The Savannah morning news., 1902-04-15
FINDING a m1snR,s MONEY.
Curious and Successful Search for n
"Pauper" Hermit's Wealth in Eng
Isnsn
From the London Mail.

From the London Mail.
1t was announced at a meeting of the
Epson Guardians that letters of adj
ministration in regard to the estate of
William Bachelor, the octogenarian
miser of Ewell. has been granted to
Edwin Burgess of Gray's Inn Road,
w. C.
No fewer than twenty-seyen claim
ants to the property have put in an APP
pearanee. The board decided to retain
ESS to defray the cost of the old mans
maintenance and funeral, and the ex-
pense of searching and guarding his
house, and to hand over the rest of
his property to Mr.. Burgess to-day.
An extraordinary story of the search
for Bachelors hidden property is told
by Mr.. Pearman, assistant to the clerk
to the guardians, under whose direc-
ton the Investigations were carried
out.
The exterior of the old misers house,
which stands at the foot of Beggars
Hill, Ewell, on the main Kingston
road, is quite in keeping with the sor-
did romance which was enacted within.
1t is a dilapidated wooden structure,
with all the windows boarded up, and
great pile of old timber rotting by
its side.
( The house contains a sitting room,
three bedrooms, kitchen, and a scul-
lery while attached to it are some old
sheds 1t is entered by a side door,
reached by a narrow path strewn with
old bricks.
Strange Hiding Places,
When the searchers entered the cot
tage on Dec. IS they found the kitchen
floor strewn with a singular assort-
ment of old nails, pots, kettles, car
penters' tools and other articles. There
was not a clear space of six inches TO
be seen anywhere.
The sitting room doorway was plleo
nm to within a few inches of the cell
inp with old laths taken from some
houses belonging to Mr.. Batchelor'
which had been pulled down.
In the kitchen there were few pic
lures grandfathers clock, two ia:
bles, a sideboard. and four eupboards:
In recesses under the stairs several
little drawers had been fitted, which
were filed with nails.
"To the best of my memory says
Mr.. Pearman, about f150 was found
under the nails. and about $3.50 in old
match boxes and the drawers OF the
table and sideboard.
AFTER we thought we had ransacked
the kitchen of all cash we adjourned
up stairs to the back bedroom, where
after a short time we found bag
containing about ESQ in the top right
hand drawer of one of the two chests
of drawers which that room contained
we also found under his bed a long
wooden box containing deeds, etc, and
in another of the drawers nineteen
silver spoons and two pairs of sugar
tongs. Just before leaving for the
night we found another tin box in the
front bedroom containing deeds, etc.
1.-THE next day we made a start on
the front bedroom. In an old hat box
with no lid to it came across post
office savings bank book, with tl2O IS;
Sd. to Bachelors credit. In an old
wooden box there were three bags of
gold. which we found to contain. one
f545 los. another 1888 los, and the third
about $50.
I'm another box by the side of the
bed we found a ten-pound Bank of
England, note, a one-pound Bank of
Dorking note about ninety years old,
a bank token for 3s., a William III.
shilling, and another bag containing
some gold, quite bright, dated 1850 and
1870.
1--WE also found in several other old
boxes a gold watch and chain. four
silver watches, silver chain, five sill
yer spoons, four silver plates, and sun
dry articles of jewelry, such as BAN
giles, bracelets, muff chains, etc.
1.-THE following days haul was Sad.
in bronze, a burned half-crown, half
farthing, three silver spoons. a gold
pin, and twenty sundry articles of jew
elry, such as jet bracelets, necklaces,
etc."
Lifting the Floors.
A search was made the next day
through the deed boxes, which had
been deposited with an EPSON bank.
No will was found, but the boxes con-
tanned $40 IN gold, 6s. in silver, two
Charles II crown pieces, one Charles
II sixpence, a Queen Anne shilling, an
Elizabeth shilling, a George II six
pence, a William III sixpence, a Will
liam III fourpenny bit. small Eliz-
abeth coin (benD. a half farthing and
some other old coin. .1l
On Jan. / the guardians gave further
instructions for a thorough search to
be made Of the whole Of the premises