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“ De Senectute - To most people there is something peculiarly fascinating in a description of the habits and constitution of persons who have lived to extreme old age; even if the reader is not possessed by a secret hope that he may rival them in vitality, his imagination is stimulated by the history of men and women who were born in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, living on to witness the achievements, to share the sorrows, and, in their own persons, to afford matter for the scientific speculations of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. ”

“ It is interesting to note that women are in a decided majority in Professor Humphry’s list; after making every allowance for their comparative immunity from accident, exposure, and anxiety, and their greater temperance in eating and drinking, there still appears to be reason to believe that woman possesses a greater inherent vitality than man. In conclusion, we may be allowed to express the hope that Professor Humphry may live to swell the list and improve the male percentage. ”

“ The centenarian generally comes of a long-lived family, and is a person of active habits, both of body and mind, a good sleeper, endowed with a good appetite, and a tranquil, cheerful disposition. One centenarian collier had always drunk as much as he could, and expressed his intention of continuing this habit, but all the others were stated either to have been moderate or very moderate in the indulgence of this taste or to have been total abstainers. ”