A YOGA DEVOTEE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4433, 12 September 1939, Page 3

A YOGA DEVOTEE

CLAIMS TO BE 110

Mr Charles Arnold, a Londoner, who claims to be 110, celebrated his birthday recently by filling in an application form for a passport to the United States. Only sft tall, he declares that his faculties are as keen as those of a man of 50.

“ My earliest recollection,” he said, “ was a walk around the Houses of Parliament. That was about 105 years ago.” His first job was in a merchant’s office in the city. Then he became an apprentice journalist on a North Lon don newspaper. About the year 1852 he began a long series of travels, visiting Malay, India. Ceylon, and Manila. In India Mr Arnold met Swami Chanrada, a mastei Yogi. He attributed his longevity to the practice of Yoga. “By practising this I have kept my faculties and youthfulness of mind. My teacher was 147 years old at the time he taught me. He said I might live to be 200 yearsold.

“ During the last war 1 was spec;, correspondent for a London newspaper,” he said, “ and incidentally nearly 90 years old. But I never told them that. T was determined to get inside Germany. 1 spoke seven languages, including Spanish. 1 went to Spain, obtained Spanish papers, which reputed me to he a Spanish journalist, and thi'ii went tit Germany I f ally arrived at Frankfurt. Here I put u; at an hotel. Before 1 went to bed 1 instructed them to awaken me earlv as* I had a train to catch. “ They did so. While thev wen shaking me I exclaimed in English: ‘ All right. All right. Urn coming. - I was arrested and subseouently sentenced to death. The night before 1 was to be shot 1 made one desperate effort to save my life. T asked them to fetch the Spanish Consul. He came to see me. He knew I wasn’t Spanish, vet he didn’t give me away. They took his word for it and deported me to Spain.”