Rockville

“ Woods, too, clothed the steep hillsides, and swept down to the noble river, their very boughs hanging far out over its clear and rapid waters. In the midst of these fine woods stood Rockville Hall, the family seat of the Rockvilles. It reared its old brick walls above the towering mass of elms, and travelers at a distance recognized it for what it was, the mansion of an ancient and wealthy family.
The progress of England in arts, science, commerce, and manufacture, had carried Sir Roger's estate along with it. It was full of active and moneyed farmers, and flourished under modern influences. ”

“ Major Jimmy Bass would exclaim; "don't we all know Little Compton like a book? And ain't he got a right to wear his own duds?"
Rockville, like every other railroad town in the South at that period, had become the site of a Confederate hospital; and sometimes the hangers-on and convalescents paid brief visits of inspection to the neighboring villages. On one occasion a little squad of them made their appearance on the streets of Hillsborough, and made a good-natured attempt to fraternize with [91] the honest citizens who gathered daily at Perdue's Corner. ”

“ They did not want to get on. The Rockvilles did not aspire to distinction for talent in the world—why should they? They had a large estate. So the Rockville soul, unused from generation to generation, grew—
Fine by degrees and spiritually less,
till it tapered off into nothing.
Look at the last of a long line in the midst of his fine estate. Tall he was, with a stoop in his shoulders, and a bowing of his head on one side, as if he had been accustomed to stand under the low boughs of his woods, and peer after intruders. And that was precisely the fact. His features were thin and sharp ”

“ A neighboring squire, whose grandfather had married a Rockville, was allowed to secure the title, on condition that the rest carried off the residuum of the estate. The woods and lands of Rockville were announced for sale!
It was at this juncture that old William Watson reminded Sir Simon Degge of a conversation in the great grove of Rockville, which they had held at the time that Sir Roger was endeavoring to drive the people thence. “What a divine pleasure might this man enjoy,” said Simon Deg to his humble friend, “if he had a heart capable of letting others enjoy themselves.” ”

“ There was war henceforth between Rockville and Great Castleborough.
On the next Sunday there came literally thousands of the jubilant Castleburghians to Rockville. They had brought baskets and wine for dining and drinking success to all foot-paths. But in the great grove there were keepers and watchers, who warned them to keep the path, that narrow, well-worn line up the middle of the grove. “What! were they not to sit on the grass?” “No.” “What! were they not to pic-nic?” “No; not there!” ”

“ The Rockvilles of Rockville were very conservative, very exclusive, and very stereotype. Other families grew poor, and enriched themselves again by marrying plebeian heiresses. New families grew up out of plebeian blood into greatness, and intermingled the vigour of their first earth with the attenuated aristocratic soil. Men of family became great lawyers, great statesmen, great prelates, and even great poets and philosophers. ”

“ What! that most ancient, honourable, and substantial family suffer any of the common earth of humanity to gather about its roots! The Rockvilles were so careful of their good blood that they never allied it to any but blood as pure and inane as their own. Their elms [Pg 15] flourished in the rotten earth of plebeian accumulations, and their acres produced large crops of corn from the sewage of towns and fat sinks, but the Rockvilles themselves took especial care that no vulgar vigour from the real heap of ordinary human nature should infuse a new force of intellect into their race. ”

“ It was usually required on the principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but occasionally other bargains were made. A slain man’s relatives ordinarily demanded the culprit or a relative, even though they sometimes had to be satisfied with a weakling, a cripple, or an aged person of little value to the tribe.
The early settlers of Rockville discovered the weightiness of this Indian law. One day in February, 1869, Tom Flanigan and Sam Green were carrying express from Rockville to Pipe Springs, where they were met at dusk by two Indians. ”

