TWO CENTENARIANS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14303, 24 February 1910, Page 7

TWO CENTENARIANS.

BOTH HALE AND HEARTY.

To be still on the commission of the peace on his hundredth birthday; to have received a congratulatory telegram from the King; and to .be the possessor of good health . and a capital appetite—this is the happy lot >of ■ Dr. Edgar Jones, of Little Burstead, Billericay, Essex.

The doctor is. still a. good figure of a man, with wide somewhat bent, and big arms and; hands that must once have been remarkably powerful. His face does not suggest his hundred years. ■ There is' a healthy flush on the cheeks, and he can still read small print without glasses.,

His daily menus read like those of a fifth form schoolboy. For breakfast he has tea, bread and butter, an egg, boiled ham, and porridge with milk .'and' cream ; for' mid-day dinner, meat, vegetables, and milk or plum pudding ;, and for tea, bread and butter or toast, with often an egg. On- his birthday,; which "lie passed in bed to -escape the excitement of callers, he ate a piece of iced birthday cake specially made by the cook, and marked " 100.!'

Always a non-smoker and an abstainer from alcohol, the advice of the doctor to tfhose who wish to live long is to follow , his example in these two things. Also,' they must be cheerful, and take exercise. : , Once, in 1863, when in Vienna, the doctor drank a glass of beer, but only once. -

In January, 1909, ,Mrs. Rebecca Clarke, then aged 104, presided at the annual New Year's dinner at the Salvation Army Barracks at Wood Green, N., and in her maiden speech promised to■!' come again next ' year."

On January 5 last, the wonderful old ;voman, who will bo 106 next June, fulilled her promise. < She was wearing the silver gray silk shawl which she wore on her wedding . day, 80 years ago, and is'now on© of her most treasured possessions.-' With eight and hearing . almost unimpaired, a clear brain, and a natural gift for repartee, }:the Wood Green centenarian ?is as active as many a woman of hal her years. She complained, . however,' that she couldn't run about as she used to." She would like to have helped to serve the • . ■ « dinner. ■ r Mrs. Clarke insisted on ' remaining at the entertainment which followed the dinner, and before going home gaily proj mised ; to T come again next year.