The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1885-09-17
The Old Woman Mill.

These are grasped by two men, who
by means of them turn the mill. The
old women are dropped in at the top,
wrnkled, bent. without hair OF teeth,
and come out at the bottom fresh as a
pippin. This is all done in one turn
of the mill.
1t is true, there is such a crush and
crack that it goes to ones marrow to
hear 1t. But if you ask one who
comes out fresh and new if it did not
hurt fearfully, she says: Dear me,
no! It's lovely. 1t is something as
when you wake in the morning after
sound sleep. The sun shines in at
the window, the birds are singing and
the leaves rustling. You turn once
more in your bed and stretch yourself,
and your joints crack little, but it
doesn't hurt-that's ALL"
A long way off from Apolda there
lived an old woman who had heard of
the mill. She thought she would give
anything in the world to be young
again, SO she one day suddenly made
up her mind to go to the mill But it
was pretty slow work for her. She
was lame, and had often to stop for
racking cough, but she got on by de-
grees, and at last reached the mill all
right
81 want to get ground over and be
young again." said she to the man
who sat before the mill, with his
hands in his pants pockets. putting
rings of smoke from his pipe into the
blue above him. but, bless
me, what journey it is from my town
to Apolda"
"Nhat is your name?' asked the
man, with ayawn.
"Old Mother Klappred."
"Sit down on the bench, Mother
Klappred," said the grinder. and went
into the mill, opened great book and
brought out long piece of paper
with something written on it.
"That's my bill, l s'pose," said the
old woman.
'.Oh, no." answered the man, "it
doesn't cost anything to be ground
over, but before you are put in you
must sign this paper"
"Sign exclaimed the astonished
woman, "Are you going to make me
sign away my poor soul to the devil?
No, sir, you don't make me do that.
] am God fearing woman and hope
to get to heaven at last"
ooh, it's not quite SO bad as that"
said the grinder, laughing. "There is
nothing on this paper but memo
randum of all the foolish things you
have ever done in your life They are
all put down in exact order, just &C.
cording to the day and hour you COM
mitted them. Before you are ground
over you must promise that when you
come out young you will do them all
over again, just in the order they
came before. exactly as they stand on
this paper" Thereupon he began to
run over the list with a malicious
grin. It's true there's pretty good
lot of them-a pretty good lot of
them. From sixteen to twenty six,
one every day, two Sundays. After
that it's little better But when
you get up to forty, bless me, what
big ones ! Later, things 70 tolerably
we'll"
"Well," exclaimed the old woman
with sigh, Il don't see how it is go
ing to pay, then, to get ground over
True, true" said the man. "FoI
most people 1t doesn't. That is the
reason we grinders have such an easy
time of it. We have seven days rest
in week and the mill stands there
still, particularly in these later times
In old times business used to be
brisker."
"lsn't there any way possible to
cross off just two or or three things
from that list?" said the old woman
imploringly, stroking the mans cheek
persuasively; "only just three, dear.
will promise all the rest---if must"
mo-" said the grinder, "that is Out
and out impossible. The wholo OF
nothing"
Poor old Mother Klappred though,
# all over. At first she had half 1
mind to sign and jump in, but ali al
once she turned suddenly to the man
and said, "IIere, take your paper. ]
don't want to have anything more tt
do with your old MILL" and off she
hobbled toward home. When she ar.
rived all her neighbors came about heI
! with wondering eyes. exclaiming
"Why, Mother Klappred, you hav.
come back just as old as you went
: away! Isn't it true about the MILF"
"Y-e-e-s, it's true enough" said she
coughing and clearing her throat; yves
i it's true. But l--I-was dreadfully
! afraid of it. And thon-and then-
Lori what's the use, just for this littl,
bit of a scrap of a life"-Christian
, Weekly from the German.