The Washington herald., 1920-07-11

that she perceived In DUNG o
kinship to the formidable name
of her favorite flowers.
When Aglaia was four years
old she and her father used to
go through little performance
in the mill every afternoon. that
never failed to come on, the
weather permitting. When sup
per was ready her mother would
brush her hair and put on a clean
apron and send her across to the
mill to bring her father home.
When the miller saw her coming
In the mill door he would come
forward, all white with the -four
dust. and wave his hand and sing
an old miller's song that was
familiar in those parts and ran
something like this:
The wheel goes round,
The grist Is ground,
The dusty miller's merry.
He sings all day,
His work is play.
While thinking Of his dearie.s
Then Aglaia would run to him
laughing. and call Dada, come
take Dums home:" and the miller
would swing heh to his shoulder
and march over to supper. sing
ing the miller's song. Every eve-
ming this would take place.
One day. only a week after her
fourth birthday, Aglaia disap-
peared. When last seen she was
plucking wild flowers by the side
of the road in front of the cot
tage. A little while later her
mother went out to see that she
did not stray tco far away. but
she was already gone.
OF course every effort was made
to find her. The neighbors- gath
cred and searched the woods and
the mountains for miles around.
They dragged every foot of the
mill race and the creek for a
long distance below the dam.
Never a trace of her did they find.
A night or two before there had
been a family of wanderers camp
ed in a grove nearby. 1t was
conjectured that they might have
stolen the child, but when their
wagon was overtaken and search
ed she could not be found.
The miller remained at the mill
for nearly two years, and then his
hope of finding her died out. He
and his wife moved to the North
west. In a few years he was the
owner of a modern mill in one of
the important milling cities In
that region. Mrs. Strong never
recovered fro0 the shock caused
by the loss of Aglaia, and two
years after they moved away the
miller was left to bear his sor-
row alone.
When Abram Strong became
prosperous he paid a visit to Lake.
lands and the old mill. The scene
was a sad one for him, but. he was
a strong man, and always ap-
peared CHEEKY and kindly. II
was then that he was inspired to
convert the old mill into a church.
Lakelands was too poor to build
one, and the still poorer noun
taineers could not assist. There
than twenty miles.
The miller altered the appear
ance of the mill as little as pos
olOlcs ne DlR ONcTSHOl-"uccl was
left in its place. The young peo-
pie who came to the church used
to cut their initials in its soft and
slowly decaying wood. The dam
was partly destroyed, and the
clear mountain stream rippled un-
checked down its rock bed In
side the mill the changes wero
greater. The shafts and mfff-
e.fn AA1 1Na 1asxre
of course, all removed. There were
two rows of benches with aisles
between, and a little raised plat
form and pulpit at one end. On
three sides overhead was a gall
lery containing seats, and reach
ed by a stairway inside. There
was also an organ-a real pipe
organ - in the gallery, that was
the pride of the congregation of
the Old Mill Church. Miss Phooe
Summers was the organist. The
Lakelands boys proudly took
turns at pumping 1t for her at
each Sundays service. The Hev.
Mr.. cambridge was the preacher,
and rode down from Squirrel Gap
on his old white horse without
ever missing a service. And Abram
paid the preacher $500 a year; and
Miss Phoebe 5000.
Thus, in memory of Aglaia, the
old mill was converted into
blessing for the community in
which she had once lived. II
seemed that the brief life of the
child had brought about more
good than the threescore years
and ten of many. But Abram
Strong set up yet another monu-
ment to her memory.
Out from his mills in the North
west came the Aglaia" -four, made
from the hardest and finest wheat
that could be raised. Fae country
soon found out that the "Aglaia"
flour had two prices. One was the
highest market price. and the 9TH
er was-nothing.
Wherever there happened a ca
lamity that left people destitute
fire. flood, a tornado, a strike,