Aug 12 1825 Death From Avarice - Cumberland and Westmorland Newspaper Transcriptions

Aug 12 1825 Death From Avarice

The Times, Friday, Aug 12, 1825; pg. 3; Issue 12730; col E

DEATH FROM AVARICE. - The death of an aged yeoman in the neighbourhood of
Carlisle was last week occasioned in the following singular manner. The old man
in his youth was liberal and convivial, but as years accumulated upon him he
acquired penurious habits. He had in his possession a stack of very fine wheat -
prices advanced - his heart warmed at the delightful idea - and the longer he
kept it, he flattered himself the more valuable it would become. But the things
of this world are perishable. Rats, mice, and whole flocks of birds made free
with the stack. How was this to be prevented? A happy thought suggested itself -
he came to the resolution of tethering a cat to the roof, with length of line
sufficient to admit of her descent on either side, to snap up the ravenous
intruders whenever they presented themselves. Puss did her duty with fidelity,
as we may presume, for her master rewarded her with regular supplies of milk;
one morning having ascended the roof with the accustomed allowance in a saucer,
he missed his footing, and slid off the stack to the ground, and lighting upon
his feet, the violence of the shock produced hernia, which speedily carried him
to his grave.