The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1888-08-10
THE HERMIT OF LIE CROIsIC.


n summer trip 10 lie Croisic, "A small seaport
town in Southern Brittany, situated at the
extreme point Of IS diminutive peninsula
which iuts out into the ocean Just above the
spot where the sand-stained waters of the
majestic Loire mingle with those Of the blue
Atlantic. one hne morning, tempted by a
bright bine sky, we sailed forth and wander
ed along the beach in the direction Of the
Bourg De BATE, till We had left lie Croisic so
Gar behind us that It's roofs and towersl looked
like a dark great cloud upon the dim horizon.
At the spot which We had now reached, the
rock-bound eoast presented a most rear and
desolate aspect. There was not IA single hu-
maj being in sight, and the melancholy erieso
the seameWs, circling high above our heads,
did but serve 20 increase the sense of utter
solitude inspired by the surrounding scene.
Suddenly. on rounding n bold promontory
OF granite, which bad efectually shut out
the view OF what lay before us, We described a
human figure advancing towards us along
the sand. As he drew near we perceived that
be was barefooted, aud that his only gar
ments consisted Of beggurly pair of can
yass trousers, all lrayed and worn at the
bottom and ful Of clumsy daTHs and patches;
a shirt OF coarse sailcloth, and a jacket which
was SIMPLY one mass Of rags. The fresh
caught lobster and sea urchin dangling from
a string which he carried in his right hand
proved him 10 be- a fisherman. Deeply com
mlseratlng his obvious penury my friend
hailed him, with the intention Of purchasing
his fish, and 80 sparing him the fatigue of "a
possibly Ruthless journey to lie Croisic.
Where are you going 10 sell your fish, my
dear fellow" said my friend.
In the town yonder," replied the fisher
man, pointing in the direction Of LIE Crosic.
And how much do you expect to get for
them"
"Eightpence for the lobster and tenpence
for the urchin, sir"
What say you to FIVE francs for the pair?"
inquired my friend.
The poor man stared at him in mute
amaZement.e evidently half suspecting that he
was INDUCING in a joke at his expense. l
soon d~ispeiled his suspicious, however, by
rendering him IA new tive-franc piece.
Tie took the coin, and, after cycling it for a
moment, spat upon it-fOr luck, no doubt
and slipped it II into his pocket. Then by
way of showing his gratitude for our liberali-
ty, he volunteered to pilot us as far as the
BOurg de BatZ, and thence back to lie Croix
by a short cut, of which We knew nothing.
We gladly accepted his offer, and as we
trudged along together he gave us a short
and simple record of his life. We found it
deeply interesting. though extremely sad. In
brief II was the story of "a son who had fore
gone every solace of the poor mans existence
IA home of his own, "A wife and children-for
the sake of a blind aged father too feeble to
support himself.
Long ere We reached the Borug de Batz the
summer sun had attained its meridian height
and we began to feel its almost perpendicular
rays intolerably oppressive. Under these
circumstances l suggested that we should
seek shelter from the monday heat in the
shadow OF a towering rock which rose a little
TO the left of the path we were pursuing and
to which ] pointed as | spoke.
Our guide glanced at the direction indi-
Gated and family murmured: There is a
man there. Everybody as passes this way
goes half n mile around to shun that rock."
But why should they shun it, l inquired.
'Is the man you speak of u brigand or a muir
derer?'
The fisherman's only answer to this ques-
ton was n shudder.
lis the man likely to modest us if We go
near him." | continued.
"Oh, no, not he"
VIII You accompany us if we CO."
NOT /. sir, begging your pardon"
We'll. then, We will go by ourselves, since
You assure us that We may do so in perfect
sa.ety.'
oh, / don't say that, sir. l only say as
the man himself won't harm you. He'll
neither bulge an inch nor open his lips"
BY this time We were within five and twen-
ty PAGES of the rock. and our guide struck in
to a bypath, leaving us to pursue our course
in the direction of Il cave which he had
pointed ont To US in the side of the rock. We
soon reached a steep ascent leading up to a
small esplanade in front of the cave, which
was fully 100 feet above the level of the sea.
On gaining the eSplanade We beheld a man
seated on "a block of detached granite-amdn
of herculean build, with large hirsute hands,
and wild bloOdshOt eyes which glared at us
for a moment as we approached, and then
wandered back TO the surface of the ocean,
on which they continued TO gaze intently
during the remainder of our brief stay. To
iuHaa solely from his stalwart and muGcular
frame no one would have taken him to be
more than fifty; but his hair was white
as the driven snow, and his face-which
was the very picture OF despair-was
deeply furrowed. Further description it
would be vain to attempt; for, feeling that
We were intruding upon some unspeakable
sorrow, we FASTENED To retrace our steps,
leaving him, as We found him, seemingly
glued 10 the stone on which he sat, and OF
which be almost seemed TO form a part, and
gazing intently seward. What was it that
he saw there
We'll. did you see him, gentleman" asked
our guide, when we. rejoined him some five
minutes afterward.
Yes. but Who and What is hep I replied.
They call him The Man with the Vow
The folks at LeCroisic and the Bourgde BATE
believe as he's committed some crime for
which he's doing penance. Others believe as
Bend-the-Sea-for that's his right name-has
the evil eye and so they always give that
rock a wide berth. Other folks have it that
Bend-the-sea hasmade a VOW, and that's how
he came by his nickname. And sure enough
be never stirs from that rock, day nor night,
nor speaks a word to anyone-not even to
the little lass, a niece of his, as brings him his
bread and water every morning"
But, my poor fellow" l interrupted.
cant you tell US what it was that induced
him TO isolate himself from his fellow-creat-
ures2 Was it grief, or madness. or remorse?"
"Ah. sir that's a question as nobody but
me and my father can answer. My mother,
God rest her soul. was servant to the magis-
trate as Bend-the-Sea made a confession to,
by order of the priest; she, being in
the kitchen adjoining her masters
dining-room, couldn't help overhearing
what Bend-the-Sea said to him. Well,
she's dead and gone, and the magistrate, he's
dead and gone. But my poor mother. she
made me and father swear, before she'd tell
US what she'd overheard, as we'd never
breathe a word about it to any soul
hereabout. But l may tell you, gentlemen,
as comes from furrin parts. Well, you must
know as Peter Notwithstanding as you
saw yonder-is the head of his family, as
have been seafaring men from father to son
for generations past-there names enough
TO tell you that much. Aye, they sailed the
sea, and Peter, he owned two or three tidy
smacks, and turned sardine fisher. He'd
have fitted up a vessel and gone cod fishing
If be hand't been so fond of his wife, as was
an fine girl when he married her.
and had a kind heart into the bargain. Aye,
and she was as fond OF him as he was of her.
She could never bear him to be out of her
sight no longer than was absolutely needful
for him to be away after sardihes. They
lived in yonder little house as you can
see on ycnder island. Well, they had but
one child. a boy, and needn't tell you that
they loved him. They just w~orshipped him.
don't know what they wouldn't have done
for him. They were alSays a buying him
---,.~k---, ~ a~na-- ara frnatS- ~ rrhin~