Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-09-24
WILL O. THE MILL.
By ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.

Pine woods and great mountains. Adore,
hill after hin scared upwards until they
SCARED out OF the depth Of the hardest tim
Der, and stood naked against the Aky. Some
way up long gray village lay like a seam
or ing OF vapor on a wooded hillside, and
when the wind WINS favorable, the sound Of
tho church bells would drop down, thin and
siivery, 70 Will Below, the valley grew
ever sleeper and sleeper, and at the Same
time widened out on either hand, and from
al eninence beside the mill II was possible
70 SOC its whols length and away beyond IL
over Wide plain, whsrs the river turned
and shone, and moved on from city 70 city
on It's voyage toward tho aea. II CHANGED
that over tiais valley there lay pass into
neighboring kingdom, so that, quiet and
rural as il wss, the road that ran along
beside tho river was a high thorough
faro between two splendid and powerful
societies An through the summer,
travelling carriages came crawling up, or
went plunging briSkly downward past tho
mill; and AZ IL happened that the other aide
was very much easier of ascent, tho path wns
not much frcqucnied except by people going
In one direction; and Of all the carriages that
VIII saw 70 by, hvesixths were plnnging
briskly downward and only one-sirth crawl
ing up Much more was this the case with
foot passengers. All tho lightfooted tour
lists, all tho poddlers laden with strange
wares, were c..'irg downward like tho river
that accompanied their path. Nor was this
all. for when WIN was yet child disis-
trous war aroes over great part Of the
world Thu Dewspapor were full Of defeats
and Victories, the earth rang with cavalry
houfa, and often for days together and for
miles around tho coli OF battle terrified good
people from their lAborz In tho field. OF all
this, nothing was heard for long time in
tho valley; but at las one Of the command.
eB pushed az army over the pels by forced
Tnarohca, and for three days horse and foot,
cannon and tumbril, drum and standard,
krpt, pouring downward past the mill All
day the child stood and watched them on
their pasiagp--tho rhythnical stride, tho
palo, unshnyen fnccst STAINED nboutth eyes tho
dscolorod regimontAls and thetattered flags,
filed him witba sensS Of woarinnss, pity and
wonder; and all night long, after no was in
bed, hecould hczr tho cannon pounding and
the feuttrumpling, anitho great armament
sweeping ongard and downward past tho
mill. 10 ono In the valley ever heard the
fateof thoexpedition, for thoy lay out Of the
way u gossip In thoge troubons times; but
WIN saw one thing phinly, that not a man
returned. Whittier had they all goncl
Whittier went all the tourists and
peddlerH7vith strange warcsi whittier all the
brisk baIUuehns with servants in the dickyi
. whittier tho watonof tho stream, over cour3-
ing dovnwurdhnicvor removed from aboyel
Even the wind hlosS oftener down the valley,
and carried the daadioaycs along with IL In
the fall. ltseemed like great conspiracy
Of thlngs animate and inAnimate; thoy all
went downward, Hoctly and guyiy down.
ward, and only he IL so,msd, remained be-
hind, like stock upon thu wnysido, II some
times made him glad whom he noticed how
the fishes kept their hoaflsap strcam They,
at least, stood faithfully by him, while all
elm were posting downward to tho unknown
world
ono evening he asked tho-Sniller whore the
river won't
at goes down tho Valley answered be,
"eud turns power Of miIls--six seorc mills,
toy say, from hero 10 Untordocls- II
none tho wcarcr after all. And then 1t goes
va: sto tho lowlands, aud waters the great
.ai.l country. and runs through sight OF
IlT c,,icl $50 they say where kings live all
$3.50 81 great palaces, with a sentry waiking
aad down before tho door And II goes
a1jcr bridges with stone mon upon them,
i.olhg down and smiling 80 curious at the
l,at., and living fonH leaniug their elbows
10, Tie wall and looking over too, And theu
#. lsa en- and on, aisi down through marshes
Iud sands, until at last it falls into the sea,
,glero tho ghpa arc that bring parrots and
tobacco from the lndies. Ay. IL has long
trot before II a. it goes singing over our weir,
hlesi It's hearth
aud what Is tho scar asked Will
THE heAln cried the miller. Lord hRlp
us all, It Is tho greatest thing God madol
That is whore all tho water in tho world runs
down into gr,at salt lake There Il lies, as
Hat IN my hand aud ns innocent like az n
vi ND, but they do my whea tho wind blows II
y eets up into wlgter mountains bigger than
any OF ours and swallows down grgnt ships
bigger than cur mill, and makes such roar.
Ing that you can hear It miles away upon tho
land. There are great Dish In II tiyc times
,oiggrr than bull and one old serpent as
Tong as our river and oh as all the world,
with whiskeIs like a msn and u crown OF sil.
rcr on her headn
Wul thought he had never heard anything
lae this, snd.hc kcpton asning question after
Wcstion Abouttha world that lay away down
river, with ailits peFtls and Inarvoa, un.
we old miller bAcRna quit interested
ms III, and at Iasb took him by tho hand
- led him 10 the hilltop that over
poka thu valley and tho plain Tho sun
vas near settling and hung low down
In eloudless sky. Everything was defined
and gloriiied In golden light Win had mover
seen No great en expanae Of country Ia his lifo
no stood and gazcd with all his eyes Hocouid
$40 tho citios, and tho woodland fields, and
tho bright ouTves Of tho river, and far awny
10 whore tho rim OF the plain zenched along
the shining begvrns An ovcrmatcring
emotion sainod upon tho boy, sou, and body;
bis heart beat 30 thickly that he could not
brcathei tbs acene swain before his eyes the
sun secmed 10 wheel round and round, and
throw on, a. II turned, strange shapes which
disappeared with thorapidity Of thought, aud
were sucoecasd by others. Win covered hi
faeo with hia hands and burrt into violent
~ OF teara; and the poor miller, sadiy disap
pointed and parplexed, saw nothing better
Tor IL than 70 take him up In his arms ans
carry him home In dlenna,
From that day forward win was full O
now hops and longings Sonothlng ksp
tugging at his hcrt strings; the runnin,
water carried his desires along with IL as h
dreamed over It's aeeting surfl.cs; tho wind
as II ran over innumertablo troo sola, halle,
hiin with encouraging words; branches beck
ohed downward, the opon road, US /
shouldcrcd round tho angles and went turn
Ing and yaniahing fart and faster down tn
valley, tortured him with it's solicitation,
lie spent long whites on tho enineuee, lool