The Grit-advocate., 1900-04-20
LONG SECLUSION OF
INDIANA WOMAN.
Left Her Lover and . Party Of Friends
Ono Evening and Never Saw Them
Again - Explanation Never Forth
coming.

from the society OF the world to the
seclusion of a narrow sphere Of life,
upon which no one but members Of his
or her immediate family were allowed
to intrude, Is Phoebe Meeks, who for
sixty-five years has not stepped out
side the doorway of her little room on
the second floor OF a weather-beaten
frame house in the center of this town.
The blinds on one of the rooms have
been closed ever since her retirement,
and therein the hermit makes her
home, seeing no one but sister. In
the years Of her seclusion the popula-
tion has changed two or three times,
and today there are but few who know
that the hermit exists, and fewer still
who can recall the days when. for
some unexplained reason, she shut
herself up in her room and bade
final adieu to the social circles OF
which she was admittedly the bright
est ornament. 1t was during the days
of canal building in Indiana that Had
ley johnson and Phoebe Meeks met
each other, and 1t was not long till
rumor coupled their names together as
lovers. Both were children Of well-to-
do parents and both were young and
aspiring. After a time their intimate
friends were informed that they were
engaged and were to be married IN
June. This was in 1885 or 1896, and
Brookville was the most important
town in the infant state, in fact, the
| Athens of gayety and fashion, as gay
| ETY. and fashion had it, in those prim-
itive times. One evening, few weeks
before the day appointed for the we'd
ding, Hadley Johnson and Phoebe
Meeks and three other couples wan
dered down to the canal bank and
seated themselves near the basin to
watch the towboats as they passed
lazily along. All seemed to be In the
best of spirits when, suddenly rising
from the canal bank, and without
uttering one word in explanation of
the act, Miss Meeks turned her back
upon her lover and friends and walked
hurriedly toward her home. Mr.. John
son called to her, but received no re-
sponse. After awhile he followed her
home, but the house was dark and he
forbore to intrude.
The next morning he called to learn
what had occurred to offend the young
woman, but she refused to see him or
to offer any explanation of her strange
conduct of the night before. Letters
sent to her by the lover were re-
turned unopened, and he was finally
obliged to accept the situation as 1t
existed and give up the hope of learn
ing why he had become obnoxious to
her, If, indeed, that was the reason for
her conduct Month after month
passed, but Miss Meeks remained in
her home, and rumor said that she
remained also in her own room. the
blinds to which were now always kept
securely closed.
The people marveled at the strange
action, and busybodies went to the
house to learn what was the matter.
They came away no wiser than they
went, for the other members OF the
family refused to discuss the subject,
and met references to it so coldly that
even the most inquisitive were de-
TERED from asking questions. The
father and mother died. but Miss
Phoebe heard the funeral discourses
from an adjoining room, to which no
one but herself was admitted, and she
did not even follow the remains to the
grave. The months heightened into
years, and still the hermit kept in the
old home. The fact Of her existence
almost ceased to be known to any save
the older residents.