CHEATING THE DOCTOR

Waipa Post, Volume 31, Issue 1731, 11 March 1926, Page 6

CHEATING THE DOCTOR

The well-known animal artist, Sidney Cooper, R.A., who died at the age of 100 years, relates in his autobiography that he was given a year to live by several doctors, at the age of 49 years. He went on to live as long again and a little mo,re. He simply made up his mind not to die. He gave up dining out with his many artistic friends, went to live in Thanet, painted out of doors in all weathers, adopted the simplest diet, ate sparingly but sufficiently, and, declares that he “ renewed his youth.” Quite recently an interesting centenarian who had just attained his 10.2nd birthday confessed that he had been alwa'ys a trifle weakly, and -that, early in life, the doctors had given him only a few weeks to live, when they seemed to think he would be “ better dead.” He made up his mind, to cheat them This gentleman is Mr Joseph Carben Weld, who still presides at business meetings, can read without glasses, and is as alert as many a man half his age. Tasmania is supposed to be the healthiest spot in the Empire. At any rate a young officer of a British shipping company, at the age of 21 years, was told by the London .doctors that he had not a year to live. He went to Tasmania, the company granting him a pension. He drew that pension for 83 years, dying in Tasmania about 20 years ago, at the .great age of 104 years.