Show AN OLD TIME HERMIT L LIVED IVED AND DIED ALONE AND SLEEPS ALONE epitomized account of eccentric joseph plummers Pl sylvan home and characteristic III n kimt and only courtship to in the fair valley beneath the domes of the v e r dure dare crowned san boruton born ton mountains in the picturesque ali tur esque W white h I 1 t 0 hills of new hampshire stands the remains of 0 an old hermias hei her mlis MILS cabin how H 0 w shall I 1 describe the place and its once noted owner let us fly back upon the wings of time to the historic town ot of londonderry same state where in the year 1774 october the was born joseph sixth child of jesse and sally plummer soon after his birth his parents moved to Fan can bornton and later to meredith but subsequently returned to San sanbornton bornton prom from birth hermit joe as he was familiarly known was r r person of peculiar r ideas and actions preferring to live lie the life of a recluse rather than associate with his fellow beings let us oer hills and dells leave the beaten track of travel and plunge into the forest where those I 1 monarchs of the woods the pine and the hemlock once held undisputed sovereignty let us far into the depth of one of these dark woods where the murmur of a tiny brooklet is heard softly tuning us its song when the summer holds sway swa or dashing and roaring amid its rocky rock bed when the winter snows are rapidly melting under the warming influence fluence ir of the rains of inconstant april into such a spot amongst the mountainous region of the HERMITS HERMIT S HOME TODAY old granite grani e state had joseph plummer genetra penetrated ted at the age of 21 when he purchased seven seen acres of land in a ast forest at the foot of Meret meredith lith hill it was a dc desolano des spot for a home a small cabin erected on a mere knoll of scrubby pines and sandy poverty stricken land in the large forest of towering trees which struggled for existence along the rocky banks of a lim pled pied mountain brooklet in the writer ers s mind small smal 11 rivulet must have been bf en the one thing that attracted the hermits hermit s attention and decided him to select this unfavorable spot for a home doubtless the hermits weary thoughts were soothed to rest many a night by the lullaby this brooklet sang in those far distant days davs when the hermit founded his woodland home it was away from the villages in the midst of a forest where wh re the only sounds that could have disturbed his lonely life were the singing of the birds the sweep of the wind through the fhe lofty tree tops and the murmuring of the mountain stream seeking its level in the distant lakes but gradually a change came settlers became more plentiful highways h gh were viere laid out and visitors hoping to see the now noted hermit encroached upon his domains doubtless realizing that in view of the changing chang izig time he could not be as solitary as in m his earlier years he became more socia sociable ole and entertained his visitors in the style of the times treating them to apples and cider although when anyone was near him he be watched him with eyes made sharp with distrust in his later years ears he made a coms considerable erable sum of money by selling baskets and other small articles of his own manufacture the hermit could read and write and some verses of his composition denouncing the building of railroads and turnpikes are as follows iron stoves and wooden clocks awful storms and dismal shocks railroads and turnpikes through the land forebodes foreboder Fore bodes destruction near at hand 1 but who can make the people see if blind as bats they choose to be deaf as the adder they appear the truth they cannot hear divlus lies they much esteem because it suits their wicked scheme his hook is baited with deceit and they no doubt will bite the balt bait then off to fly in vain they try uke lake that from froin the hook would fly the barbed hook will not let go but draws them down to endless woe the hermits cabin contained no windows although there was a hole in the garret closed with a board one door with dimensions of tour four feet by three feet was the only entrance just inside this door was a trap door so that any one entering without his permission would tumble into the cellar in constructing his chimney he placed two scythes acy thes edge upward protruding to prevent anyone coming coining down on hinl him Orlain originally ally it was a log hut which after t er living in for many macy years the hermit built the present building joe was very ery ingenious constructing many any use ose col articles among them wooden scales violins and bass viols on which he be was a remarkable player wa W subsistence si ei was waa composed mainly of potatoes corn bread berries fisk fish herbs and meat from wild which lie captured P thred tn in th the woods no he never read nad newspapers newsy pers bat waa a 91 great grat student atthe bible in the tha inter ater as days of hla bu VS iffe the h e N H L L institute tute theology gy students eft home to engage to his u used s to 0 journey him la in a discuss discussion IOD on the doctrines of the bible tradition says that his hia resulted dig disastrously single courting experience for or himself two of 0 his brothers had married daughters of deacon fox who resided on meredith hill and joseph determined to woo the deacons remaining daughter oua one evening ve u he went to his lady loves house and quietly took himself to the daughters room and was wag calmly sitting on her bed when she opened the bedroom door to retire for the night she began screaming and rushed dowl downstairs to inform her father the worthy deacon on hearing the facts of the case called the hermit down and said in a solemn tone joseph the parlor Is the proper place to court where I 1 would do it the hermit replied perhaps you would deacon but you ought to know by this time that I 1 don dont t do anything like any other man this was josephs first and last attern attempt pt to do any sparking on dec 3 his niece M mrs freeman plummer went to the cabin and found him dead upon his bed his property real estate and personal amounted in value to about 2200 and was divided among his nieces and nephews of whom there were fully thirty just over the San sanbornton bornton roton line in the town of meredith stands the hermits home as it now appears a photograph of which is here reproduced in a field a short distance from his bis onetime one time home la a grave whose moss covered headstone bears the following inscription the grave of a hermit joseph plummer Plu romer of meredith 1 1 died dec 3 1862 aged 88 content with seeking happiness ui himself only he lived in seclusion he died alone peace to his hib ashes rest to his bobil soul this grave Is enclosed by a solid lid stone wall with no gateway made in accordance with his instructions th thus shutting out all mankind he died as he had lived for three score years and ten alone and even after death de be wanted to be alone the only thing that is unchanged near joseph plum mers old retreat Is the mountain broo brooklet kleL the hermit came and the hermit went but still the brook flows on and the tumble down hut in the midst of the forest Is all that now ra mains to remind us of this very eccentric man |