The Mount Holly news., 1919-04-15

to violent passions From whence he
came or who he was nobody could find
out, but he appeared to be by his dia.
lect German, yet he spoke that lam
guage imperfectly, either through de-
sign or from defect in his intellects
He was found dead in his cell, with a
crucifix and brass fish by his side.
and on the goth he was decentlv in.
tered in the Friends burying place at
Mountholly"
The brass fish mentioned was un-
doubtedly religious token. A fish was
one of the symbols of the early
Christians. During the Roman perse-
cutions frequent sign of recognition
among the faithful was the drawing of
a fish upon the ground.
From the diary of Surgeon Albi-
gence Waldo, of the Connecticut line.
we take another and more elaborate
account of our hermit Surgeon Waldo
was in Mount Holly in I777. He evil
IDENTIFY conceived high opinion of the
beauty of the ladies of the town, for
which Mount Holly was noted even in
that early day. Under date of Novem-
ber 10, 1777, he writes: "Greene's diyis-
ion next day marched for the same
place (Red Bank who with Hunting
toms brigade and the garrison consist.
ing OF Varnum's brigade met at Mt.
Holly 5 miles east of Burlington.
where we encamped till the evening of
the 25th. Mount Holly-so call'd from
little Mount nigh the town-is a
compact & Pleasant Village, having
great proportion of handsome women
therein. Near this town in a wood. a
hermit has dwelt these 81 years, living
on bread and water. His bed is a hole
dug in the ground about one foot and
a half below the surface, and covered
at pleasure with board--over this is
built a small bark hut hardly big
enough for man to sit up in. When
he goes to bed he crawls into his hut
and at the further end slips into his
hole which he calls his grave, drawing
over the board and goes to sleep. He
crawls night and morning on his hands
and knees about two rods to particu-
lar tree to pray. He says he was warn
ed of God in remarkable dream when
he first came to America to take this
course of life. He has many Latin and
other books in his lonely cell, and is
said to write considerably. He kisses
every mans hand that visits him and
thankfully accepts of what is gave him
except money, which he refuses. His
beard is done up in loose club under
his chin, he is small of stature and
speaks very fast, he talks but little
English-chief1y German or Latin. He
says he shall come out purified & live
like other folks if he continues in this
state until he is eighty. He says he
often wishes for Death, being frequent
ly afflicted with pains of Body by this
method Of life. He never goes near
fire in the coolest time. Much is said
about the reasons of his doing penance
in this manner, but chiefly that he
murdered his own sister, and that he
killed gentleman in a Duel while an
officer in the French Service. He was
also in the German service among his
countrymen the Germans"
In 1911 John Atkinson published a
small book entitled ''The Hermit, or
an account of Francis Adam Joseph
Phyle, native of Switzerland, who
lived without the use of fire for up
wards of twenty-five years, in small
cave, in the midst of wood, near
Mount-Holly, in Burlington county,
New Jersey, and was found dead there
in in the year17SO In series of let
ters from Batlus Hiltzheimer to Mel
choir Miller. Interspersed with some
observations of the author and senti-
ments of learned men. Published by
John Atkinson. Printed by John
Bioren, No. So Chestnut street, Phila-
delphia. 1871" A second edition ap-
peared the same year. The writer
states that in the spring of 1855 Francis
appeared in the neighborhood of Mount
Holly, wearing the uniform of French
soldier, and totally ignorant of the
English language. He had dug out a
hole under large white oak, prostrated
by storm, in wood belonging to Jo-
seph Burr, on the road to Burlington,
about four miles from the latter place,
and two miles from Mount Holly.
This hole or cave was barely large
enough for him to stretch himself in it.
Six or eight weeks after he settled here
he told Col. Charles Read, through an
interpreter, that his name was Francis
Adam Joseph Phyle; that he was a
native of the canton of Lucern in
Switzerland, which he had left on ac-
count of some disagreeable circum-
stances, and went to France; that he
came with the French troops to Can.
ada, and soon after, becoming disgust
ed with the life of a soldier, left them
land came to New Jersey. He seemed
| to be under great distress of mind, oc-
casioned, he said, by a sense of his
sins, which appeared to overwhelm
him, and there was some hint of his
having killed an adversary in duel
He never used fire, and lived entirely
on the charity of the neighbors unit
his death in 177S, and nothing more
was ever learned Of his history.
That all accessible information about
this peculiar character may be collect
ed in single article, we reprint the
anecdote from Smiths history, at the
risk of repetition. 1t will be new tC
many readers.
"Four miles from hence [BurIing
toni recluse person who came a
stranger has existed alone, near twelve
years in thick wood, through all the
extremeties of the seasons, unde
cover of few leaves, supported by th'
side of an old log, and put together il
the form of a small oven, not high O
long enough to stand upright or lie ex
tended; he talks Dutch, but unintelli
gibly, either through design or from
defect in his intellects, tbs hard to tel
which; whence he came or what he is
no body about him can find out; b,
has no contrivance to keep fire, no
uses any; in very cold weather he lie
naked, stops the hole he creeps in ant
out of with leaves; he mostly keeps il
his hut, but sometimes walks before it
lies on the ground, and cannot be per