“ United Order.—Indian Troubles.—Mission to England.
In the winter of 1873 and 1874 President Young visited Dixie, and taught the people the principles of the United Order. I received a letter from him requesting me to meet him at Rockville. I took my son Ferra, then a lad of eight years, and crossed the mountain on horseback. The snow was three feet deep on the divide, and the weather stormy. In fact, we faced a blizzard for eight hours. When we reached Rockville, the afternoon meeting was in session, the house being packed, and people standing in the aisles. ”

“ There was a theory among certain envious people in Rockville—there are envious people everywhere—that the Tomlinsons, notwithstanding the extent of their landed estate and the number of their negroes, were sometimes short of ready cash; and it was hinted that they pocketed the proceeds of Aunt Fountain's persimmon-beer and ginger-cakes. Undoubtedly such stories as these were the outcome of pure envy. When my grandmother heard such gossip as this, she sighed, and said that people who would talk about Harriet Bledsoe in that way would talk about anybody under the sun. ”

“ There is a Scott Canyon making into John Day River a few miles south of Rock Creek. The name of the post office called Scotts was changed to Rockville on November 26, 1878, and Thomas S. Lang became postmaster. It was in operation until August 2, 1889. It is apparent from a War Department map of 1887 that when the name was changed to Rockvile, the ofhce was moved eastward two or three miles. Thomas Lang was an early day sheep raiser in the Heppner area and he carried on part of his activities near lower Rock Creek in what is now Gilliam County. Later he was a well-known citizen at The Dalles. ”

“ A school for children was established at Rockville, which was successfully conducted for some time, and a wharf built, which is as unique as it is substantial, having been built by native workmen with raw materials cut and hewn out of the woods, the piles being driven by a pile driver of our own construction. ”

“ Great outward respect was shown to the Rockvilles on account of the length of their descent, and the breadth of their acres. They were always, when any stranger asked about them, declared, with a serious and important air, to be a very ancient, honorable, and substantial family. "Oh! a great family are the Rockvilles, a very great family." ”

“ The next day the placards on the Rockville estate were changed for others, bearing, “Stopped by order of Sessions!” and alongside of them were huge carefully painted boards, denouncing on all trespassers prosecutions according to law. The same evening came a prodigious invasion of Castleburghians, who tore down all the boards and placards, and carried them on their shoulders to Great Castleborough, singing as they went, “See the Conquering Heroes come!” They set [Pg 27] them up in the centre of the Castleborough market-place, and burnt them along with an effigy of Roger Rockville. ”

“ When Tom called Jennie, half an hour later, she and Carl were still talking across the fence.
X. CULLY WINS BY A NECK
About this time the labor element in the village and vicinity was startled by an advertisement in the Rockville “Daily News,” signed by the clerk of the Board of Village Trustees, notifying contractors that thirty days thereafter, closing at nine P.M. precisely, separate sealed proposals would be received at the meeting-room of the board, over the post-office, for the hauling of twenty thousand cubic yards of fine crushed stone for use on the public highways ”

“ Hewett gives this note of Montgomery C. H.: "This village is also called Rockville. There is an extremely bad turnpike from Washington to this place, so much so, that the man who keeps the toll house, after having taken toll, recommends travellers to go the ola road."—p. 51. ↑ All the inns and public-houses on the road are called taverns.—Baily. ↑ Clarksburg. ↑ Hagar's-town is ten miles from Boone's-town.—Baily. ↑ McDowell's Mill. ↑ Mr. Heighway, an Englishman who settled now at Waynesville, Warren County, Ohio.—History of Warren County, Ohio (Chicago, 1882) , p. ”

“ In its eagerness to score, the Arcturus unit kept making errors and lost the ball constantly but the crew of the Polaris failed to capitalize. The second period ended with the score unchanged.
As he slumped to the ground for the rest period, [Pg 95] Astro turned on Roger bitterly. "What's the idea, Manning? You're dogging it!"
"You play your game, Astro," replied Roger calmly, "I'll play mine."
"We're playing this game as a team, Roger," chimed in Tom heatedly. "You're kicking the ball all over the lot!"
"Yeah," added Astro. "In every direction except the goal!" ”

