new to him. He opened it, and found himself in another
chamber, like his own; and there also lay some one, he knew not who, in
a bed, with a stream of water flowing all around it. There was also a
second door, beyond which was a third room, and a third patient asleep,
and a third stream flowing around the bed, and a third door beyond. He
went from room to room, on and on, through about a hundred such, he
thought, and at length came to a vaulted chamber, which seemed to be over
the well. From the centre of the vault rose a great chimney, and under
the chimney was a huge fire, and on the fire stood a mighty golden
cauldron, up to which, through a large pipe, came the water of the well,
and went pouring in with a great rushing, and hissing, and bubbling. From
the other side of the cauldron, the water rushed away through another
pipe into the trough that ran through all the chambers, and made the
rivers that flowed the beds of the sleeping patients. And what was most
wonderful of all--by the fire stood two angels, with grand lovely wings,
and they made a great fanning with their wings, and so blew the fire up
loud and strong about the golden cauldron. And when Willie looked into
their faces, he saw that one of them was his father, and the other Mr
Shepherd. And he gave a great cry of delight, and woke weeping.

CHAPTER XXIII.

WILLIE'S PLANS BLOSSOM.

In the morning, Willie's head was full of his dream. How gladly would he
have turned it into a reality! That was impossible--but might he not do
something towards it? He had long ago seen that those who are doomed not
to realise their ideal, are just those who will not take the first step
towards it. "Oh! this is such a little thing to do, it can't be any
use!" they say. "And it's such a distance off what I mean, and what I
should give my life to have!" They think and they say that they would
give their life for it, and yet they will not give a single hearty
effort. Hence they just stop where they are, or rather go back and back
until they do not care a bit for the thoughts they used to think so
great that they cherished them for the glory of having thought them. But
even the wretched people who set their hearts on making money, begin by
saving the first penny they can, and then the next and the next. And
they have their reward: they get the riches they want--with the loss of
their souls to be sure, but that they did not think of. The people on
the other hand who wan