The Lancet appears to believe that a case of unprecedented
age capable of verification has at last been discovered. At present the highest age known capable of absolute proof is 106, at which Lady Smith died a few years since. It is affirmed, however, that at Auberine en Royans, a village near Grenoble, an old woman is living who is " authentically " known to be 123, and who is proved by certificates to have been married ninety-nine years ago last January. She had a son killed at the battle of Friedland, in 1807, who must, therefore, have been born, at the very least, ninety-three years ago. The local doctor, Dr. Bonne, believes in her; but we notice that she is practically supported by popular curiosity about her age, and has, therefore, every temptation to exaggerate. As she has her certificates, which could not have been forged, the real question is one of identity. Is she the person to whom the certificates were given, or the daughter, or a much younger sister? It is astounding, in cases of extreme age, when three generations of contemporaries have passed away, how inexact local evidence becomes.
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