“ Then Rockwell, looking from face to face, drew a deep breath.
"There is just one way," he said. "It was John Merriam who died. Senator Norman is alive." He waved his hand at Merriam. "He must go on living!"
"But that is impossible," said Mayor Black and Merriam together.
"Face the alternative first," said Rockwell. "George--the real George--was admitted to the hospital about nine o'clock this morning. At that same hour Senator Norman was making a speech at Cairo before an audience representing the entire county. That is known all over the State. He took the next train back to Chicago. ”

“ What in the universe could we possibly hide in there?"
"I don't know, Corbett," replied Williams. "We've never found anything there." He turned to Strong and smiled. "But there's always a first time, isn't there, sir?"
"Yes, of course," agreed Strong. "You do a thorough job, Williams. Very good indeed!"
"Thank you, sir," said Williams. "You know, we've heard about you and the Polaris unit here on the Rock." He turned to Tom, Roger, and Astro. "We have a stereo of that mercuryball game you played at the Academy when you were Earthworms." ”

“ As light as the fabric square was, weighing no more than a pound, under the intense heat of the sun it felt like a woolen blanket where it touched him. Astro rolled over and opened his eyes.
"What time is it, Tom?"
"Must be about noon. How do you feel?"
"I'm not sure yet. I had a dream." The big cadet rubbed his eyes and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I dreamed I was being shoved into an oven—like Hansel and Gretel in that old fairy tale."
"Personally," mumbled Roger, without opening his eyes, "I'll take Hansel and Gretel. They might be a little more tender." ”

“ At this last Claude opened his eyes widely, Rockwell looked put out, and Madam Trevor glanced at the speaker with a new expression.
Vincent, turning from the Puritan with the barest smile at his earnestness, addressed his rival: "And you, George Rockwell—what have you?"
Rockwell cleared his throat, and rose as if he were to speak from the pulpit: "My income from St. Anne's is, I confess without mortification, no greater than that which this gentleman—um—ah—has just said to be his portion from the meeting-house. ”

“ Merriam," said the Mayor, eyeing him with profound dislike, "is unmasked at the Urban Club, it would be the utter ruin of us all."
"It undoubtedly would," replied Rockwell cheerfully. "All the more reason why we should all keep a stiff upper lip and play up for him."
"No!" cried the Mayor. "It's insane! Stop the car! I'll step into the nearest store and telephone that the Senator has fainted in the cab and can't appear. Anything is better than this awful risk." ”

“ A few days after this, I had a private conversation with Joe, and he again wished that I should go to Missouri to serve Rockwell. I consented, and he fitted me out with a horse and sulky for my Journey. My directions were to go to Liberty and get the pistol that Rockwell shot Boggs with -- it being in the hands of a widow woman living in that town, who Rockwell had deposited it with. Rockwell, feared that, it might be discovered and identified, and produced in evidence against him; and therefore his wife on her return from Independence, requested Joe to have this instrument secured. ”

“ Senator Norman and his new political manager, Mr. Rockwell of the Reform League, rushed almost precipitately into the lobby of the Hotel De Soto and made a bee line for the nearest elevator. It was obvious that important business urgently called them, for they merely nodded hurriedly in response to several cordial salutations.
As the elevator shot up Rockwell leaned heavily against the side of the car, took off his hat, though there was no one with them, drew a deep breath, and comically winked both eyes at Merriam.
"What a life!" he ejaculated. ”

“ Spluttering and coughing he sat up and saw that the campfire was out and the campsite was already six inches deep in water.
"Roger, Astro!" he called and slapped the nearest sleeping bag. Astro opened the flap a little and peered out sleepily. Instantly he rolled out of the bag and jumped to his feet.
"Wake Roger up!" he snapped. "We've got to get out of here!"
"What's the matter?" Roger mumbled through the bag, not opening it. "Why the excitement over a little rain?"
"The fire's out, hotshot," said Astro. "It's as dark as the inside of a cow's number-four belly. ”