The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-06-23
SOME GREAT MISERS.
Remarkable English Skinfiints-What
: Hopkins Learned of Guy-How the Ell
weses Economised.


or lives in abject wretchedness, while
possessing sufficient money to enable him
to live in comfort, and even aff1uence.
History records many such instances,
where
''The miser true
Staryes midst his plenty, from the slav
ish fear
OF wasting what he heaps"
Thomas Guy, the founder of the hos
pital in London bearing his name, lived
in the meanest manner, dreading to
spend penny on his personal comfort.
He used to sit in the dark when the sun
went down because he would not pur-
chase candles. In winter he went to bed
at shutdown to save fuel and often he
had been known to creep into the area
way of some large mansion to catch a
little fugitive warmth from the kitchen.
Yet he endowed Guys Hospital in the
sum of nearly a million and quarter
dollars One of his friends was the noto-
rious miser, John Hopkins, wealthy
London merchant, who earned the sobri
quet Of "Vulture'' through his rapacity
The acquaintance began in a strange,
but characteristic manner. Hopkins
paid an evening visit to Guy. On en-
tering the room, Guy lighted a farthing
rushlight, and desired TO know the object
of the gentleman visit, secretly hoping
that it related to some new investment at
large interest.
81 have been told,'' said Hopkins,
"that. you, sir, are better versed in the
prudent art of saving than any man now
living and I therefore wait upon you
for a lesson in frugality, an art in which
/ used to think excelled but am told by
all who know you that you are greatly
my superior"
I "And is that all you came about
asked Guy. "Why then we can talk this
matter over in the dark" Upon which
he Immediately extinguished his newly
lighted farthing rushlight. That was
lesson for Hopkins. He rose up and ac-
knowledged that Guy possessed superior
methods of thrift. Never afterwards did
Hopkins burn candle in the evening.
This miser interested himself in politics,
and Pope vented his spleen in this coup
let:
"When Hopkins dies, thousand lights
attend
The wretch who living saved candies
end"
When Hopkins died it was found that
he had left his wealth, amounting to
81, 500, 900, to relatives, but they could not
touch it until the second generation. He
added an explanatory note to the effect
that 1'they would then be as long in
spending it as he had been in getting it. "
It has often been said that there have
never been three successive generate ons
of misers, but in the case of the famous
English miser, Daniel Dancer, it could be
truly said that grandfather, father and
all the children were strictly entitled to
the appellation of misers. OF the family
Daniel was the most famous. In 1876,
when twenty years old, he succeeded to a
large estate, which brought him an in
: come of $50, 000 year. He would often
go without food, unless he could beg it,
and his daily additions were performed
at neighboring pool. He dried himself
in the sun, so saving himself the cost of
a towel. He was so afraid of being
robbed that he nailed up his doors, and
b q
after him, entered his house by an upper
window. But with all his precautions,
he was robbed fourteen times, the amount
stolen being valued at $4,000.
When his sister died she left him all her
wealth. which doubled his income. Out
of gratitude to her. he assured his friends
that he should wear mourning. He
searched the stores for several days, and
at last bought a pair of second hand
stockings of a rusty black, which consti-
tlted his only mourning garb. Lady
: Tempest often gave him food and cast-off
clothing before she knew his wealth. At
forwards she continued the donations,
but spoke to him about his manner of
living, and urged him to give up his
misery habits and partake of proper food
and wear decent clothing. He listened
to her advice, but so long as she fed him
and gave him old cloth ing he took no
heed, and went on in his old way. Dur
ing his last sickness Lady Tempest nursed
him, and contracted disease from which
she died a few months later. Dancer be-
queathed her his copyhold estates, worth
about 5000 year. 1t was the only
time he had ever shown any gratitude.
His fear of thieves led him to find
strange hiding places for his money.
When the executors searched the house, a
task which occupied several weeks, they
found in an old teapot bank notes worth
pO,OOO. LII b1lC was 81 ,OUU, DuU
the dung heap in the COW shed was the
richest safe, for they found there nearly
S12, 500; in jacket nailed to manager
they discovered in gold and bank notes
81, 500. His only enjoyment in life was
the boarding of money, his chief pleasure
and amusement in counting his boards
He starved himself, and shivered all
through the winter. having a fire only
when he,could get some logs of wood from
the forest He spent days in walking
along the roads to find bits of iron and
horseshoes, which he sold to neighboring
blacksmiths, many buying from him
worthless things, because they believed he
was starving.
'The base miser starves amidst his store,
Broods DER his gold, and gripping still at
more,
Sits sadly pining and believes he's poor. Z"
The name of John Elves has become
proverbial in the annals of misery
avarice ELVES was the son of London
brewer, named Meggot, who died when
his son was only four years old. His
mother was an ELVES, the sister of Sir
Harvey ELVES who was himself a niser.
Johns mother was possessed of large
property left by her husband, but she
nearly starved herself to death, and only
4hrorIoh the interpOSition of neiUhhO rS