THE HERMIT OF RED-COAT'S GREEN. 305 



tantly, into conversation, with a suspicious expression. Unwashed 

 for many years, his skin was in an undesirable condition, the whites 

 of his eyes contrasting strangely with the rest of his face. Clothes he 

 had none ; only a dirty blanket loosely thrown over him. His hair, 

 long a stranger to scissors or razor, was matted with dirt. He was 

 about five feet six inches high, rather muscular, with dark hair and 

 eyes, the latter prominent, and pale complexion. His forehead ap- 

 peared well developed. The room had a fire, an old table, a chair, and 

 numerous bottles. It is said he suspended a basket from the ceiling 

 to keep his food from the rats. He spoke to me in a low, rather plain- 

 tive tone, which impressed me that he was laboring under a certaiu 

 amount of fear or apprehension. Part of his conversation, otherwise 

 perfectly rational, conveyed the same impression. He intimated that 

 his relations were against him, and I understood him to assign it as 

 the reason why his house was barricaded. He appeared to be labor- 

 ing under a partial insanity a monomania of suspicion or persecution. 

 Whatever reasons he may have subsequently had for barricading his 

 house, his brother informs me that some panes of glass were actually 

 broken by stones during the papal aggression in 1850, because he 

 leaned to Romanism, and then it was that bars of wood were nailed 

 across the windows. 



He wrote no letters, nor wrote at all, that I know of, except upon 

 a check. He had a check-book and used it to pay some of his bills. 

 When he required money, his bankers received a verbal message, and 

 sent a clerk to transact business with him. The check was always 

 very correctly written, and the counterfoil duly filled in. On his last 

 check, dated April 14, 1874, the signature, unlike the previous ones, 

 was rather shaky. Because of his antipathy to stamps, the receipt- 

 stamp had to be added afterward. The dividend-warrants that came 

 to him remained uncashed for the same reason, forming a large col- 

 lection of very dirty papers. About four years ago he was induced to 

 authorize his bankers to receive his dividends, and thus surmounted 

 his scruple to recognize the queen. Landed property of his at Liver- 

 pool, required for public purposes, was sold under compulsion because 

 he would not become a party to the sale, as it involved the use of a 

 stamp. The money was placed in the Bank of England, and remained 

 there to his death, because he would not use a stamjj to draw it out. 

 I have a curious proof of his shrewdness and desire to get the money. 

 A solicitor he knew had some connection with the Court of Chancery. 

 One day he suggested to him to file a bill in chancery to obtain the ' 

 money. His visitor replied that the court would then institute an 

 inquiry into the condition of the owner. " What ! " asked Lucas, 

 alarmed, "do you mean cle lunatico?" An affirmative answer killed 

 the scheme. 



Lucas was not a miser. He gave, to swarms of tramps, in coppers 

 and gin, giving always more to a Romanist than a Protestant. It is 



VOL. VI. 20 



