The Plymouth pilot. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1851-1852, 1851-10-15
NANDILLE THE MISER.


found among the eccentric biographeys of
France His riches were immense, and
his avatice and parsimony extreme. He
hired miserable garret in one of the
most obscure parts of Paris, and paid
poor woman a sous a-day to wait upon
him. Except once week, his diet was
never changed; bread and milk for break
fast; :he same for dinner, and the same
for supper. all the week round. On
Sunday. he ventured TO indulge in glass
of sour wine, and he strove TO satisfy the
cOmpunctions of conscience, by bestow-
ing in Charity. farthing every Sabbath.
This muhific cence. which incurred an cx
penditufe of one shilling and penny per
annum, he carefully noted down; and
just before his death he found, with some
degree of regret, that during his life he
had disbursed no less that forty-three
shillings and fourpence. FOrty-three
shillings and fourpence! prodigious gen.
erosity for the richest man in France!-
Vandille had been a magistrate at Bou
lOgne, and whilst in that office, he partly
maintained himself, free of cost, by con.
stituting himself milk-taster general at
the market. He wOald MUNICH his scrap
Of bread. and wash it down with these
gratuitous draughts. By such parsimo-
nious articles, and a most penurious
course of life, he succeeded in amassing
an enormous fortune and was in posi-
tiOn to lend vast sums of money to the
French Government. When he had Oc-
casion to journey from Boulogne to Paris,
he avoided the expenses of coach fare, by
proceeding on foot; and lest he should
be robbed, he never carried more than
three-pence in his pocket, although he
had distance of hundred miles before
him. If he found this sum insufficient,
he would profess poverty, and beg from
the passengers on the road, trifle to
helo him on. In the year 1885, Vandil-
le, the miser. was worth nearly eight
hundred thousand pounds! He used to
boast that this vast accumulation sprang
from single shilling. The winter of
the year 1884 had been very cold and bit
ter, and the miser felt inclined to pur-
chase little extra fuel in the summer
time, TO provide, to some extent, against
the like severity in the ensuing winter.
He heard man pass the street with wood
to sell; he haggled for an unconscionable
time about the price, and at last COM
pleted the bargain, at the lowest possi-
bic rate Avarice had made the miser
dishonest, and he stole from the poor
wOodman several logs. In his eagerness
to carry them away, and hide his i'll got
ten store, he Over-heated his blood, and
produced fever. For the first time in
his life, he sent for surgeon. II wish
to be bled," said he, "what is your
charger" Half livre,' was the reply.
The demand was deemed extOrtionate,
and the surgeon was dismissed. He
then sent for an apo!hecary, but he was
also considered too high; and he at last
sent for poor barber who agreed to open
the vein for threepence Time.
But, friend said the cautious miser,
'hOw often will it be requisite to bleed
me?' Three times replied the barber.
Three times? and pray what quantity of
blood do you intend to take from me at
each operation?' About eight ounces
each time, was the answer. Let me |
see,' said the possessor of three quarters
Of million, that will be ninepence: too
much-too much | have determined to
so a cheaper way to work; take the
whole twentyfour ounces at once, and
that will save me sixpence.' The barber
demonstrated, but the miser was firm; he
was certain, he said, that the barber was
only desirouS to extort an extra sixpence.
and he would not submit to such scanda
lous imposition. His vein was opened,
and four and twenty ounces of blood
were taken from him. In few days,
Vandville the miser was no more. The
savings of his life, the wages of his vice
and avarice, he left to the King of
France.