East Providence Eagle

Long Lived Statesmen.

The longevity of famous statesmen is remarkable. Imagine Lord Palmerston acting vigorously as Prime Minister of England when over eighty, governing the great British Empire with steady hand and making speeches three hours long in the House of Commons, and rising next day fresh as a man of forty. Think of the venerable Guizot, the French statesman, who at the age of eighty-seven was still writing histories, presiding over religious conventions, and carrying on lively discussions in the French Academy.

The late Lord Lyndhurst made able speeches in the House of Lords when he had passed his ninetieth year; and his long-time rival, Lord Brougham, wrote his autobiography, in three goodly volumes, when he had nearly reached ninety years.

The Marquis of Lansdowne, who, as Lord Henry Petty, was a leading member of the "All the Talents" Cabinet, of which Charles James Fox was the chief, in 1806, was still an active member of the House of Lords nearly sixty years later, in 1863, and died in that year at the age of eighty-three.

The Duke of Wellington took part in public affairs until his death in 1852 in his eighty-third year.

In former generations energetic Statesmen of advanced years were found thickly scattered through the pages of history. There was the old Marquis of Winchester, who could remember Edward IV., the first York sovereign, in 1483, and who, when he died in 1572 at the age of ninety-seven, was holding office under Queen Elizabeth.

Referring to the Statesmen of our own country, it is a familiar fact that John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third Presidents, both died the 4th of July, 1826, just half a century from the day on which both signed the Declaration of Independence—Adams being 91 and Jefferson 93. President Andrew Jackson lived to be 78, John Quincy Adams to be 81, and Madison 85.—Youth's Companion.