Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-08-27
A MILLIONAIRE HERMIT.
He Has Lived Five Years on a
 Yacht at Anchor.
BAYARD BROWNS STRANGE LIFE.
Ills IIoat Is Swung at Anchor or a Little English Fishing Village He Amuses Himself by Heating His Sailors and Squirting Water on Them.

English Fishing Village - He Amuses
 Himself by Beating His Sailors and
 Squirting Water on Them.
 NEW YORK, Aug. 27.-The Sun says today:
 ing in tho strange history to n self ex- patriatcd American, whose life for tho last seven years is m astonishing record of luxury and ecccntricity. It is a story so extraordinary that 1t would command little credence without proof, but it's strangost features have been easily verifi- cd by The Suns London correspondent.
 The hermitage of tho remarkable man concerned is one of the finest steam yachts in European waters Five years ago the Vnlfreyia dropped anchor in the half shel- sered harbor of Brightlingscaa n sleepy fish ing village on the Essex coast of England, at the mouth of the river Colne. For five years the Valfreyia has tugged at her an chor chains in the samo spot and has sunk gradually lower in the water as the gath ering load of barnaclcs on her steel hull has dragged her down.
 Five Years at Anchor.
 For four years she was constantly man- ned by n large crcw. and tho American flag floated daily above her stern. Now she Is inhabited only by her owner, who
  part of the the time, and nobody any lon ger takes the trouble to fly the stars and stripes from the accustomed place.
 The owner of the Nalfreyia is McEvers Bayard Brown of this city, generally known as Bayard Brown. Tho people of Brightlingsea refer to him as the Amer ican millionaire" and they havs good renson to be grateful to him for gifts and charities so lavish and indiscrIminate that Nhsaf fs,xN ta sNFz any eccentricities the giyer may commit. The Valfreyia herself has earned the name of the guardship" by her faithful vigil of the coast.
 Bayard Brown Is n man of striking ap- pearance-large, powerfully built and full of energy. His head and face arc almost leonine, and the expression of his dark, heavily bearded countcnance is by turns genial and fierce. He Is scarcely I5 years old. Of his history previous to his sudden appearance five years ago with tho Val frcyia the people of Brightlingsea know little. His peculiar life since then Is their constant theme of talk and gossip. When he purchased the Valfreyia, Mir. Brown had just completed a cruise of nearly two years in the far east and other out of tho way corners of the world upon another yacht, which. 1t is said, ho sold to ono of the brothers of the present emperor of Russia.
 Fitted Like Palace.
 He bought tho Valfrcyia of Sir VII liam Pearce of the well known firm of Scotch shipbuildrrs. The price paid was about $200. 900 The boat was then near ly now and was named the Lady Torfrida She was and Is n splendid craft and ono 1 of tho most sumptuOusly appointed yachts afloat She registers 135 tons. Her decks are of Indian teak, she Is fit ted throughout with electric lights, and her saloon, ladies' cabin and statc and smoking rooms arc of princcly character. Tachtsmen who have gono through the Valfreyia describe her n craft fit for an emp mperor.
 | Until the last few months the Eaifroyih | was constantly manned by n large crew, | including master, two deck officers three engineers, carpenter, four stew | ards, thr,c cooks and n doctor, besides a | full complement of seamen and firemen. | The expense of her maintenance when thus equipped was fully $i, 900 n month. | The number of men who have served in one capacity or another on the strange | ship Is large. Changes among tho crew were very frequent. Those who sought service upon her found three peculiar con ditions of employment at the outset-flrst, very high wages wcre paid by her liberal | owner; second, no ono who had ever wis ited America could secure an engagement; third, every applicant must furnish satis- factory assurance that he was not n wom- an in disguise.
 At first his eccentricitics wcre of n mild form. He would occasionally go among | tho crow with n stick and beat the mon. | Then Inc bought n big tin squirt gun. | with which he used to squirt water at the | bewildorcd sailors frum unlocked for places. flo has spent thousands of dol. lars in charity among the people of the little English village
 He has now discharged all but two or | thrce of his crew. and often hc remains alone for days at n time on his vessel. even doing his own cooking. His ecccn. tricities are plainly approaching a crisis, | and even the simple folks of Brightling. sea arc wondering what will be the end Oi the American millionaire"