The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1875-04-08

commencing the Saturday before, will
long be remembered in Illinois, Missouri
and the States adjacent, being unpar-
alleled, even in the memory 0fthe "oldest
inhabitant."
On one of the prairies in the central
part of Illinois there had lived for many
years two brothers, Englishmen, quite
old and very misery.
For years they had suffered no one to
do anything for them, fearing the loss Of
something If they did, and allowed no
woman to enter their premises.
They attended to their own cooking,
and to such mending as their scanty
garments required to hold them together.
The manner in which they lived would
have led those but partially acquainted
with them to believe them objects of
charity, but their neighbors knew better.
These brothers lived in little log.
cabin on corner of another brothers
farm. They were known to own land,
and to receive money for work, wood and
produce; but as they rarely spent cent,
it followed that they must accumulate
money, though no evidence of it appeared
in their home and clothes.
At the time of this exceeding cold it
was observed that no smoke came from
their chimney; but as they had talked
of visiting relatives in a neighboring
county, it was supposed that they were
absent.
On Friday after Christmas two men,
passing the house, observed that some
thing was not right. On going to the
window they found it nailed, and on
trying the door it was found locked on
the inside. With difficulty they effected
an entrance through the window.
Upon going to the side of the pile of
rags the brothers used as a bed, the men
found one of the brothers lying there
dead under the scanty covering. He was
entirely dressed, with his fox-skin cap
upon his head. The other brother was
found in the attic, also dead, with the
exception of one shoe and stocking.
There was not morsel of cooked food
in the house, or even a match to light
fire, nor did the stove seem to have done
much duty for long time.
1t is supposed that they died on the
preceding Saturday night or Sunday
morning, when the thermometer marked
twenty-eight degrees below zero. They
persisted from Geld and starvation, with
uncooked food in the house and plenty
of wood in the yard. Their misery
habits would not allow them to provide
sufficient to support nature.
About the person of each was found a
little more than forty dollars in money,
and tied in little corner of their shirts
were bonds, securities and certificates of
bank stock amounting in one case to
about five thousand dollars and the other
seven thousand dollars!
Thus the misers died, heaping up
riches, not knowing who should gather
them, depriving themselves of the COM
mon comforts of life, starving body and
soul-and for what?
Another miser / knew when l was
a child; that is, have seen him, for he
was an old man then; and had heard
my grandmother tell many anecdotes of
him.
Grandmother said he was fine-look-
ing young lawyer when she first knew
him. He had pleasant ways, and was
exceedingly polite. Few young men
had better prospects of making their
way successfully in the world than he.
He became acquainted with widow
lady who was thirty or forty years older
than himself. She was well-to-do, and
owned much land, and lived on beau
tiful farm in handsome, we'll furnished
house.
This man made proposals of marriage
to her. Against the advice of her friends
she consented to marry him; but having
some misgivings, she one day said to
him:
81 am afraid you do not love me-"
ooh, yes" he replied; 81 love the
very ground you tread on"
Of course such q match was an I'M
happy one. She saw herself, in her old
age, deprived of every comfort. The
law gave her property entirely into the
hands of her husband. Though they
continued to live in her house, not cent
would he spend in any way upon either
buildings or farm.
1t is quite comfortable enough for
me, my DEAR" was his reply to any re-
monstrance on her part. He would not
even get the poor woman broom, an
swering her, however, with the utmost
suavity:
"YOu can do we'll enough without, my
dear. When the dirt becomes too an
noying, open the doors and let it blow
out"
One of his hired men, who found it
hard to get even the starvation wages he
was promised, asked him for little
money to buy comb.
"a combp said he, in apparent sur
prise; take off your hat and 60 through
the apple orchard; the limbs are low and
close enough to disentangle your hair"
Bat though his words were smooth, his
actions betrayed his heart.
One day his wife, who was getting old
and rather feeble, wished to 60 to town.
He saddled for her young horse, who
had several times been ridden on the
race-track, assuring her that the animal
was very gentle.
Calamity assisting her to mount, he
politely bid her "Good-by." Her road
to town passed the race-c0urse, and the
horse, in spite of all her efforts, rushed
upon the track, and took her round at
full speed, with her hair streaming and
her garments flying. She managed to
keep her seat, and at the end of the
third round contrived to get off the race
course, and rode safely to town, where
she quite astonished her friends by her
appearance. She was not permitted to
return as she came, but was taken home
in friends chaise.
OF course this brute grew wealthy.
He loaned money, and would take no Sc
curity except mortgages upon farms and
lands. He used to call this getting his
little tow-strings around them" The
tow-strings" often proved stout enough,
for If the money was not forthcoming on
the very day it was due, no appeal could
delay his foreclosure of the mortgage,
and he took possession of the land.
Though he often met with abuse and
reproaches, he never showed anger or
forgot his customary politeness.
One day woman met him in the
road. She planted herself squarely be-
fore him, and then, in full and forcible
language, expressed her opinion of him.
He stood and listened in the most def
erentiaI manner until shs ataod when