Page:The Granite Monthly Volume 6.djvu/84

 68

��THF GRANITE MONTHLY.

��agree in life, and he thought it would be well to separate them in death ; and consequently he gave sepulture to one of them in the valley where his own body now reposes.

" For more than twenty years he dwelt entirely alone. He made his own garments, which were in fashion peculiar to himself. He tilled his land, milked his cows, made butter and cheese ; but subsisted principally on potatoes and milk. Owing, no doubt, to his simple and temperate mode of living, he exhibited, at the age of 82, a face freer from wrinkles than is gen- erally seen in those of fifty."

The farm which he owned and oc- cupied " was of sufficient extent and fertility to have supported a large fam- ity," but he had the idea that he might live to spend the whole property. I have heard it related that his domicile was once invaded by "roughs" from the " Bank," who, supposing he had money, and intent on plunder, entered his dwelling at night ; but Mr. Lear retreated to the loft, or upper story, where, handling a place spear with dexterity, he succeeded in spearing one of the number, when all retired, the way of their retreat being easily traced, the following morning, by blood, to the shore where their boat had probably landed. Mr. Lear was quiet, peaceable, and inoffensive, but capable of protecting himself when occasion required.

A venerable lady, a good friend and for years a near neighbor to our family, on Franklin street, and who died Nov. 16, 1880, at the ripe age of 95, men- tioned to us, the year before her death, the following incident, as her recollec- tion of what was said concerning the Hermit : "He cut his garments, some said, with tongs, and made his own clothes. It was a common remark, spoken in jest, when clothing was rude- ly made, or uncouthly cut, " Oh, cut in Ben. Lear's style, by tongs." He had favorite dogs as his companions, and it was said he allowed them to lap the milk pans, and thus saved labor in washing.

��Bull Rock, a bold and massive rock which rises almost sixty feet perpen- dicularly from the shore, though but slightly elevated above the land back of it, is one of the features of the place. It derived its name from this circumstance : A bull, belonging to Mr. Lear, becoming frightened, or, from some other cause, rushed upon this rock with such momentum that he was precipitated over the cliff and broke his neck. The name, Bull Rock, has since adhered to it, and is likely to be per- petuated. It is west from the bridge, just above the bend, on the southerly side of the creek. We have heard it called " Lover's Leap," but that desig- nation applies to a prominent eleva- tion farther up the creek, on the Beck place, where one of the sons had a temporary fort. The farm is now owned by John W. Johnson, having been recently purchased of the Beck heirs, after having been in possession of the family many generations.

As Mr. Lear became advanced in years, he was repeatedly and urgently invited, particularly by the parents of the late James Moses, to spend the winter months with them, or accept the proffered hospitalities of other kind neighbors ; but he always declined, "al- leging that he had every thing he want- ed. He would not suffer any one to^ spend a night in his house to take care of him, even in his last illness." For several weeks prior to his death he had been in feeble health. December 17,. 1802. was excessively cold, the ther- mometer having ranged during the pre- vious night at 4 below zero. The severe weather caused thoughtful solic- itude on the part of a good Samaritan lady, Abigail, wife of Nadab Moses, whose ancestral farm, now in posses- sion of the family, adjoined the Her- mit's land on the west, and the Beck's on the east. At an early morning hour Mrs. Moses sent her son James (who died Dec. n, 1863, aged 82, and who frequently related the story), to the dwelling of Mr. Lear, remark- ing, — " If our neighbor Lear has lived through so cold a night as last night,

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