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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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There was a lofty rock which liad stood for ever * And a fountain sprang up beneath the rock , and the waters thereof were purer than any waters that were upon the earth . A Hermit made his dwelling beside the fountain . He drank of the waters at their source , morning and evening ; and he went lower down , and purified himself every day .
His dwelling was covered with vines ; and the Hermit trained the branches thereof , and watered the roots , and rejoiced to behold the golden clusters , and watched with care those that were yet unripe . Birds fed from his hand , and refreshed him with their song . Antelopes also were sheltered beneath his roof , and he loved to behold their sports . It chanced , one day , that the Hermit was weary and slept . And when he awoke , lol one stood beside him in his dwelling * And the Hermit wist not how he had found entrance therein .
And the stranger was of a gay countenance , and in his hand he held a cup . He drank thereof , and offered unto the Hermit . The Hermit was afraid ; but , after a while , he listened to the words of the stranger and drank . The night passed away in mirth . The holy man knew not when the sun went down : neither did he repair to the fountain as he was wont . Towards dawn , he sank down in a deep sleep ; and when he awoke , lo ! the stranger had departed .
When he went abroad , the sun rode high in the heavens ; and as he looked around him , he saw that all was laid waste . The vines were torn down from their supports and trailed along the ground . The birds had not been fed ; therefore their song was hushed . The antelopes came not forth : they were stretched on the earth , fainting with thirst . Then the Hermit went to drink of the fountain . But the stream was almost dried up , and the waters thereof were bitter .
He hastened to bathe his feverish brow . But when he bent over the pool , lo ! his face was changed that he knew it not . Casting himself down in fear and sorrow , he cried ** an enemy hath laid waste my dwelling while I slept . *' Presently , dark clouds arose , and thunders rolled afar off .
And the Hermit heard a voice calling on his name . He looked up , and beheld one whose eye was sullen , and his brow dark and lowering . And he frowned upon the Hermit , saying , " He whom thou hast entertained is Sin . He hath despoiled thy habitation , and the waste can never be repaired . " Then the Hermit trembled , for the voice of the stranger chilled his soul .
" What then must I do ? " he cried . And while he spake , the winds arose , and there was a great storm . And Despair replied , " Thou canst not remain here . Behold ! the storm beats upon thy dwelling ^ and it shakes from its foundations . Follow after thy guest , for here is no abiding place . " " But he hath spoiled me already , " cried the Hermit ; ' and if I follow him , he will destroy me utterly . " " Then , * ' cried Despair , ' * cast thyself down from a rock and die . " And the Hermit fled to the edge of a precipice , and was about to cast
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1830, page 691, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2589/page/35/
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