Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1888-01-28
WILL O THE MILL,
By ROBERT LOUIS srEvExs3

r NAA0 AAAA W1AAA
By ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
The mill where Wiz lived with his adopted
parents stood In a falling valley between
Pin woods and great mountains. Above.
nu after bill scared upwards until they
scared out Of the depth Of the hardest tim.
Der, and stood naked against the sky. Some
way up, a long gray village lay like a seam
or rag of rapor on a wooded hillside, and
woeu tue wind was favorable, the sound Of
the church bells would drop down, thin and
silvery. to Will. Below, the valley grew
ever sleeper and sleeper, and at the same
time widened out on either hand, and from
an emlnence beside the mill It was possible
to see its whole length and away beyond It
over a wide plain, where the river turned
and shone, and moved on from CITY to CITY
on its voyage toward the sea. It CHANGED
that over this valley there lay a pass into a
neighboring kingdom, SO that, quiet and
rural as it was, the road that ran along
beside the river was a high thorough.
fare between two splendid and powerful
societies. All through the summer.
travelling carriages came crawling up, or
went plunging briskly downward past the
mill; and as it happened that the other side
was very much easier of ascent, the path was
not much frequented except by people going
IN one direction; and Of all the carriages that
Whl saw so by, fve-sixths were plunging
briskly downward and only onesixth crawl
ing up. Much more was this the case with
foot passengers. All the lightfooted tour
lists, all the peddlers laden with strange
wares, were tending downward like the river
that accompanied their path. Nor was this
all; for when Win was yet a child a disas-
trols war arose over q great part of the
world. The newspapers wefe full OF defeats
and victories, the earth rang with cavalry
hoofs, and often for days together and for
miles around the coil of battle terrified good
people from their labors in the field. OF all
this, nothing was heard for a long time In
the valley; but at last oneof the command.
ers pushed an army overthe pass by forced
marches, and for threedays horse and foot,
M tumbril, drum and standard.
Kept pouring downward past the mill. All
day the child stood and watched them on
their passage-the rhythmical stride, the
pale, %unshaven faces tanned about the eyes, the
discolored resimeutals md the tattered fag1.
filed him with a sense of WEAKNESS, pity and
wonder; and ell night long, after ho was In
bed, he could hear the cannon pounding and
the feet trampling, and tho great armament
sweeping onward and downward past the
mill. No one in the valley ever heard the
fate Of the expedition, for they lay out of the
way of gossip in those troublous times; but
VIII saw ono thing plainly, that not O man
returned. Whittier had they all cone,
Whittier won't all tho tourists and
peddlns with strange wares2 whittier all the
brisk barouches with servants in the dicky?
whittier the water Of the stream, ever cours-
ing downward and ever removed from aboye?
Even the wind blow oftener down the valley,
and carried the dead leaves along with it in
the fall. It seemed like a great conspiracy
OF things animate and inanimate; thew all
went downward, fleetly and gayly down..
ward. mud only he, it seemed, remained be-
bind, like q stock upon the wayside. 1t some
times made him glad whom he noticed how
the fishes kept their heads up stream. They,
at least, stood faithfully by him, while ali
else were posting downward to the unknown
world.
One evening no asked tho millor where the
river went.
ut goes down the valley" answcrod he,
land turns a power of nills-six score mills,
they say, from here to Unterdccl-and it
none tho wearicr after all. And then it goes
out into the lowlands, and waters the great
corn country, n runs through a sight OF
fine cities $50 they say where kings 1.-Two all
alone in great palaces, with a sentry walking
up and down before the door. And it goes
under. bridges with atone men upon them,
looking down and smiling SO curious at the
water, and living folks leaning their elbows
on the wall and looking over too. And then
it goes on and OH, and down through marshes
and sands, until at last it falls into tie sea,
where tho ships ere that bring parrots and
tobacco from the Indies. Ay. it has - long
trot before it Us it goes singing over our weir.
bless its heart"
"A1ld what Is the sea? - asked VIII.
"Thc sear" cried the miller. Lord help
Us all, 1t Is the greatest thing God made!
That Is where all the water in the world runs
down into a great salt lake. There it lies, as
fat as roy hand and as innocent like as
child; but they do soy when the wind blows it
gets up into water mountains bigger than
any Of ours and swallows down great ships
bigger than our mill, and makes such a roar
ing that you can hear it miles away upon the
land. There are great fish in it i've times
bigger than a bull, and one old serpent rs
long as our river and as old as all the world,
with whiskers like a man and a crown of sill
yer on her head"
Will thought he had never heard anything
like this, and he kept on asking question after
question about the world that lay away down
the river, with ALI ts perils and marvels, ,1n-
til the old miller became quite interested
himself, and at Last took him by the hand
and led him to the hilltop that over
looks the valley. and the plain. The sun
was near setting and hung low down
In o cloudless sky. Everything was defined
and gloliaed in golden light. WIN had never
seen so great an expanse Of country in his life;
he stood and gazed with allhis eyes. Hecould
see the cities, and the woods aud fields, aud
the bright curves Of the river, and far away
to where the rim Of the plain trenched along
the aiming heavens. An overmastering
emotion seized upon ths boy, soul and body;
his heart beat 80 thickly that be could not
breathe; the scene swan before his eyes; tho
sun seemed to wheel round and round, and
throw of, as it turned, strange shapes which
disappeared with the rapidity Of thought, and
were succeeded by others. Win covered his
face with his hands and burst into a violent
At Of tears; and the poor miller, sadly disap-
pointed and pegplexed, saw nothing better
Tor it chan to take him up in his arms and
carry him home in silence.
From that day forward Win was full Of
new hopes and longings. Something kept
Juggling at bis heart strings; the running
water carried his desires along with it as he
dreamed over its deet,ng surface; the wind,
as it ran over innumerabls tree tops, hailed
him with encouraging words; branches beck
oned downward; the open road, as it
shouldered round the angles and went turn
Ing and vanishing fast and faster down the
valley, tortured him with its solicitations.
be spent long whites on the emincnce, look