The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-04
HIRD Work TO ne A HERMIT
The Chief Dihiculty IL to Find q Place
where One Can lie Alone.

where One Can lie Alone.
40. | ain't goin' to give out an interview; Il
wouldn't he the right thing for a hermit 10 DO. but
A. long AS mistook you for III Hawkins with the
milk and cams ont here TO meet you, | guesslll
have To answer a few Il your questions.
Il never have liked this world over well, but
whenever I've thought about gettin' out Of II on
my own account | remembered one spring morn
ing when | was a boy. Pop wanted me to turn
Erindstone at the barn for about ten minutes, and
] didn't like The Job, and ran AWAY To the house,
where mother caught M and made me chum all
the morning. Since then I've been opposed TO
mnnin' away unless you're dead certain OF VIII.
you II run into.
This world wouldn't be 50 bad II you could have
II all 10 yourself. it's folks and their queer. mean
vays that make II such a hard place to live in,
Before | was more than half etowed up | made up
my mind that II there was any way Of gitrin' nd
Of folks and livn' as far away from them a. pos.
sihie | was gong TO manage II as soon a. | got
old enough TO have my own way. About that
time | came into the old place which | sold and
put the money into Guv'men, bonds. IL ain
much Of an income, but you can't spend a big
income If you stick TO siayin' alone. 81 1t gives me
all / need.
- 10Y tlhN WIS HlhCS HNlt NTfIS ~ l1uilty
cars cross ~ = queer place for a man to choose II
he wants a lonely life? We'll that was Just what
| WAS going 10 eNplain 10 you. when | got ready
to set up fol a hermit | read all | could find about
the places they picked out to live in, and | came
to the conclusion that they showed mighty poor
Judgment. 4 good many of them seemed TO take
10 caves, but ! knew that wouldn't never do for
me because there's rheumaul in the family on
both sides. Then there were desert hetmits, but
! didn't see the use Of going way 10 Africa 10 sit
under a palm tree in an oasis and live on datas,
! bought a bsg II dates at wholesale from a dago,
and tried that diet for a week, | made IN nv
mind that wherever went was going 10 be where
| could get ham and eggs for breakfast.
Il wrote To- several of The pa pers ard asked ,hen
10 tel m" the best plan for a nsn 10 follow II he
wanted To be alone. One Of them answered that
ia hp,ier stay in Chicago long s,nugh IN sro,,i,,
n residence, and then move e. New York, didn't
understand Just what the editor meant. Another
said that the business office IL the other big pa Ter
in that city was the lonesom-st place in town, and
that II ! wanted 10 eScRp e contact with my fellow.
beings | could get the job II business manager
on TINT pape', l was sure that man was making
fun q me
| tried 10 tak,it One man told me TO buy a little
island In the st Lawrence River. but when | went
TO shop for islands in February they didn't lopk
very inviting. and when | went hack NEXT July
I'm fingered II there wan'n' a picnic on every
island wrote him that he must have mixed
me- up with N" Arkansas lady who asked him
the best WAY ~ y'tilug mo society.
Then | thought Nut several likely plans myseIf
| went way ont Vest and bought a little ranch
thirty miles from the nearest neighbor and over
eighty from the %rnilr.ad. WNll, the funny thing
myself in my life, In hat country people think
less Of riding fifty or sixty niles 10 see YOU than
they DO Of going down - the roS, Office In a New
England village. Il ypl want to he lonely don't
60 to a place wher" people are so precious that
they get lug out like nuggets, When | got rv
ranch sold ,aad got back | tried taking a couple
q; rooms IN n" TOP story Of an Office building
wouldn't bother me there, but the ianitor's child
ran got SO free md easy, and the elevator boy
would try 70 talk when ! came in during the duh
Then I opened n real estate office in a Jersey
resort where n" boom had nartened out That
did pretty well for awhile ~ the tramrs found ont
that ! always kent a good fire, when they would
Wipe the mul OF their sho's. civ" their faces a
rub with u bunch Of hay aud come in 70 inGuirs
the pric" Of lots. was afraid to throw en- ont,
so ! had t. give that M, TOO.
Then one morning | took q trolley ride ont
here. Nou SEQ, there's q big city at one end Of
the line and tolcrnble big towns at the ends Of
the two branches, so people are not exactly thirstlng
for human society Nothing grows here to eat,
So | an not bothered with boys picking b.rriss
or hutling and the few real estate signs somehow
seem To- make the place ionesOmer than II they
wasn't here, 1t looks rs II tho exparimcn, had
been mad" IN git EN- n come and had failed so
thoroughl" thai a dete mined hcrmi, might hs
safe for all time. Then it's mighty convenient
loE NllIslfNt l nav u NOllThNt Win HI HaW-
kins, the motorman on the first morning trim.
10 bring m" n newspaper and some fresh meat
when ho comes out from the city. and when he
starts back from the huckl.brrrv end 10 leave
a hIcE-l II milk and some fresh eggs. lie lust
hides en- IN the bushes and puts the hill in on
saturday mornings. | ike the place so much
that | bought ,fyr acres Of it last week but would
not take It till thu agent assured ME by letter that
the ground was SURE never to rise In value.
saw In the next morning payar that he had been
taken hom' very III that night and explained to
an unusual business emergency. guess | am
the only man living with a statement like that
over q real estate man y signature.
Must you b. goln? This IL the first time I
have had 10 speak 10 anybody since | made my
contract with HI Hawkins three months ago.
and | don't want you to tell where my place is or
| shall hay" to shoot some reporters before | got
n general understanding established tina, | am
not a hermit for fun alone Run. or you'll miss
I A, car and have 70 waithftAen minutes. lioller
10 iii He'll stop"