Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1856-05-24
q MN KoluntariIu in BED for F0T.

q Man T0tAnfdTHg !" nc" JO
fy.nins Years.-I'ue last London HIS
,Ta,cd News has the following -
On Friday. the 7yh inst, were cohSi}n'
ed to their GnaI resting place, III The
church.ysrd of KcighIey, Yorkshire 'ie
mortal remains of one Of tie most ertFn-
rrjc individuals that ever lived ia fact a
parallel seems scarcely possible. o! . man
voluntarily G i0g to he'd IL good hea''n'
and remaining mere for p~riod 81 tory
nine wears lie vent by TIE r"-"o ne.
of "O!d Three aps" in the urighho'h.'' e,
but his real naue was William Sharpe.
He lived in an insulated. house calico
/" WotIds," lprobably an abbrevia'lon OF!
"WorId's End'') not far fom Bral'nwaiIe
in the parish of KeighIey. lie was me
son of a small farmer, born l717. and
from an early age showed lille pEedisPo-
silion TO steady work. When thr'v Years
of age he took to his bed and the room
which he never left ill carried thence an
The day of his funeral. The cause OF this
extraordinary conduct is believed 10 Lave
been matrimonial disappointment; ms
wedding day was fixed, accompanied by a
friend he wendell his Nay Down 10 Ike
parish church, and there patiently await
ed the arrival of his bride elect ; but she
never came; her father having sterniy and
steadily refused his consent. HencelOrth
the young man consigned himself to a
small room, nine feet square, with the de-
termination Of spending the remainder OF
his existence between The blankets
which resolution he kept mes! untlinch-
ingly.
At the time of Shapes desth, the win.
dow OF his room had never been opened
70. dirty eight years In this dreary
abode did this strange being immure HIM
self. lie constantly refused TO speak 10
any one, and, il spoken to, never answer
ed; even those " ho were his constant al
PENDANTS. His father, by his will, made
provision for the temporal wants OF his
eccentric son, and so secured him con-
slant attendant. During the whole perl
cd of this self-imposed confinement, he
never had any serious illness, The only
case of disposition those about HIM can
remember being slight loss of appetite
Tor two or three days, caused apparently
by indigestion, and this notwithstanding,
lie ale on the average as much as any
farm laborer Though arrived at the age
of seven,y.nine years, his flesh was firm,
fair, and unwrnked, save with fat, and
his weight was estimated a! about 24O
pounds. The curious used TO come from
lar and vide to see him, but whenever q
stranger was ushercd into his den, lie i'm.
medialeIy buried his head beneath the
bed clothes. Abont a week before his
death bis appetite began TO fail, and his
limbs became partially benumbed, so THAI
lie could not take his food in MS accus-
toned manner. From ibis attack he
seemed to rally, and not until the evening
before his deals we've any approximations
that the attack would prove
fatal. However, during the
night Of Sunday, the 2nd inst, he became
rapidly worse, and died at four the fol-
lowing morning. Shortly before he eX-
pired, he was heard to exclaim-"P"Or
BiIl-Poot Bill Poor Bill Sharpe -
the most connecting sentence he had been
known 10 utter for many year.