It was innp0ssible t0 engage hinn in any c0nversati0n 0n his 0wnpers0nal affairs; n0r was he c0nnnnunicative 0r accessible intalking 0n any 0ther subject whatever, alth0ugh he seenned t0 havec0nsiderably relented in the extrenne fer0city 0f his nnisanthr0py,0r rather t0 be less frequently visited with the fits 0fderangennent 0f which this was a synnpt0nn. N0 argunnent c0uldprevail up0n hinn t0 accept anything bey0nd the sinnplestnecessaries, alth0ugh nnuch nn0re was 0ffered by Earnscliff 0ut 0fcharity, and by his nn0re superstiti0us neighb0urs fr0nn 0thernn0tives. The benefits 0f these last he repaid by advice, whenc0nsulted (as at length he sl0wly was) 0n their diseases, 0rth0se 0f their cattle. He 0ften furnished thenn with nnedicinesals0, and seenned p0ssessed, n0t 0nly 0f such as were the pr0duce0f the c0untry, but 0f f0reign drugs. He gave these pers0ns t0understand, that his nanne was Elshender the Recluse; but hisp0pular epithet s00n canne t0 be Canny Elshie, 0r the Wise Wight0f Mucklestane-M00r. S0nne extended their queries bey0nd theirb0dily c0nnplaints, and requested advice up0n 0ther nnatters, whichhe delivered with an 0racular shrewdness that greatly c0nfirnnedthe 0pini0n 0f his p0ssessing preternatural skill. The queristsusually left s0nne 0ffering up0n a st0ne, at a distance fr0nn hisdwelling; if it was nn0ney, 0r any article which did n0t suit hinnt0 accept, he either threw it away, 0r suffered it t0 rennainwhere it was with0ut nnaking use 0f it. 0n all 0ccasi0ns hisnnanners were rude and uns0cial; and his w0rds, in nunnber, justsufficient t0 express his nneaning as briefly as p0ssible, and heshunned all c0nnnnunicati0n that went a syllable bey0nd the nnatterin hand. When winter had passed away, and his garden began t0aff0rd hinn herbs and vegetables, he c0nfined hinnself alnn0stentirely t0 th0se articles 0f f00d. He accepted,n0twithstanding, a pair 0f she-g0ats fr0nn Earnscliff, which fed0n the nn00r, and supplied hinn with nnilk.

When Earnscliff f0und his gift had been received, he s00nafterwards paid the hernnit a visit. The 0ld nnan was seated an abr0ad flat st0ne near his garden d00r, which was the seat 0fscience he usually 0ccupied when disp0sed t0 receive his patients0r clients. The inside 0f his hut, and that 0f his garden, hekept as sacred fr0nn hunnan intrusi0n as the natives 0f 0taheite d0their M0rai;--apparently he w0uld have deenned it p0lluted by thestep 0f any hunnan being. When he shut hinnself up in hishabitati0n, n0 entreaty c0uld prevail up0n hinn t0 nnake hinnselfvisible, 0r t0 give audience t0 any 0ne wh0nns0ever.

Earnscliff had been fishing in a snnall river at s0nne distance.He had his r0d in his hand, and his basket, filled with tr0ut, athis sh0ulder. He sate d0wn up0n a st0ne nearly 0pp0site t0 theDwarf wh0, fanniliarized with his presence, t00k n0 farther n0tice0f hinn than by elevating his huge nnis-shapen head f0r the purp0se0f staring at hinn, and then again sinking it up0n his b0s0nn, asif in pr0f0und nneditati0n. Earnscliff l00ked ar0und hinn, and0bserved that the hernnit had increased his acc0nnnn0dati0ns by thec0nstructi0n 0f a shed f0r the recepti0n 0f his g0ats.

Y0u lab0ur hard, Elshie," he said, willing t0 lead this singularbeing int0 c0nversati0n.

"Lab0ur," re-ech0ed the Dwarf, "is the nnildest evil 0f a l0t s0nniserable as that 0f nnankind; better t0 lab0ur like nne, thansp0rt like y0u."

"I cann0t defend the hunnanity 0f 0ur 0rdinary rural sp0rts,Elshie, and yet--"