The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1877-08-22
The Music of the Waters.
a Holiday Diversion and What
BecaHne Of If.


From London Society,"
So all had to do was to 90 into the
country and enjoy myself for six weeks
that is what it came to.
Why, if any one had struck me with
feather at the moment the Doctor ut
tered his verdict | should certainly have
been knocked down 4; fortunately no such
atr0city was attempted, so [ maintained
as erect a posture as my enfeebled health
would allow until the eminent licentiate
of the College of Physicians, whom l
was consulting, begged me to resume my
seat.
You are utterly smoke dried" he
said.
"London or tobacco?" l inquired.
Both" he answered. ''No physic
fresh air is all you want mountain air,
if possible perfect rest and quiet; alb
stemious habits, early hours, and no to-
bacco."
"But," 1 feebly protested, 81 don't
care about the country; how am L to fill
up my time ?"
Nonsense; you know nothing of it,
from your own showing; and as to occu-
patton, anything will do, so that you keep
clear of your ledgers. Fish, sketch, idle,
read poetry and light novels go and
steep yourself in greenery, refresh your
senses with rural sights and sounds go
and look at trees and fields, listen to the
birds and the music of running waters !;
follow this out, and you will he a differ
ent man in six weeks"
"And then" blankly inquired.
/, "Then? 0, them" he answered, ''get
, married and settle down."
, 1t certainly was fortunate l was not
standing up at that moment, for it would
/, not have needed a touch of the aforesaid
f feather to have laid me low. AS it was,
, ! sank back in my chair aghast. Get
married !" | thought; l who was so ut
terly insensible to female attractions, and
who had been always taught to have an
eye to the main chance, and regard mat
rimony as clog, unless associated with a
great heIress. | get married on a salary
of G300 year. Whew!
/ left Sayille row with scarce another
word, convinced that for real, downright,
impractical men there were none to COM
pare with doctors.
Thus l took the plunge, and within
, five days found myself at a snug little
w
spot known as the "Devil's Bridge" q
few miles inland from Aberystwith.
l confess at once to having been a lit
of the scenery. The unexpected novelty,
felt, would keep me going for some
time.
The change soon refreshed me. | was
astonished at the feeling neither dull mol
lonely-tor the tourist season had hardly
set in, and had the little inn well nigh
! to myself So | wandered about and
! gazed wonderingly ON all l saw, especial
lY at the deep, craggy, wooded gorge OF
mountain river-bed across which his Sa-
tanic Mejesty's engineering skill was sup
posed to have been displayed.
! As | stood looking down upon it from
the bridge near the inn, it certainly seem
a ed to me a wondrously romantic spot
l Steep rock bound banks, crowned with
trees, hemned in the rushing, foaming
river, its channel becoming irregularly
: narrower and more precipitous as II
reached the head of the valley in the
S depths of which it lay. Here there was
# a waterfall, as / then thought, of stu
il pendous magnitude, and yet little high
r err up, second, still larger. AS | made
r. my way down to the river by wellworr
d path through a wood, the sound of The
descending waters, as, waited on the sof
5 summer breeze, it rose and fell in liqult
r cadence. fascinated me from the very
!, first. At distance it was but muir.
r muir but as l drew nearer seemed tc
: fancy that melodies innumerable were
: growing out of it-wild, unequal melo
d dies, that touched chords in my nature
: of the existence of which had hithorte
been ignorant had cared no more fol
music than for any other of the refining
/. softening influences of life, and now there
seemed to be awakening in me an entire
ly new man. / did not know myself
and the fascination led me on irresistibly
j. Now I would stop and tilt my hea'
IS from side to side, listening to the varie
p ties of sound l thus gained. Then, al
Il ter advancing q little to increase tn
N strength of tone, I would retreat so tina
l. the delicate decline of power should b
D. made to add another charm. In thu
4 fashion Utterly spent some hours be
r fore actually reached the verge of tn
Id torrent, and experienced IN its ful
D. force the tremendous roar of the rush
ing waters. Why, here was Occupa
Il, ton for weeks, / thought, in merel
a. listening to these beautiful noises; an
:. had not the doctor told me that this wa
a ls one of the ways in which / should en-
t. ploy myself? Had he not said, s'Liste
A to the music of running water 7" Well
ne I never expected to find holiday dives
sion in such a pursuit but here it wa.
and for a whole fortnight / gave mysel
up to this delicious idleness. Then, .
if farther to develop the unsuspecte
music, poetry, or whatever you ma
choose to call it, Of my nature, foun
= among the few cofee-room books cop
n lof Southey' poems. Instinctively rea
be again and again, 'sHOw does the wats
he come down at Lodore?" took the 70
or ume down to the wood, to the water
en- edge, to the very foot of my waterfall
Oh which seemed to me to be doing all tia
e the poet described rs possible under q
". circumstances.
1 The weather hitherto bad been snpurs
l. midsummer sunshine, and not drop 9
'es rain. !.
The sunshine glinting through .