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made much impression on his constitution. The texture of his body is not loose or emaciated, but firm and in embonpoint. His face is not wrinkled or shrivelled, but appears plump, round, and rather florid. His sight is tolerably good: he never used glasses, and can at present see every object around him distinctly. He hears very well, and his taste and smell are very good. His hearing and sense of smell, indeed, are uncommonly acute. His skin is soft and delicate; and his hair, which, in his youth, was of a dark brown colour, is now white. He has had no teeth for upwards of forty years, He sleeps soundly in the night, and also frequently during the day. He has been confined to bed for six years past, yet he can move all his limbs; but he is not able to walk, except with the assistance of two persons. All his limbs are free from complaint, the right hand excepted, the fingers of which are much contracted. This contraction he attributes to an injury he received a few years ago on his shoulder-joint. He always serves himself when taking food, for which purpose he uses his left hand, which is perfectly steady. Between six and seven years ago, he walked to Carlisle, and says he saw the workmen laying the foundation of the new bridge, and returned home on the same day with great ease. Carlisle is about eight miles distant from his residence. He frequently took a staff with him, when walking, but seldom used it; he generally carried it under his arm. Only seven years ago, he actually hedged, reaped corn, made hay, mounted stacks of corn and hay, and assisted in making them; in short, he applied himself to all kinds of farm-labour, and was, to use his own expression, always "a top worker." He first took to his bed during some severe weather in winter, not in consequence of any indisposition, but on account of the coldness of the season. He has preferred his bed since that time, for the superior comfort he derives from it. He resides with one of his sons, upon his own estate, the fruits of his industry. The house which he inhabits is in the farm-house style: his bed is placed in a corner near the kitchen-fire, and he has unremitting attention paid to him by his family. For some time, his bed was in the parlour, but finding that he was at too great a distance from the family, preference was afterwards given to the kitchen. He does not remember ever having been indisposed in his life, excepting twice: the first time was, when very young, and then

he had the measles; the second was not many years ago, when he had the hooping-cough. One of his grandchildren slept with him, and they both had the hooping-cough at the same time: he was then upwards of 100 years of age. He has occasionally met with severe accidents, but never had a medical attendant, and does not remember ever having taken a dose of medicine in his life. He was always strong and healthy: if he got wet, while working in the fields, he seldom changed his clothes, and would not unfrequently thrash in the barn, or use some other active employment until they became dry. He never took any tea or coffee, and was never intoxicated in his life but once, and that happened at a wedding. He says his friends deceived him, by putting something stronger than he expected into the liquor he was drinking. He very seldom drank any ale, spirits, or wine, except occasionally at the market, at a wedding, or a funeral, and then only a single glass. He gives two reasons for his not drink ing; one is, that he had no particular pleasure in taking intoxicating liquors; the other, he liked his money much better than them. He confesses he was rather avaricious. His common drink is water. His food milk, hasty-pudding, broth, bread, potatoes, an egg, a small piece of animal food, or any thing that the family are taking. His clothing was always plain, but warm and comfortable. His appetite is good, and his bowels are generally moved every second day. He was never regular as to the time of taking his meals or going to sleep. He generally took three meals a day, and dined about mid-day. took when opportunity permitted. Sometimes he omitted a meal, and at other times took four or five in a day, as his appetite prompted, or his occupation allowed him. He went to bed at different times of the night, and sometimes rose at one hour and sometimes at another in the morning. Some nights he was never in bed at all. When he went for lime or coal, which he had often occasion to do, he generally slept in the open air all night. Even at the advanced age of 80, during a part of the summer season, he wrought daily at a peat-moss, a few miles from Irthington, and being there late in the evening with his horse and cart, he would sometimes unyoke the horse, let it go loose upon the common, and take his repose for the night in the cart. This is a good instance of his great industry, as well as of the strength of his constitution: his principal object in remain

