The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1852-02-11

gains! the IKE severity IN the ensuing wins
Ter. lie heard man pass the street with
wood to sell he haggled for an unconscious
able time about the price, and at last COM
pIeied his bargain.at the lowest possible rate
Avar ice had made the miser dishonest, and |
he stole from the poor woodman several logs. !
In his eagerness 10 carry them away, md
hide his III COTTON store. he ovcrheated his
blood, and prod uced fever For the first
time in lis life, he sent for a surgeon. i
wish 10 he hled,' said he, what is your
charge p Half livre,' was the reply. The
demand was deemed extortiorate, and the
surgeon was dismissed. He then sent for an
aroihecarv. but he was also considered too
'irh and he Al last sent for poor barber,
who agreed to open the vein for three pence
u time. But. my friend, said the caui iious
miser, how often will 1t be requisite to bleed
me = Thtee times replied The barber.
Three ,ime-7 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 oi three quarters Of "A million, 'iha:
will be ninepence TOO much, too much;
have determined togo cheaper way 10
work take the whole iwenty-four ounces al
once, and that will save me six-pence. =
The barber rcmonstroied, but the miser was
l. Ia 81
ber was only desirous to extort All extra SIX
pence, and he would moi submit 10 such
scandalous imposition. His vein was OPEN
ed aud four-and-twcnty ounces Of blood la
ken from him. In few days, Vandille, the
miser, was no more. The savings of hi, life,
the wages of his vice and avarice, were left to
the King of France.
a similar anecdoic is related Of Sir VIII
linn Smyih of Bedfor,lshire. He was i'm.
mensely rich, but most parsimonous in bis
habit4.
AT seventy years OF age he was entirely
deprived of his sight, and unable TO elon, o,
yer his boarded heaps Of gold this was a
terrible aflliction. lie WAS persuaded by
Taylor. the celebrated oculst, TO be couch.
ed. who was, by agreement. 10 have sixty
suineas if he restored bis patient 10 any de-
gree Of sighi.--Taylor succeeded in his op-
Grafton, and Sir William was enable 10 read
and write, wthoat the aid of spectacles, dur
lng the rest o. his life. But no sooner was
his sight restored, than the Baronet bcgar
to regret that the agreement had been for SC
large sum; he felt no Joy as others woul,
have felt, bu, grieved and sighed over thu
loss Of his sixty guineas His thoughts wcr,
now how TO cheat the oculs.. lie pretended
he had only glimmering. and could st,
nothing distinctly; for which reason, tn,
bandage on his eyes was continued montl
longer than the u.ual time. Taylor was de
ceived by these Interpretations, and agreed
TO compound the bargin and accepted twen
ty guneas, instead Of sixty. Yet Sir vii
liam was an cid bachelor, AMI had no one Il
care or provide for. AT the time Taylor at
tended him, he had large estate, an i'm
mense sum of money in stocks, and 81:
thousand pounds in the house.
Many yeaas ago, there lived in large
cherries and liapida.ed old honse in ST
Petersburg a miserable miser. He confn
ed himself 10 one room, ard lett the rest @
the rambling edfce tn moulder into ruin
he cared lor no comfort, and deprived him
self even Of those things which the poores
regard rs the necessaries oflife. He seldom
lit a fire TO repcl the dampness which hup
on the walls on his solitary chamber, and
few worthless objects of furniture were a
iha, The room contained Yet 10 this singu
lar being the Empress Catherine the Sec
ond owed million of rubles. His cellar,
is said. contained casks frl of gold,and pack
ages Of silver were slowed away in the di.
nal corners of his ruinous mansion. He wa
one OF The richest men in Russia. He re
lied for the safety OF his boards upon th
exerlions ci huge maslifl, which had bee
trained 10 bark and howl throughout tn
night strike terror into the hearts Of ,liieye
The miser ouilivcG the dog but he dislike
to part with any portion OF his treasures i
the purchase Of another cur and he rcsol, c
10 save his money by officiating as his ow
watch dog. Every morning and evenin
would that insane old man wander about h
dismal hSbitaiion, barking ard bowling /
mi 'ation of his recent sentinel.
a miser of the name of Foscue, who ha
amassed enormous wealth, by the most sol
did parsmony, and the most dscreditabl
extortion, wasrequesied by The governmer
10 advance sum of money, as a loan. Th
miser. to whom fair interest was n
indueement sufficiently strong to enabl
him 10 part with his treasured gold, declare
bis incaPaciiy 10 meet this demand he plea
ed severe losses, and the utmost royert,
Fearing, however, that some Of his neigl
bors, among whom he was very unpopua
would report his immense wealth to the go,
ernment, he applied his ingenuity to disco,
er some efIecIual way of hiding his gol,
should they attempt to institute search
ascertain the ruth or lalsehood of his plea
With care and secrecy he dug deep cav,
in his cellar to this receptacle for hi' treas
ure he descended by ladder, and to tn
trap door attached spring lock, so that o
shutting il would fasten itself BY and b
the miser disappeared inquiries wer
made the house was searchedi woods wer
explored. and The ponds were dragged, bu
no Foscue could they find and gossip ae