The Worcester spy., 1898-10-23

of him whose lonely life came to a
close within Its barren walls, Thursday
afternoon.
Like the barren, bleak, architectural
wreck of better days, the life of John
Frank Bates, the Leicester hermit, was
a physical, a social wreck, appalling in
its awfulness. For years the hermit
of Leicester has been one of the GU
riositleS Of that town, to be talked of
with visiting friends, but never ap-
preached in a social manner The pub
lie, the great all-powerful public, sim
ply wondered how a man could live as
the man lived, ard when he died they
wondered how a man could die as this
man died, and, turning to another page
in their newspapers, read with keenest
interest of the rise or fall of wheat and
the condition Of tha- markets general
~.
John Bates never had any near
neighbors, the nearest living about a
mile from mis- lonely house, but those
he had knew very little Of the man
He had little use for the world and he
found, as all men of that stamp find
that the busy, money y-making world
had little use for him. Very few could
say that they actually knew the man.
and his life was a lonely one, indeed.
Coming Of a good family, Bates came
to Leicester when a small boy. Just
where he came from, his neighbors do
not know, but they think he came from
Webster, Where they believe he has rel
atixes living. His parents are remem-
bered as very pleasant people, and his
father Frank Bates, is spoken of by
those who remembered him as being
a fine looking man. None of the peo-
pie now living in the vicinity remember
very much about the family, for when
most of them came there, Bates par
"a lsdi Or. a 1a6
His mother died first, and for a long
time he lived alone with his father
Finally the old gentleman died and
young Bates then about 20 years of
age, shouldered the responsibility of
conducting the farm, and settled down
to the long years of his lonely life.
Few who are living in that@vicinity
now remember much about the man
at that age, but it is certain that he
was on a much better footing with
the public generally than.-at the time
of his death. He was more social and
the farm was not in the dilapitated
condition that it now is. Dhen it was
one of the largest farms in the Vicin-
ity and the title to every inch of 1t was
clear. The house was an imposing
structure and the yield Of the big farm
a heavy one, and young John Bates
would have made a model husband for
any buXom country lass, yet strange to
say, he never married
People who know or claim to know
state that there was a reason FOR this.
That in those younger days of his,
when life was full of promise, he fell
victim to a perfect form, a pretty face
and pair of laughing blue eyes; that
Tor time he was as happy as any man
can be who sees before him a life of
unalloyed pleasure Then they say that
something happened, they don't say
what, probably they don't know, but
they hint that the blue eyes and laugh
ing face went out of John Bates life
and that with them went all the prom
Use of youth. The bright pictures fad
ed and in their places remained only
the drudgery attending life upon a
farm. With them ambition faded Work
upon the farm Jagged, the crops failed,
incumbrance followed incumbrance
until little remained of the original
estate. The house began to SHOW the
threads Of the seasons, then came res
agnation, and the years Of waiting
which finally ended in death: death
so lonely as to make the most hard
ened shudder.
John Bates had not been seen going
up and down the road for several days
and his neighbors began to wonder.
Thursday at noon a teamster in the
employ of Alonzo Davidson drove over
TO the Bates house. The owner was
rot about the outside Of the house and
the teamster finally located him on the
floor in one of the barren rooms Of
the dilapidated mansion literally at
deaths door. He could not help him.
self and had not had proper nourish-
1nent for several days. The teamster
forced the door open and did what he
could for the suffering man and then
went to the nearest house. that of Mr.
Ford. Motherly Mrs. Ford FASTENED
TO the sick mans assistance and did
all she could 10 relieve him. D. A.
McNeish was sent for and arrived
about 4 O'Clock. Before he got there,
however, John Bates was dead
The man was 6S years OF age and had
spent GO years Of his life in the town
of Leicester Since the death Of his
father he has lived alone, and for the
past IS years has obtained meagre
living by selling candy, cigars and
cookies through the villages of Leices-
Ter and Rochdale lie made a point Of
attending all the auction sales in the
vicinity. where he disposed Of his