His breakfast and supper he

ing all night was, that he might be able to pursue his employment early in the morning. His pulse is 68 in a minute, regular and strong: no ossification of the arteries at the wrist can be discovered. His breathing is natural; and his voice, which is ráther strong, appears to have undergone very little change. His mental faculties seem perfect; his memory is excellent as to particular occurrences, but he does not remember dates. He is happy, and appears to enjoy life. He is alive to every thing around him, and acquainted with all the news of the day, at least with such news as country people are generally conversant in, and particularly with any thing that has happened in the village or neighbourhood. When trying his memory, I asked him if he had ever heard of the battle of Waterloo, or of Buonaparte? He answered that he had heard too much of Buonaparte; that he was a bad character, and at best only a coward; as soon as he found himself in danger he ran off. I reminded him that he himself had once done the same thing, having been previously informed that he was employed during the rebellion in 1745 in making trenches around Carlisle, when he made a precipitate retreat: he laughed heartily, and confessed he ran away as soon as he could get; he said he only remained among the soldiers one night. He entered freely into conversation with me, and made many inquiries about Carlisle, and particularly about the Carlisle canal. He said, he remembered the first rebellion in 1715: he was then eight or ten years of age; he heard a great deal about it at the time, and saw several men running away from it. On asking him why he was so late in marrying, he said he never thought much about getting a wife, and how he got one he does not know, but thinks it was by mere accident. When inquiry was made of him if he still entertained any idea of marrying a second time, and if he would not like a young wife, he replied, he would not like a young one; that he thought an elderly one might suit him; but being so very comfortably situated, he was better without one. When I asked him if he ever used tobacco or snuff, he very shrewdly answered, he never wasted his money in that way; he had plenty of ways of getting quit of his money without setting fire to it; and as for spending it in snuff, it was just throwing it away. He seemed healthy and hearty. I have seldom been in the

company of any one, either young or old, that enjoyed better spirits. His education has been very limited; but he appears to have profited much by a few plain rules of conduct. His mind has been seldom if ever affected by anxious care, restless ambition, or studious thought. He has led the life of an industrious and laborious farmer. He has been temperate in all his pleasures, for which reason they have been of long duration. He has been regular in his mode of living, which has produced an unusual share of rational enjoyment. He has never indulged to excess in sensual gratifications, nor committed any great irregularity. By him, exercise, temperance, and simplicity of diet, have been considered cardinal virtues :

"Multa tulit, fecitque puer, sudavit, et absit,
Abstinuit Venere et a vino."-HOR.

"Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty;
For in my youth I never did apply
Hot and rebellious liquors to my blood;
Nor did I, with unbashful forehead woo
The means of weakness and debility."-

-SHAKESPEARE.

I have been particular in describing his habits, dispositions, and appearance, from a conviction, that his habits and dispositions have essentially contributed to prolong his life through a long series of years; and as there is at present very little appearance of decay, he will, in all probability, yet continue to live for many years. Some of his relatives having lived to an extreme old age, it is probable that nature originally conferred upon him a good constitution. One of his brothers died in 1810, aged 99 years; two years ago one of his cousins died aged 95 years, and he has another now living at the age of 85.

There is a remarkable difference between him and the generality of old people: he is cheerful, good-humoured, and easily satisfied; he does not complain of any unpleasant change that has taken place in any thing around him, nor of the habits or manners of the people. This, I think, can in no way be accounted for, except from the perfect state of his senses and mental faculties. The degeneracy of the times, and the disagreeable changes of which many old people bitterly complain, are not so much to be attributed to any change in the objects around them, as to themselves: their senses and faculties being impaired, the same objects cease to make their former agrecable impressions.

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ART. VIII.-Observations on the Florida or Gulf Stream. ONE of the most singular phenomena in hydrography, is that perpetual current of water flowing out of the Gulf of Mexico, along the coast of Florida, into the Northern Atlantic, commonly, among seamen, called the Florida or Gulf Stream. Various attempts have been made to account for this celebrated current, and as it is an object of general interest in natural history, we conceive it will gratify some of our readers to present them with a concise view of those causes which appear the most rational.

It is known, that the tides in the ocean are produced by the combined actions of the sun and moon, causing the waters, in general, when their course is not obstructed by continents, islands, &c., to take a westerly direction. The winds in the tropical climates, from nearly the same cause, blow generally the same way, It is also observed by navigators, that when a wind blows for any length of time, in a given direction, the waters of the sea move in the same direction, forming a current, at least at the surface, more or less strong, according to circumstances, setting in that direction.

The whole body of the waters of the Atlantic, then, must have a general tendency to move from the coasts of Europe and Africa, towards the shores of America, which must be modified in its effects, according to the different conformations of the coasts and other combining circumstances. If we examine the coast of North America, we shall find, that its direction is nearly that, of the meridian, or north and south, at least from about New York to Cape Sable in East Florida. Therefore, the mass of waters coming from the east, will strike it nearly at right angles, which, after high water, will gradually retire into the ocean towards the east, without producing any considerable current along the coast, or any accumulation in a particular place, as it otherwise would have done, if that coast had been more oblique to the direction of the tide, though the Bahama islands, and shallows, must prove a considerable obstruction to the flood-tide setting directly westerly, near Florida, and will have some tendency to cause it to flow more to the north.

If we now turn our attention to the northern coast of South

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