All the Most Fashionable People Have Hermits

Okay, so this post may or may not have started off being about monks. But I'll save you all the boredom of another post about monks (for now), and will instead write about hermits (who are, after all, a type of monk). Hermits live off by themselves, participating in an eremetic lifestyle (no luxuries and such). The tradition stems from a bunch of 4th century desert saints, who -as you can probably guess- went out into the desert, lived alone, and denied themselves all creature comforts. But since I promised you this wouldn't be about monks, I'll get straight to the interesting part.

In the 18th century, British aristocracy had too much time and money on their hands, and liked to do strange things. Among the strange things they enjoyed were to construct elaborate gardens in the "natural style" (carefully planned to make them look just like nature intended). Why the fields, hills, ponds, and such that were there before their meddling weren't natural enough, I do not know. They also built "follies" on their ground. Follies were things like fanciful Greek temples and minuscule cottages. Exceptionally posh members of society even employed hermits to live on their grounds, to be seen by other posh visitors when they take their strolls through the carefully planned woods.

I don't know about you, but the idea that people employed hermits is a little strange to me. Think about it:
"Oh good gracious Lady Gertrude, would you care for a stroll through the forest. We must take the airs on a fine day like this." "Why, Lord Herbert, what a lovely idea. I do wish to encounter the hermit. He must be fantastically lonely out there on his own." "Don't fret your little head, my pet. The hermit Ted is covered in filth, you don't want to meet him." "Oh my my Lord Herbert, why must he be so uncivilized?! We should take him under our wing." "Well my dear, he already is under our wing, or at least our employ." (you also have to imagine Lord Herbert's mustache bristling. I'm sure he has a mustache. All 18th century British nobles had excellent mustaches.)

If I were an 18th century British aristocrat, I would probably vote against having a hermit in my employ. Of course, I'd probably be too busy arranging dinner seating charts and doing my embroidery to be concerned with household matters and hermits, but I think its slightly creepy to employ a homeless person to basically squat on your land.