Rock Island Argus., 1897-11-30

. refuge for the shipwrecked, for the
prescribed and perhaps also for those
who despise the vanities of life.
About ten years ago mysterious in.
dividual made his home in the grottoes
Of the coast of Antrim. The approach
Of any human being seemed to inspire
him with an invincible repugnance. As
soon as the cavern which he had select
editor his refuge was discovered by the
fishermen of the neighborhood he imme-
dately disappeared and took up his
quarters 30 or 80 kilometers farther on
in another retreat which appeared more
inaccessible. For few months his
domicile was in an old abandoned mine,
the principal gallery of which advanced
under the ground to the distance Of
about five kilometers, but as the inhab-
itants Of the nearest village had long
before carried away the beams that sus.
tained the vault to convert them into
f1rewood the hermit was obliged to quit
that dangerous refuge, where he was
constantly exposed to the danger of be-
ing buried alive. So he installed himself
in q grotto. the access to which was
more easily discovered, but it was less
obscure, less humid and less liable to
cave in. There he f1attered himself that
he would find at least some of the con.
ditions Of existence that belonged to the
men Of the caverns. But it was in vain
that he hoped to return to the life Of
the first ages Of prehistoric humanity.
He was obliged to pay tribute to the
exigencies of civilization and to mani.
fest less repugnance for all contact with
his fellow beings.
One day he found an empty barrel
that the tempest had tossed upon the
shore, and he could not resist the temp
tation Of bringing it home to serve as q
bed. Some indiscreet persons, taking
advantage Of his absence to visit his
apartments, discovered that he had q
pot for cooking his food. Where did
that cooking utensil come from? Was it
also q piece Of wreckage rolled up upon
the sand by the furious waves, or was
it the last souvenir of civilized life car
ried away by the anchorite who, while
endeavorlng to return to the conditions
Q. existence tnat belonged 70 prehistorlc
times, could not abandon the habit Of
cooking his food?
That is question which has never
oeen answered, ana It Is also impossi-
Que 10 nn0 OUT wnere ne gets the pota-
Toes upon wnicn ne hves Dad they come
1rom the discreee charity OF the poor
fishermen OF the neighb0rhoOd, who at
the proper time renewed his provisions,
or IN separating himself from the world
did he make arrangements for the trans
portation OF his modest provisions? That
is also mystery which has never been
fathoWed. One point, however, is cer-
tain, and that is that the hermit deter
mined to live upon potatoes alone. One
day . sailor offered him half Of his din.
ner. The hermit pretended to be glad to
accept the gift, but he never touched
the food. In the absence Of the kind
hearted sailor he tossed it into the sea.
| Apparently he also vowed that he would
never. enter q house and newer touch q
piece Of money. Hekept his resolutious
Nothing could ever induce him to crosa
the threshold of any one Of the little
houses Of the fishermen. who bersn to
have q sort Of Affection for him. and
never once was he known to beg. The
only. .liberality that he would accent aud
that he solicited from the munificenc.
Of strangers was a match to lisht tn