The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1880-04-09

er who lodged for thirty years in one
gloomy apartment, which was never bright
ened up by coal OF candle light or the face Of
a visitor; who never treated man, woman,
or child to glass Of any kind Of liquor; who
almost never eat a morsel at his own eX-
pense who never said civil thing to a wo-
man who would not trust a laundress with
a pocket-handkerchief who considered all
must be mad or foolish who did not pile up
gold and who tried to bargain for his coffin
half an hour before he died. He left two
thousand four hundred and seventy-five
pounds todistant relations, not one Of whom
he had ever seen OF written to. The list of
his wearing-apparel taken by wag in the
neighborhood, ran thus "An old bald wig.
a hat as soft as a pancake. Two shirts that
might pass for fshing-nets. 4 pair Of stock
ings darned with every color. y pair Of old
sandals y bedstead. \ toothless comb
\ very old almanac. One old chair and
wretched table. 4 small looking-g glass. And
a leathern bag with one guinea in it,
A miser of even more penurious habits
than Mr.. Pett was Mr.. Daniel Dancer, who
was born in 17l6, and vas the eldest of four
children. His father lived on Harrow Weald
Common, near Harrow -on-the- Hill, where he
possessed property TO a very considerable
amount, which his son Daniel, by a most de-
termined and whimsical abstemiOusness, in
creased to upward of three thousand per
annum The childhood Of Daniel Dancer
passed without anything remarkable. 1t
was only when he had attained hi, majority
that he began to display a Saving knOwl
edge perfectly incredible. He had a sister
whose disposition agreed perfectly with his
own, and as they lived together many years,
their stories are necessarily connected, and
would furnish the most melancholy instance
of the infrmity and folly Of human nature.
Mr. Dancers wardrobe might justly boast
more colors, textures, and substances than
the garments Of a company of strolling play
ers, and vet Notwithstanding his curious
patching, his garments often failed to cover
his skin, though he strove to keep all together
by strong hay cord around his waist. Linen
was luxury to which, in spite of his avarice,
he was not wholly a stranger; for at an ear
" period Of his life he used to buy two shirts
every year; but for some time before his
death he never allowed himself more than
one. After this shirt got into his possession
it was doomed to hang upon his back till it
fell off in rags, never being either washed OF
mended After his sisters death. pair of
sheets as black as soot-bags were discovered
upon the beds but these Mr.. Dancer would
never suffer to be removed; and when they
We're at length worn out, they were never
replaced so that after that time he Teiin-
quished the use of linen to sleep in. He
never would allow any one to make his bed
and at the time of his death it was observed
to be filled with sticks which he had stolen
from different hedges. His room was not
swept for many years.
Mr.. Dancers ingenuity in cOncealing his
money was most wonderful His bank notes
were usually deposited with Che spiders
they were laid among the cobwebs in the
cow house, and his guineas were placed in
holes in the chimney and about the fire
place. The house, or rather the heap of
ruins, in which Mr.. Dancer lived and which
after his death Captain Holmes succeeded to,
was miserable decayed building, dreadful
in its external appearance, FOR it had not
been repaired for more than half century.
+ But though poor in outward appearance, the
ruinous fabric was rich in the interior. 1t
took many weeks to explore its contents.
/ One of the richest escritoircs was found 10 be
/ a dung-heap in the cOw-house, from which a
/ sum little short of two thousand five hundred
pounds was disinterrcd and in an Old jack
ct, carefully tied and strongly nailed down
to the manger, were found in bank notes
/ and gold five hundred pounds more. Several
large bowls filled with guineas half guineas,
and quantities Of silver were discovered at
different times in searching the corners Of
the house. and various parcels of bank notes
7 stuffed into Old cushions and chairs. In the
stable Captain Holmes found some jugs OF
silver money. The chimney was not left
unsearched, and well repaid the trouble, foI
in nineteen different holes, all filed with
SCOT, were found various sums of money
amounting to more than two hundred pounds
And to finish up with, six hundred pounds il
bank notes vas found in an old teapot
Thus living wretchedly, and dying with no
one vestige of comfort, Daniel Dancer and
his miserly sister furnish to al future gen
erationS an illustration of the extreme o.
penuriouSness.
An extraordinary character lived some
twenty years ago in a small Scotch town OF
the Firth of Forth His name was Joe Tay
. lor. He occupied a miserable hovel, ant
wandered abroad over the country buyin
rags, cid bones, etc, bundles Of which wer
carried by poor starved ass, the sole livin
creature belonging to him. The only foo,
/, he allowed this wretched quadruptd was tn
t grass that grew at the side Of the roads i
2 their many wandeTings, or a bundle of forag
E abstracted from some farm-place Taylor
food consisted of whatever he could beg
borrow or steal-a few turnips lifted froI
/ the fields. some mussels or other sheilfis
t laboriously gathered on the shore, broke
e victuals from the houses of the rich, old cal
D bage stalks-anything in short, that wOul
e stop the cravings Of naturally healthy al
f petite. Living near the shore, Joe made
I point of watching for wreckage OF any sor
f and it was a happy day for him when an
i floating cargo made its appearance on th
e beach One day great excitement preyailC
Il among the fisher people. The surface OF q
d waves was covered for some distance wi
e quantities of apples, probably part Of son
n wreck The inhabitants plunged into u
( sea, securing as many as they could b
a were outdone by Joe, who with greedy e
r. cerness managed to clutch peck or tw
,r which he sold ne vt day in the town. Aft
ID his death, which was fastened by a yiolc
X cold caught in an unusually long ramble, ]
d hut was searched, and in various holes al
n. corners money to a considerable amount W
TO found-not less than eighty pounds in a
n In a corner OF the hoyel, under a stone Of {
st uneven and broken floor, were found
Id fewer than three dozen silver spoons of
ot sorts and sizes, discolored with damp a