Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1900-08-11
DODGING DEATH.
Some Strange Freaks of Rich Men to
Escape the Reaper.

Escape the Reaper.
A man who, while poor, is not more
afraid to die than most people, often de-
velopS haunting terror of death after
he has made a big fortune. and spends
an unhappy life and huge sums of mon
ey IN trying to avoid the coming fate,
frequently hurrying himself into a pre-
mature grave through sheer worry and
fear. This passion has turned the brains
Of good many wealthy people, and
made monomaniacs of them. They re-
sort to the most childish e~pedients to
keep death from their doors
You remember Kipling's character, who
had his chair slung on ropes from a
beam, that the world might spin under
him, instead of carrying him along to
grow older. There was an actual case
very like this a few years ago, when
John Islip, an Englishman, who made a
huge fortune out of silver in Mexico,
drove himself mad through worrying
about his death.
London could offer, he bought small
rocky island called Brychil, on the West
Irish coast, taking with him one faithful
servitor. Here, i'll feverish haste, he
had four stone pillars raised, and a small
One-storyed cabin, with three rooms,
rather like a houseboat slung on chairs
from iron Orders that crossed the pillars,
inside this, he shut himself up. with
some books and a pet jackdaw for COM
pany, and never left his swinging house
until his death.
The attendant, who lived in small
house close by, used TO row to the main
land-a mile and half-when the wealth
err permitted, for provisions. The master
spent his time reading and looking out
over the Atlantic from the cabin Win
dOws. His brain had given way, of
course, and he imagined his life stood
still, while the earth reyolved under him.
He had no relatives to insist on his en-
tcring Il private asylum, and he died
three years later in the cabin, worried
out of life. by the fear of death. His
hair was snow-white, though he was on
ly 10.
Another wealthy man, Jean Inglesant,
though he had made a fortune by shrewd
speculation, also gave way to the dread
of death He conceived the idea that
all movement and effort wasted the it's
sues of the body, and this motion sunk so
deeply into his mind that he went to bed
| in quiet country house, and hardly
moved a hand or foot for years; if he
even stirred a finger, he did it with
dread, believing it used up his vitality
and shortened 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 IA
| tai exertion of chewing, and his one
amusement was being read to by the
/ hour together, for he would not hold a
| book or turn the pages Even the read
! ing he did away with toward the close of
! his life, believing that listening shortened
his existence.
( One of the queereSt cases was that Of
I Il Mrs Holmes, Il very wealthy widow,
/ who had a terrible fear of germs and ba-
/ cilli of all kinds. She had studied the
subject deeply, and it affected her rea-
son, to all appearance. The dread Of
J death seized her, and she was convinced
/ inspired by microbes. Knowing that cold
, is fatal to the average germ. she had two
| rooms adjoining each other fitted as re
| frigeratorS, and kept constantly at a tenn
| perature of 80 degrees, or just below
freezing point. One would suppose this
| TO be more trying than any quantity of
| microbes, but the owner was happy in
| her consciousness of freedom from germ
| diseases Winter and summer the rooms
| were kept at the same point. and the ad-
| joining rooms and hall were also kept
cool that no current of warm air might
bring baclli in.
This lady lived clad in furs throughout
| the hottest days that hlazed outside. and
her attendants and servants were
obliged to constantly disnfect themselves
before entering her presence. They lived
in perpetual atmosphere of carbolic
acid. and their mistress had to pay very
high wages to induce any servants to
stay with her.-AnswerS.