Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1888-08-11
Not Often Accompanied with Money Max
Ing Faculties.
Some Stories OF Eccentric Isaac Adams

marx would hold equally true there. | have
reference to the rule-not the exception and
was considering it specially in its application
to the inventive spirit of the age"
The scribe ventures to speak of Edison
and Howe, of Webb and Bell, but the citizen
shut MIN off with the decided assertion
Those are the exceptions. They have
met with success and attracted the attention
of the public. They are the illustrious lights
that gathered strength and brilliancy in field
where thousand others have gone out. 1t is
fact that single illustrious success
in almost any department of life gathers
much of force from a background of failure.
| was thinking particularly of this while
looking at this press. 1t is undoubtedly one
Of the finest ever invented and its use marks
an era in the progress of printing. You see
/ II bears the name Isaac Adams the man who
presumably brought it into existence from
his own mind and made it a power and a
permanency in the production of literary
works Now have been told far different
story by the neighbOrs of Mr.. Adams. They
say this really beautiful press capable of
doing such fine book work was invented by a
man whose name was never known beyond
the limits of his own little town and who died
demented and pauper. This man | am in
formed evolved the principles and drew
the plans of this press. BY some means they
came into the possession of Mr.. Adams and
while his name became a familiar one in the
land and riches poured in upon him, the man
whose original and inquiring mind gave birth
forgotten and left to die in abject want-an
object of curiosity"
"Well those cases are not so very rare
Not so rare as they should be 1t is hard
to tell what this unfortunate man would have
done had he lived, and obtained the wealth
that came from this invention. In the
hands of Isaac Adams it did nobody any
particular good. This eccentric man lived
up to the time of his death year or two ago
in the town of Sandwich, New Hampshire at
a place called the Lower Corner. Here his
eccentric actions caused him to be the talk
of the whole region. He was very disspated
aud his domestic relations were said to be far
from happy, but, in spite of this, he man
aged to keep his spirits up, by putting the
spirits down-which he did in considerable
quantities.
1t must have impaired his activity"
mo, it rather stimulated his Imagination"
"What did he do that so very eccen-
tric?"
Among other things he built around his
farm a high wall of ine cut granite faced
upon both sides. This wall was between
eight and ten feet high and extended con
siderable distance into the ground This
wall was built throughout in as fine shape as
the foundation of any building in the town.
1t was beautiful work, and must have taken
some thousands of Mr. Adams dollars. At
one place he had a gate the sides of
which were built up to considerable
height to serve as the bases for two beauti-
full marble statues. One of these was Niobe
and her children and the other think was
Apollo. They were standing in July when
| drove BY there in an excellent state Of
preservation. They are a genuine work of
art and must have cost considerable money.
one would naturally expect such beautiful
work as this to be near a mans residence,
but where do you suppose Adams had those
statues placed:'
Give it up"
We'll down behind his stable at con-
siderable distance from his house on the
corner of a cross road-about as wild a place
as there is in town. The gate beside which
they stand was made to permit teams to go
to and from the stable-or perhaps from its
size-it should be called barn"
1t must appear odd
''Well assure you it does. shall never
forget my surprise when after driving
through strip of woods | came suddenly
upon this wall with its guardian statues. 1t
seemed a little the closest combination
Of high art and mature unadorned which
had ever seen
Surely Adams could not have been in
his right mind"
Well, it is hard to tell. He was frequently
up for office but was far from popular with his
fellow citizens. Finally he vowed he'd ruin
the whole town of Sandwich, and turn it back
again into bowling wilderness, as dense as
that which greeted the first settlers in the
DAYS of Chocorua and his dusky people
Did he succeed"
"Well, not exactly, although he did con-
siderable in that line.
How did h go about it?'
ellis method was to buy up every farm he
could secure and board up the door and win
dows of the buildings and plant the fields
with trees For some reason he extended
his spite to the adjoining town of Moulton-
boro person driving through these towns
is astonished at the vast number of deserted
farms, grown up with tangled thickets of
scrub pine. whose boarded doors and win
dows look disconsolate enough. An inquiry
of some resident is sure to call forth anath
amas on the head of Isaac Adams. He in
iured these towns to an extent which it will
take years to repair"
Now that Adams is dead these farms will
probably be occupied again, will they not2"
Probably although the condition in which
thev now are will necessarily make the pro-
cess of resurrection a slow one"
well that's only one illustration of my
rule, and could give you several others,
Did YOU know that one of the finest inven-
tons of this generation was originated and
put into shape by young man who is now
working his way through a Maine college
and who realized very little financially from
his invention? Well its fact He
related the whole story to me a few months
ago and showed me his original draughts
If can get his permission will write it up
| for the readers of the Journal.