The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-09-19
They try to Dodge Death.


afraid to die than most people, often
develops Q haunting terror Of death
after he has made big fortune, and
spends an unhappy life and huge
sums Of money TO avoid the coming
fate, frequently hurrying himself in
to q premature grave through sheer
worry and fear. This passion has
turned the brains Of good many
wealthy people and made monomani-
acs OF them. They resort to the
most childish expenditures to keep
death from their doors.
You remember Kipling's charac-
ter who had his chair slung on ropes
from beam that the world might
spin under him instead of carrying
him along to grow older. There was
an actual case very like this few
years ago, when John Islip. an Eng
lishman, made huge fortune out Of
silver in Mexico, drove himself mad
through worrying about his death.
After exhausting ell the safeguards
London could offer, he bought small
rocky island called Brychil, on the
west Irish coast. taking with him
one faithful servitor. Here, in fever
ish haste, he had four stone pillars
raised and small one-storied cabin,
with three rooms, rather like n house
boat, slung on chairs from iron Cir
ders that crossed the pillars and
swung clear to the ground. Once in
side this he shut himself up, with
some books and a pet jackdaw for
company, and never left his swinging
house until his death.
+ The attendant, who lived in a small
house close by, used to row to the
mainland-s mile and half-when
the weather permitted for provisions.
The master spent his time in reading
and looking out over the Atlantic
from the cabin windows. His brain
had given way, Of course, and he i'm
agined that his life stood still while
the earth revol7ed under him. He
had no relatives to insist On his en-.
tering private asylum, and he died
three years later in the cabin, wor-
ried out of life by the fear Of death.
His hair was snow white, though he
was only 43.
Another wealthy man, Jean Ingle-
SAINT, though ne had made a fortune
by shrewd speculation, also gave way
to dread Of death. He conceived
the idea that all movement and effort
washed the tissues Of the body, and
this notion sunk SO deeply into his
mind that ho went to bed in quiet
country house and hardly moved hand
nor foot for years; if he even stirred
finger he did it with dread, believing
that it used up his vitality and short
ened his life by so much time. He
spoke as little as possible, sometimes
not opening his lips for days, and was
fed by attendants with spoons. All
his food consisted Of "slops," to save
him the fatal exertion of chewing,
and his one amusement was being
read to BY the hours together, for he
would not hold book or turn the
pages. Even the reading he did away
with toward the close Of his life, be-
lieving that listening shortened his
existence.
One Of the queerest cases was that
Of Mrs. Holmes, very wealthy VII
dow, who had q terrible fear Of germs
and bacilli Of all kinds. She had
studied the subject deeply and it affect
ed her reason to all appearances. The
dread of death seized her and she was
convinced tha; she would die by some
wasting disease inspired by microbes.
Knowing that cold is fatal to the aver
age germ, she had two rooms adjoining
each other fitted as refrigerators and
kept constantly at temperature Of
about thirty degrees, or just below
freezing point. One would suppose
this to be more trying than any quan-
ity Of microbes, but the owner was
happy in her consciousness of freedom
from germ diseases. Winter and sum-
mer the rooms were kept at the same
point, and the adjoining rooms and
hall were also kept cool, that no cur
rent Of warm air might bring bacilli
| in.
This lady lived clad in fnrs through
out the hottest days that blazed out
side, and her attendants and servants
were obliged to constantly disinfect
themselves before entering her pres
ence. They lived in perpetual at
4 q - . Z