Connecticut western news., 1890-01-29
HATED BY EVERYBODY
A MAN WHO ABUSED HIS EEL. LOW MEN.
Nobody Dared Attend His Wife's Flu
 neral.

Nobody Dared Attend His Wife's Flu l neral.
 A man who never was known to agree with anybody was just buried by hired mourners at Greenwood, says the New York Sun. His name was Henry J. Irving, and he lived for years in social ostracism upon farm which he owned about two miles from Engle- wood, N. J. He was nearly 70, but he lived entirely alone, because it was impossible for any one to abide in peace under the same roof with him. | He died as he had lived, neglected and alone, his dead body being found by 8 neighbor last Friday upon the back stoop of his house, where he had ex- pired probably about fifteen hours be- 1 fore.
 In his early manhood Henry J. 1rv- ing was a lawyer of repute i'll New York. Little is known of his early career beyond the fact that he was at first successful and popular and that he was at one time member of the Legislature, representing one of the city Assembly districts. Something led him to abandon his profession and soured his whole life. No one among his neighbors of the past thirty or forty years knows what drove him
 from the city to the obscurity of farm
 life, but certain it is that never within
 their memory has this eccentric man been at pence with his fellowmen. Quarrels were of his persistent seeking
 with all with whom he came in con-
 tact, until he was avoid~d as carefully
 by the people around about as though he were afflicted with plague.
 About five years ago his wife,
 good woman, died suddenly. She
 was much respe ted by her neighbors
 yet such was the dread of Irving'i
 quarrelsome temper that no enc at.
 tended the funeral, for fear the old man might take it into his head to drive them out with pitchfork. He
 had been known to do such things on
 more than one occasion. The husband
 was compelled to hire pail bearers tc
 assist in the obsequies, and to go with
 him to his wife's grave. His spirit
 was in no degree softened by his
 wife's death. He seemed rather tc
 grow more. bitter and violent in hii
 last years. Every man he looked upor
 as his personal enemy; every mar
 was a thief and robbar in his eyes
 He was not a miser; but he was
 grasping in money affairs. He never
 paid bill of any description without
 first heaping a torrent of abuse upor
 his creditor. Naturally everybody avoided doing business with him.
 He assumed a peculiar and some
 what ostentatious piety. He some times prayed in public in a conspicuous
 fashion. One of his neighbors did hi teaming for Linn, but he hadn't tn, courage to present bill for the worl oftener than once year. On one oc
 casion he called with his bill just a Irving sat down to supper. The o.t man paid no attention to his caller unti he had said grace, ceremony tha
 consumed nearly half hour. Thel he asked what was wanted, and thu bill was handed to him. Irving jumped to his feet and cursed the man with
 storm of the rankest blasphemy tha could come from a mans lips. HI
 raved until he was out of breath winding up with profane declaration , that he would never pay the bill. Tn . neighbor turned to go.
 "Hold on, you good-for-nothinl
 thief, what are you going for?' shout
 ed Irving.
 "You say you won't pay the bill, s } thought would be getting along, } replied the man.
 8 "Yes, I will pay it, and then don you ever let me see your face again, l and the old man handed over tn r money, while his creditor again starte' l to go.
 Q "Come back, you dirty Dutch thief, g thundered Irving. s'Did you thinl 7 you were going to get away withou , giving me receipt?" 8 "I didn't know you thought it neces : sary," suggested the long -sufferin = caller.
 e "Do you suppose I'd trust you 0 anybody else? All men are thieves, n and the ex-member of the bar went 8 his desk and laboriously drew up flu e legal release from all claims, which h d compelled his neighbor to sign befor g he would allow him to depart. It wa o not long before he applied to the sam y man to do some more work for him. Il Irving's last public exploit was hi }. violent opposition some time ago to tn @ use of 8 schoolhouse in his neighbol ). hood by Episcopalians for services o IS Sunday afternoons. He made thing e SO warm for everybody concerned ths e the services were abandoned becaus h of the annoyance which his denunc t. ation caused.