Wilmington daily commercial., 1874-12-14
Or. HolIana,s Nex STORY.

We have been favored with the advance sheets
OF DIR. Hollands new serial. 1.-The Story OF
Sevenoaks," which will be commenced in the
January number Of Scrfbner's Magazine. As
was to be expected from the previous efforts Of
"Timothy Ttcomb," this new story is full Of
pathos and power The description of the town
Of Seyenoaks is one that will be easily recognized
by those who are familiar with the pecularities
of New England life and scenery. While we do |
not propose to injure the publishers interests
by too liberal use of the proofs before us, our |
readers will thank us for giving them the fol- |
lowing glimpse
town strung upon a stream like beads upon |
q thread or charms upon chain. Seyenoaks |
was richer in chains than charms, for its abund-
ant water power was only partially used. 1t
plurged and roared, and played, and sparkled,
because it had not half enough to do. 1t leaped
down three or four cataracts in passing through
the village; and as it started from living
springs far northward among the woods and
| mountains, it never failed in its supplies.
Few of the people of Sevenoaks-thoughtes
| workers, mainly--ether knew or cared whence
| it came or whittier 1t went They knew it al
The Branch, " but Sevenoaks was 80 far from
| the trunk, down to which it sent its sap, and
| from which it received no direct return, that no
| significance was attached to its name. But it
| roared all day, and roared all night, Summer
| and Winter alike, and the sound became part
of the atmosphere. Resonance was one OF the
| qualities Of tho oxygen which the people
| breathed, so that IL, at any midnight moment,
| the roar had been suddenly. .hushed, they would
have walked with a start and sense OF suffoca-
| ton, and leaped from their beds
Among the charms that dangled from this
liquid chain-depending from the vest of land
| scape which ended in rutfle of woods toward
the north, overtopped by the head of noun
tain-was huge factory that had been added to
from time to time as necessity demanded, until
t had become an imposing and not uncomely
pile. Below this were two or three dilapidated
saw mills, grist mill in daily use, and fulling
m--a remnant of the old times when
homespun went its pilgrimage to town
to be fuled, colored and dressed-from
all the sparsely settled country around.
On little plateau by the side of The Branch
was row Of stores and dram hops and butchers
establishments. Each had sort of square,
false front, pierced by two staring windows and
a door, that reminded one OF lion couchant--
very large in the face and very thin in the flank.
Then there were crowded in near the mill little
rows of one story houses, occupied entirely by
operatives, and owned by the owner Of the mill.
All the inhabitants, not directly connected with
themill were as far away from it they could 60
Their houses were set back upon either activity
rising from the gorge that the stream had worn,
and dotted the hill sides in every direction.
1 There was a clumsy town hall, there were three
or four churches there was high school and a
low tavern. II was, on the whole, a village OF
importance, but the great mill was somehow its
= soul and center. fair farming and grazing
country stretched back from it eastward and
westward, and Seyenoaks was its only home
market.