The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1866-02-13 00:00:00

CERNE ABBA&

TNt LONILT MILLPOND: A RIAL A DVIIITO
Several parser chance brought roe into soquaintanaa
ship with • young schoolmaster in • Dorset town,
who was himself • striking instance of the eisitudes
of human his. That young manere his as • sea-
captain, and after various voyage and adventures,
accidentally fell into the hold of ship, and Waal
his spine so as to lose alma* entirely the ass of his
ler. Being thus dabbled from active service he
tutor his good education and anninsediug voice to
'advantage, by setting up • sebriel, whir ors took •
flouriabing parsec r then used to visit him
pretty often and enjoy his isteresting cionvenation
root his hair-breadth escapes r well as his
ingenious Piste regarding rearm. At resod of re
of his midsummer vacations, he invited me, with an
assistant as • grown up pupil, to ancompry him in •
poet-chair on • Melting tour through the amanty, as
he had to seers seam] mils and taller pay ante
fur others. 8o we rated early, and after Mediu
vim= places, we hurried at Peetifilhaft, where,
while r Nosing his papers and rocunts at the NW-
errs, be sect us to visit and mord the monomer
erected to the memory of Admiral Hardy, Nelson's
last friend, and • native of that picturesque Tillage.
Preen the top of the mariposa we °add disown
the bills of dye 00411114811, besides Peaked sod the
Lk of Wight, after which we visited the cromlech,
or the altar whereon the anciest Britain used to
radio, bran Maims, or punish their culprits.
We saw sad touched rase huge stones of 2,000
years' eroding, and eves playfully *owl our beads
in the fatal hollow, and brought them beak rarely
on our .boulder,,waidering at the beneficial changes
of eivilisation, besides trousers, airlines, chignons,
An, kn. Afterwards we dined at •bbotsbury, and
visited the beautiful rat sod enobanted gardens of
Lord Darter, whose clever gardeni.r promoted us
the pruner dowers and fruits, Theis we visited the
abbey and the old or vent's wonderful swannery then
still in all its glory. Lee visa Abbotabury we passed
, through several places and farmatoada, where we
ware delayed more or Ima until deer inee, "mir'
sans we took • late tea at Cern*, after which my
friesd, the schoolmaster, told us (all his three com-
panions) to walk along the Dorchester road. saying
he bad only one abort visit to pay in the neighbour-
hood, and that he would soon reach us. go we
walked away, though slowly, and reached Dorchester
at night, but without either chaise or schoolmaster ;
our idea, however, was that he had been detained
at his last call. The Nest day we learnt all about
the untoward delay. The schoolmarm had lest his
way, and instead of regaining the Dorchester road,
bad proceeded in inothir direction amidst aro
waste lands, which might be called nobody's lands,
till at dusk he drove up tea wreathed littlecomag.
at the corner of an old mill•pond surrounded with
rank weeds and raids. Our friend perceiving • light,
celled out lustily, and saw • man and • woman
whom be asked for • night's lodgings, adding that he
would pay them well, whereupon they agreed to
shelter him ma his chair for that short sight. What
could that forlorn ample do in snob • desolate rot,
but live like spiders awaiting their per What
must have been their ideas when they helped the
Well to-do cripple into their best room Our friend
was glad enough to have found shelter and rest;
but hie hello would not allow him to Test, for,
every no and then, they bads him go to bed,
when he bora to be frightesed, and thought of the
stagnant mall-pond, sod the reeds, and of the sleep
that roverobles death. To a classical mind this pool
presented the dark lease of the Conytna The
more an as he was wanting his money received
daring the day. Gold, indeed, was his betrayer.
But mother metal saved him, for he seined the
poker and DOM relinquished it His hosts Pon
peroeived that his powerful arms would have made
the most of it. Thus armed be eilesoad their last
growlings, and the dawn eons coming Is his rescue,
be paid liberally for his lodAings and for the poker
too, and was replaced in his chaise, having had •
most narrow mum for which he paid about one penny
in the ponnd, eoasidering the mosey he had in his
Pocket We all ciougratulatod most heartily our
astormed friend upon his safe return, after having
run the risk of becoming a larstrine relic for future
ages. In our indignation against his last boas we
wanted to have that mill-pond filled up and the
attar erased. But, perhaps now, the plan is
ertivated and thriving, for we live in Oa age of lan
and steam. —Oomissusionled.