The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-09-05

stance, they passed by the mill crysTg5
up at Zephrin, who invariably pcred5
over Ills books in the little ,lo,5ner
window, BEHOLD the king Of th.- -Irilips
Then, with gestures Of mock gra vity,
Quite SO, said Barbon, they.
taunted him into insanity with these
gibes. The crown! the robes! II see.
now how they camep' t:s $S
Indirectly these staunts may have
affected his mind, monsieur His Curl
Gus attire and lmien are obviously ssng-
gestiYe Of the fact; but it is my opin-
ion his sad arrangement is only partly
due to them.
], might after night the little dOrmer
window Of the mill was light till dawn;
yet the earliest conner did not fail to
could understand, for not another light
save the millers might be found in all
Saint Pyx, not even at the presbytery,
of the gossips began to Wag. It went
with the Old Mantle evil :One-de-
batting upon the sale Of his sou. for
riches and power to satisfy his sinful
Zephrin's light at all; but only the
glowing of the ghosts of his family
who came to entertain him. Indeed,
a fearsome individual and the neigh
borhood of the mill a place to be
Stunned after dark, unless one had no
fear in his heart. If by any unfortu-
nate concurrence of. sorceries a person
oh .1,op, 4<~r r, Ayr J, IN
passing the mill, no plunging of steel
into wood might save him from the:
evil spirits. Even to bless himself and
utter pious invocation, perhaps, might
not avail! ras ~,
p ''In the midst of Zephrin't ill-repute
a singular thing occurred. He was
known to have fallen into, conversation
with a customer. It was this way:
Colette Dion came often to the mill
with the grist of her mother-a poor
widow with thirteen children, OF whom
Colette was the eldest. One day when
she came. down along the dandelion-
dotted pathway leading to the mill,
with her mothers grist in a bag upon
her head, Zephrin watched her with
much interest. If common report may
be believed, she was certainly, in those
days, picture not to be blinked cas-
ually- She had the figure of a nymph
and q face, for all it was common
place at points, something unusually
fine for a villager. But the step, the
carriage; it remains to this day, as we
have seen, monsieur, dignifed, sdistin-
guished, majestic! At first glance, it
is said, there was some remarkable re-
semblance between Colotte and Zeph-
rinand who can tell /? It may have
been some vague suggestion Of con
geniality ity-some thin ray, as from one
distant planet to another which In
When, at length, she arrived at the
door of the mill and deposited her bur-
den beside it, said he: 5i
.. :" You have meaning step, p'tite,
and a pretty one s-. 4
'True?' questioned Colette, with
something finely scornful on her elo-
quent lips. She was piqued, let us be
lieve, since he had not noticed her
pretty face; for, though woman may
be conscious of her subtlest grace and
charm, homage to the features is the
thing-tlle real joy. Isn't it so, Bra
bon? WELL said the miller, I doubt
not there is more in your mind than
the mere grinding of yonder grist, eh {?
=: @ 1T is my mind now,' said she. r.
wasmy step latelyv - 81
1t is the mind which regulates ths
step, p'tite. always watch the step
when I would know the mind,' he re-
sponded. r.
Now, there is much in these frag-
ments which reveal the clearness of
Zephrin's mind at that period and also
the real character of the man and the
bent of his spirit. You see, it was the
gesture, the carriage, the aspect, that