Finding a job for the homeless was not as big of a problem back in the 18th century, although it wasn't your typical 9-5. It was more of being a lawn ornament and spectacle by being a hermit that lived on the land. You know you're rich when you can hire your own mystical old man.
Hermits were common in romantic medieval stories as the figure a knight may meet on his quest. They would often be wise old men and offer up sage advice that the knight would heed warning to. They were favored and appreciated.
Though they were mostly just found in fairy tales (real hermits did exist—but they weren't magical), 18th century English noblemen would hire men to live on their land as hermits. They were given food and water as payment, and were even handed a skull, book, and hour-glass—for the mystic effect. They were tasked with only repeating phrases in Latin. Most of them took the role seriously and grew out their beards and fingernails for the old-man look.
