We now partook freely of the good hermit’s provisions, and enjoyed his Lachrymæ Christi, both white and red; which of course he had no objection to, as he expected to be well paid for it; he is probably influenced by motives of this nature in residing here, although he is said to enjoy a small pension from the king. The present hermit has not been long resident; the former, a very old man, having retired a few years since to spend the remnant of his days in the bosom of his family. Of course the tenant of this seclusion is a monk, but in the present day we have few instances of voluntary and solitary retirement from the busy haunts of men, on the mere score of religious feeling, and we can scarcely, in the present instance, attribute a lonely residence, in the midst of such dangerous circumstances, to this principle alone. But the danger of the situation is probably not so great as might be imagined: to the common eruptions our recluse must be accustomed, and of course has had experience of their comparative innocence; and with respect to the more important ones, it is certain, that a variety of indicating circumstances have generally preceded them, well understood by those who are exposed to their agency, and which give timely and sufficient warning; besides, our hermit is not so solitary a being as many who move on the busy stage of life; for the number of parties that visit his cell, must afford him considerable intercourse with society, and was it otherwise, we know how much we are the creatures of habit, which can even reconcile us to incompatibles. Some think a ship a prison, nay, Dr. Johnson says, it is “the worst of prisons, for you have no means of escaping,” and yet there are many, who, from custom, are never more happy than in one. The hermit placed his book before us, containing the names of those who had visited his cell, and we found them accumulated from all nations, and largely interspersed with observations in verse and prose; but as for their beauty and point I shall leave this to be determined by those who may think well to inspect them. My friend was anxious that I should contribute my mite to this book of scraps, when, as my mind was not a little elate, with the idea of having so easily surmounted the difficulties which my friends had urged against my present excursion, I put down a couplet to the following effect: Some, difficulties, meet full many; I find them not, nor seek for any.