Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-09-26
TRYING TO DODGE DEATH.
How Some Rich People Spend Miserable


after he has made a big fortune, and
spends an unhappy life and huge sums
of money to avoid the coming fate, fire.
quently hurrying himself into a pre-
mature grave through sheer worry and
fear. This passion has turned the
brains Of q good many wealthy people
and made monomaniacs Of them. They
resort to the most childish expe-
dents to keep death from their doors.
You remember Kippling'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 like this few years ago,
when John Islip, an Englishman,
made 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, in feverish
haste, he had four stone pillars raised
and a small one-storied cabin, with
three rooms, rather like house boat,
slung on cnairs from iron girders that
crossed the pillars and swung clear
to the ground. Once inside 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-a mile and a half-when
the weather permitted for provisions.
The master spent his time In reading
and in looking over the Atlantic from
the cabin windows. His brain had CIV
en- way, Of course, and he imagined
that his life stood still while the earth
revolved under him. He had no rela-
tives to insist on his entering a pri-
yate 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 be was only 43.
another wealthy man, Jean 1ngfe-
SAINT, though he had made a fortune
by shrewd speculation. also gave way
to dread Of death. He conceived the
idea that all movement and effort
wasted the tissues Of the body, and this
notion sunk so deeply into his mind that
he went to bed in quiet country
house and hardly moved hand nor foot
for years; II he even stirred a finger
he did 1t with dread, believing that he
used up his vitality and shortened his
life by 80 much time. He spoke as lit
tie as possible, sometimes not opening
his lips for days. and was fed by at
tendants. 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
hour together, for he would not hold q
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 Mrs. Holmes, a very wealthy Wild
ow. who had a terrible fear Of germs
and bacilli Of all kinds. She had stud
her reason, to all appearances. The
dread Of death seized her and she was
convinced that she would die by some
wasting disease inspired by microbes.
Knowing that cold is fatal to the aver
age germ, she had two rooms fitted as
refrigerators and kept constantly at
a temperature Of about 30 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 temperature, and the adjoin-
ing rooms and hall were also kept cool,
that no current of warm air might
bring bacilli in.
This lady lived clad in furs 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 air Of
carbolic acid. and their mistress had
to pay very high wages to induce ser
wants to stay with her.-London An
ouara