10 
stepped ashore, Petro fell at his feet in exuber- 
ant joy inspired by the happy termination of 
the accident. The hermit spoke kindly to the 
faithful and devoted servant in a peculiar for- 
eign tongue, when the poor fellow arose, his 
eyes beaming with genuine joy as he looked 
into his master’s face. <A short dialogue be- 
tween these two strange beings, resulted in a 
hearty welcome extended to me by Petro, and 
unmistakable evidences of his full appreciation 
of the services I rendered to his master. 
“You will pardon my use of a foreign lan- 
guage in addressing my servant, as he is utterly 
ignorant of other speech. He is a Sicilian, and 
since leaving his native isle, he has enjoyed no 
opportunity to converse with anyone but me, 
whom, I sincerely believe, he loves with a 
superstitious affection. Now, you will kindly 
pardon my absence, while I remove my wet 
garments, and Petro will make you as welcome 
as our poor accommodations will permit.” 
Thus, gracefully, the old hermit left me. 
Petro beckoned to me to follow him; this I did 
readily, as the opportunity to solve the mys- 
tery surrounding these lone dwellers on this 
island retreat was at last presented in a manner 
not to be anticipated. 
HIS HERMITAGE, 
I followed Petro to the hermitage, with all 
my senses active to absorb all the facts that 
