The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1865-03-04

az
singular Life and Death Of Mi.
ser.
| On Saturday morning, William Nell
vaine, somewhat well-known miser, was
found dead in his room. in the premises
corner Of Duane and Rose streets. The
circumstances connected with his history
and life are extraordinarily remarkable,
and reveal phase in which human nature
seldom reveals itself. McIlvaine, 1t APP
pears, was born in New Jersey, and was
probably only thirty five or forty years Of
age at the time of his death. He was very
| respectfully connected, his father being a
man of some property but his own miser-
" habits, and apparent choice of such q
filthy style otliving as would be misery to
other persons, appear to have peperated
him from those who would have been his
friends.
The miser had sort Of a dungeon-room
| used to sleep at night, and from whence he
would sally forth every day and collect
from the streets sucn bits of old junk, hats
aud the Like, as be could repair or turn to
account in any way. Hewas also noted
connoisseur in old and rare books, ana
would spend much time in the various
Old booh stores looking over and sonae-
times buying the Oldest he could find
He never seemed so happy as when be
found some ancient time dating back for
hundreds Of years, and could take it to his
SOLITARY room and pursue it by the light of
. tallow dip. The booksellers who knew
him generally regarded him as . mono
mlanac on the subject Of old books.
The miserable room be occupied was in
brick building used for some kind Of
factory, and the landlord keeps grocery
on the corner. McIlvaipe repeatedly
boosted to him that he owned q large NUM-
Der OF houses in Laurens street, aud that
ing old hats that he would collect on his
daily expeditions. It is stated that the
Laurens street property is in litigation,
and that about 81, 900 worth depends upon
the issue Of the suit. Notwithstanding his
boosted wealth, the grocery keeper repeat
eddy assisted him, out Of pity for his mis-
cradle condition: and finally finding that
threatened to report him to the Board of
Charities aud Correction, aud have him
provided with q better home on the Island,
as pauper. From that time the. recluse
lived almost entirely to himself, asking
neither favors nor assistance from any hui
man being. On Friday morning he was
known not to come down as usual to pro-
coed with his regular business during the
day, but it being known that be had been
somewhat indisposed for some time, no
particular notice was taken Of it. On Sat-
urday morning the proprietor of the gro
cory store resolved to investigate the con-
ditiOn of affairs. He went to the stairs
and called repeatedly the name Of the de-
ceased, but no one answered. he then
yentured the remark that there must be
Something wrong, and he feared to go into
the room. Subsequently another party
went in, and found McIlyaine lying dead.
The fact was reported to the police and the
coroner notified.
+ Our reporter visited the scene on Satur.
day. To get to the room it was irst ueces-
sary to ascend q fight of stairs over the
sidewalk. On reaching the second story q
sort OF ladder was to be climbed, and ter.
minating 1t the top at a sort of hall or lob
by. Turning to the right through dark
oor ny .c s was sn sn
trance to the miser's den. This den. rs it
may very appropriately be called, was
about ten feet wide aud fourteen feet long,
with low walls and such huge piles Of rub
bisn that man could not stand upon them
without bending to avoid the wall. There
was no window, and the darkness and dus-
| tiness was so dense that the lantern of the
accompanying policeman could hardly il
animate the place. The sight was of such
squalor aud death il wretche<iness as Is sol.
dom looked upon. About two yards from
the door the deceased lay, completely ma
ked, upon a pile OF Old .iunla,of all dsscrip-
tons. There was no bed in the room, nor
furniture Of any description, except .
small stove in the corner, with its pipe
passed through the ceiling, and . snuffy
tallow-dip that the miser had used to illu.
inmate bis voluntary misery. There was
perhaps nearly q tou of rubbish OF all de-
scriptions.. Old papers, pamphlets and
| Mo 49, n hoSSA
hats, scraps Of tin and rusty stove pipes,
old tones with heavy leather and wooden
covers, and others without binding, all GOV.
cred with dust and dirt, spiders, reaches.
and miscellaneous vermin, while rats were
scampering to and fro, or boldly approach
ing near to the visitors, as if conscious Of
encroachment upoLNheir own domain, and
squealing loudly in every direction. The
appearance of the body was somewhat Pc
cuIiar. There were no evidences Of death
by starvation. The body had an sshen col.
or, and laying on the pile Of junk, the head
was some eight inches lower than the feet.
This was said to be the same position in
was one containing an old Trojan poem
Another poem on Hector and Priam, and q
curious old volume illustrating literary
taste in the Elizabethan era from 1875 to
1908. Near him was the burnt.out stump
of y candle, and copy of the Gentleman's
Magazine Of l745. which evidently was the
last he perrsed, part OF . page having been
somewhat burned. This burning must
have taken place before his death, and he
must have extinguished the tame, as 9TH
erwise the place would have been fired like
so much finder. Our reporter was warned
by the swarms of vermin not to investigate
matters any further, aud speedily retired
from the room.-N. Y. World.
The Are 81 Parties.
In reply to some inflated pretensions Of
antiquity that Senator Salisbury, OF Della.
ware, set. up for the Democratic party,
Senator Doolittle, Of Wisconsin, gave the
following facts in the case:
Now, / say to my honorable friend from
Delaware, that the Democratic party by
name is q party Of very modern origin. !
remember long. before it was born; was