had they all gone? Whither went all the tourists and pedlars with

strange wares? whither all the brisk barouches with servants in the

dicky? whither the water of the stream, ever coursing downward and ever

renewed from above? Even the wind blew 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; they all went downward,

fleetly and gaily downward, and only he, it seemed, remained behind, like

a stock upon the wayside. It sometimes made him glad when he noticed how

the fishes kept their heads up stream. They, at least, stood faithfully

by him, while all else were posting downward to the unknown world.

One evening he asked the miller where the river went.

'It goes down the valley,' answered he, 'and turns a power of mills--six

score mills, they say, from here to Unterdeck--and is none the wearier

after all. And then it goes out into the lowlands, and waters the great

corn country, and runs through a sight of fine cities (so they say) where

kings live all alone in great palaces, with a sentry walling up and down

before the door. And it goes under bridges with stone men upon them,

looking down and smiling so curious it the water, and living folks

leaning their elbows on the wall and looking over too. And then it goes

on and on, and down through marshes and sands, until at last it falls

into the sea, where the ships are that bring parrots and tobacco from the

Indies. Ay, it has a long trot before it as it goes singing over our

weir, bless its heart!'

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