’.’ “What
age?” “Twenty-five.” “Well, young
man, attend to what 1 am going to say —
Mitrophan Kalenko died yesterday, aged
50 ; if you wish to be a citizen, you must
take upon yourself his name and his
age ; and then we will allow you to be
substantiated for him, and will give you
his certificate and other documents.”—
Ivan Gritshow joyfully consents, and be
comes all at once a respectable citizen of
a very respectable age. The departed
Mitrophan still lives, under this metamor
phosis, on the civil register ; and, proba
bly, after two or three renewals of his
existence, dies at the patriarchal age of
150! We need, therefore, no longer
marvel at the frequent account of deaths
in Russia of persons exceeding 100 years
of age. — German paper.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.
GENIUS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
* * The following statement of the conversa
tional powers, (or rather the want of conversa
tional powers) exhibited by authors, says of Ad
dison “that he was unable to converse in com
pany.” Now this conveys to many minds the
idea of absolute deficiency, and Addison is im
mediately put down merely as a writer. This is
great injustice, for the fact is (and proper authori
ties will establish what we advance,) that although
somewhat diffident in Society, Addison display
ed among friends colloquial powers of the very
highest order, delighting his auditors with the
most brilliant efforts of wit, sarcasm and humour.
Cornielle did not speak correctly the
language of which he was such a master.
Descartes was silent in mixed society.
Themistocles, when asked to play on a
lute, said, “I cannot fiddle, but I can
make a little village a great city.” Ad
dison was unable to converse in company.
Virgil w'as heavy colloquially. La Fon
taine was coarse and stupid when sur
rounded by men. The Countess of Pem
broke said of Chaucer, that his silence
SOUTHERN LITERARY GAZETTE.
was more agreeable to her than his con
versation. Socrates, celebrated for his
written orations, was so timid that he
never ventured to speak in public. Dry
den said that he was unfit for company.
Hence it has been remarked, “ Medioc
rity can talk —it is for genius to observe .”
CHINESE BEGGARS.
Some were covered with natural sores,
others with artificial ones. The low
forehead, restless eye and sturdy form
of others told of the mind diseased. The
community is found scattering over the
empire in large numbers. They ask char
ity as a right more than a favour. They
are a great nuisance to shop-keepers in
large towns, though the sums given are
exceedingly small; a coin of the country
is adapted to this state of things—one
hundred Chinese copper cash make four
pence. A beggar rarely gets more than
one of these tokens. In every string of
a hundred cash there are some inferior
coins. A beggar will lay down of these,
and the shopman will give him a full
sized one, in which case he walks oft'with
the fiftieth part of a penny. In many
instances the tradesman compounds with
the head beggar of the district, w hen a
slip of paper is pasted on the door-post,
and he is let off for the period specified. —
Fortune's “ China and India.”
A STRANGE STORY.
* * From a journal of a Winter’s Tour in In
dia, “by the Hon. Capt. Francis Egerton, R. N.,”
we take the following tale, which the author
heard from Colonel Sleeman, the Resident at
Lucknow. The Captain remarks, “that here is
something like a confirmation of Romulus and
Remus.”
After breakfast, we all stopped at
home, scribbling and playing at billiards,
&c. Colonel Sleeman told us a singular
story of the carrying off and “educating”
of children by wolves in this neighbour
hood. Some time ago, two of the King
of Oude’s suwars, riding along the banks
of the river Goomptje, saw’ three animals
come down to drink. Two of them were
evidently young w’olves, but the third
was some other animal. They rode up
and captured the whole three, and, to
their great surprise, found that the doubt
ful animal was a small naked boy. He
was on all fours, like his companions, had
callosities on his knees and elbow's, evi
dently caused by the attitude used in
moving about, and bit and scratched his
captors as any wolf might have done.
The boy was brought in to Lucknow,
and after a long time, to a certain extent,
tamed. At first, he could not speak at
all, but he seemed to have a dog-like fa
cility for finding out what was meant by
signs. He lived sometime at Lucknow ;
but what became of him I don’t know.
Another boy found under similar circum-
stances lived with two English people lor
some time. lie learnt at last to pro
nounce one word, the name of a lady
who was kind to him; but his intellect
was always clouded, more like the in
stinct of an animal than the mind of a
human being. There was another more
wonderful, but less well authenticated,
story of a boy who, after his recapture,
was seen to be visited by three wolves
one evening. They came evidently with
evil intentions; but, after examining
him closely, he apparently not the least
alarmed, they fraternized with him, —
played with him, —and, subsequently,
brought the rest of the family, until the
wolves were five in number; which was
also the number of the litter the buy had
been taken from. A curious part of this
story is the statement, that this boy al
ways had about him, in spite of ablutions,
&c., a strong wolfish smell. This story
mv informant did not vouch for; but he
said he knew r of five instances of his own
personal knowledge.
PUNISHMENTS IN SUMATRA.
* * The following punishments in Sumatra,
are certainly sufficiently severe to render the in
habitants peaceful.
The natives put the criminal into a
hole, tie both his hands, and make him
kneel dow ? n. The executioner then stabs
him with a spear on the left shoulder,
the criminals hands arc loosened, and the
executioner jumps upon him, presses him
into the hole, and covers him over with
earth instantaneously. If two people
fight, and blood is drawn on the head,
the party who has inflicted the wound
pays eight dollars, a goat, one cabong of
white cloth, and a bundle of seree; the
goat is sacrified, and the priests are as
sembled to pray. If the body is wound
ed, the fine is four dollars, a fowl, veliow
rice and a seree. Eor smaller offences,
flogging with a rattan is the usuai pun
ishment. — Anderson.
HEART ESSENTIAL TO GENIUS.
We are not always equal to our fate,
Nor true to our conditions. Doubt and fear
Beset the bravest in their high career,
At moments, when the soul, no more elate
With expectation, sinks beneath the time—
The masters have iheir weakness. “I would
climb,”
Said Raleigh, gazing on the highest hill—
“But that I tremble with the fear to fall !”
Apt was the answer of the high-soul’d Queen —
‘‘lf thy heart fail thee, never climb at all!”
The heart! if that be sound, confirms the rest,
Crowns genius with his lion will and mien,
And, from the conscious virtue in ihe breast,
To trembling nature gives both strength and
will!
Question for Exercise. —ls a hole
is twice as wide as it’s deep, and twice
as deep as it need be, how r many pota
toes will it hold, provided they are half
mercers ?
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