, 1897-10-29
HERMIT OF ANTRIM.
AN EDUCATED MANS SOLITARY ex.
IsTENcE IN IRISH CAVES.

sA
There are portions of the north of Ire.
land where nature assumes q grand and
wild aspect. On the coast of Antrim
there is no armistice in the furious bat
tie that, since the first ages of the ter
restrial globe, was engaged between the
waves and the rocks. Columns of basalt.
like gigantic sentincls, stand on guard
to resist the invasion of the ocean, and
the profound excavations made under
the granite rocks that protect this por-
ton of the soil of La Verte Erin prove
that the waves must have frequently
made most vigorous %onslaughts and only
retired after they had mined u land
which they could not conquer.
1t is not difficult to imagine that this
majestic and dcsolate site should have
seduced one of the vanquished oncs in
life, II who had absolutely decided to
separate himself from the society of
man. The real hermits are becoming
more and more rare-indced, it was be.
lievcd that they had completely disap-
pcared-but if a vocation Tor that singu-
larly abandoned profession could still
be felt by any Il it might be in the
presence of the marvellous spectacle Of
that sea whose waves never subsitlc, Of
those grottos whose pillars and vaults
possess a power which the art Of the
architect can never equal. Nature her
self seems to Lavc created iIhthosc rocks
q refuge for the shipwrecked, for the
prescribed and perhaps also for those
who dcsIise the vanities of life.
About ten years ago Il mysterious i'll
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 repugnancc. As
soon as the cavern which he had select
ed for his refuge was discovered by the
fishermen Of the neighborhood he imme-
diately disappeared and took up his
quarters go or 30 kilometers farther on
in another retreat which appeared more
inaccessible. For a 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 kilometcrs, but as the inllab-
itants of the nearest village had long
before carried away the beams that sus-
tanned the vault 10 convert them into
firewoOd 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
Dlsor,o Loo, lr-.l .,l Loo, il, A.
ave in. There he fiattered 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 repugnancc fer 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 us n
bed. Some indiscreet persons, taking
advantage Of his absence to visit his
apartments, discovered that he had IL
pot for cooking his feed. Where did
that cooking ut.nsil come from: Was it
also u piece of wrCcEagc rolled up upon
the sand by the furious waves. CT was
it the last souvenir Of civilized lie car
ried away by the anchorite who, while
endeavoring to return to the conditions
of existence that belonged to pr, historic
times, could not abandon the habit of
cooking his food?
That is n question which has never
been answered, and it is also i'll posi-
BILE 10 find out where he gets the pota-
toes upon which he lives. Did they come
from the discreet charity of the poor
fishermen of the neighborhood, who ut
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 q mystery which has never been
fathomed. One point, however, is GER
tain, and that is that the hermit deter
mined to live upon potatoes alone. One
day u 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 Il house and never touch q
piece Of money. He kept his resolutions.
Nothing could ever induce him to cross
the threshold Of any onc Of the little
houses of the fishermen, WHO began to
have II sort Of affection for him, II
never once Y as he know to beg. The
only liberality that he W ould accept and
th;.t he collected from the mGniiiccnce
of strangers was Il match to light the
frewcod gathered for cooking his pota-
toes.
The Rev. J. II. Bernard ~endeavored
to lift ito veil that hid the origin and
antecedents Of this mysterious person
age. The man Of the caverns Of Antrim
endeavors i'll vain to live the life Of q
savage. 1t has been recognized by more
than Ii sign that he has received a
good education. From time to time he
reads to the fishermen some passages
from the Bible, but he never comments
upon them. There is no evidence going
to prove that the man has any particu-
lar form of insanity beyond, perhaps,
the harmless one Of the love Of solitude.
He Is always clean and a in appear
ance and seems to be sound and vigor-
ous III body. He 81 eaks with no accent,
SO that it is impossible to fix the local..
~ from which he came. He seldom
smiles, but 10 doesn't look sad. On the
contrary, he has a resigned and perfect
~ satisfied look. Who he ia and why in
the world he lives inch an extraordinary