Under the eyes of the placid hermit, comfortably established at the edge of the road, under the glance of this man, who calmly prepared himself by an untroubled life without care nor suffering for a blissful eternity, flowed the changefully coloured current of travellers, vagabonds, wayfarers, and wanderers. His benediction rewarded the generous passer; the hard look of the austere man did not suffice to disturb the blessed indifference. The life of others might rapidly consume, burnt by the sun, gnawed by care; his own endured in the shade of the trees, and continued without hurt, lulled by the rustle of human passions.