Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1894-01-02
A WONDERFUL QUERN
NOW the MoaweoANs EXPLAIN
Why THE SEA - SALT.

WHY 1Ne 6eA u oAII.
q nssss niri nat ossssA Oct nishss vss
Ne Psss nrsshss. while % vssss'essd
ne Met oss IRE Ola ssiiss whs
wssssa the Q~sss 70 0risd Salt.
There IL an old fashioned Norwegian
blktsis that accounts In very curious
say for the salt In the sea. According
b the story. tbs waters Of the ocean wers
BOT always salt. but long ago. before
Columbus sailed In his little carsvels. be-
fore the Vikings crossed over 10 Iceland
and Martha's Vineyard. even befor. ~.
Brvndan rowcsi his boat made of skins
,ewed together across from Ireland TO
The mouth Of the Chesapeake. there were
Two brothers living away mp In the
northland. One was very rich. and the
other was very poor. One brother hal
herds ot cattle and hocks 81 fat noun.
tain sheep. while the poor one had Just
about nothing at all except q wife and
ever - many children.
One Christmas eve there was nothing
In the houss for them 20 eat. and the
poor mans wife aid Ia her husbands
III hal rich brother ~ you have.
would 20 and AJAX him for something
for thru poor children 10 eat. Tomor-
row will be Christmas day. and there IL
not crust % bread In the house.
40 he went 20 hi. brother and told him
how much they needed his help. The
rich mau gave him nice fitch u bacon
and told him 20 90 30 an old magician
Who lived somewhere In the mountains.
I do not know why he sent the poor man
10 the magician. for the latter did not
hear q very good name In the ncighbor-
hood. However. when b. came % the
magician's stronghold everybody abou,
the place wanted 90 buy his fitch u la
,on. He could not understand why 70
was. bu, he ,houghtif there was somuch
demand for the bacon he would nj least
make the bet bargain he could for u.
Well he said. Il ought by rights 10
take this bacon home ~ my good dame
Cor our dinner tomorrow. but since You
al sesm to have Get your hearts on u ]
suppose You must have II. II s.ll ".
however. I want q goci price for It.
They offered him q god round sum.
but that would not do.
Il will l., You have H." he aid. ''if
ron will give me that quern yonaer BE-
hind the door"
A auern IL one % the things that u
would IL very hard 10 find nowadays bs-
caus. they hAy, gone out 81 fashion, but
II yUu will look In the dictionary. a. did
when I first heard this story. You will
..c tina, q quern 1. q mill for grinding
corn by hand. and that 10 consists 81 two
large stones. an upper and lower one.
the upper one having handle by which
u may b. turned around on the lower
stone. grinding the corn OF grain between
them.
Tn. old magician at first laughed out
rsh, a, the idea % any ones thinking
tha. he would par, with his qusrn. bu,
the owner % the bacon insisted tina, be
would IL satisfied with nothing lee. than
that. - b. finally got u.
When he reached hi. own door. the
clock was striking ~ and his wife was
waiting Tor him. r-aiy To scold him for
staying - long.
"whai In the world KEEP, you ~ long
.he askei. And what arr we going %
10 with that old quern when We haNeno
corn 10 grind"
Then he told her % his trading the be-
con ior the quern. She was drraifully
put out about IL. anil ESPECIALLY a, the
io-. 20 th. bacon. which wouid hsy.
made them q gooi hot dinner and then
would have lAs,ei them = week. SLICED
cold.
Just walt . minute" aid her hus.
band, ''b-for. you b-gin a. complain.
and 49, II iii not DO night this time.
And putting the quern on the table he
told u 90 grind enough gocd things "a
make q fr., rat. dinner for ~ hungry
mouths. Ills wife could hardly believe
her eye. a. she stool there and watched
the quern grinding out daintie. enough
% last week.
tn. rich brother chAnc-i 10 hear how
well hi. poor brothers family was liv'
ing. AMI when he came and saw wha, an
elegan, table they kept he wa. .nviou'
aud wanted 90 know where they 81, the
money Ia buy the things. For a long
time they k.p, the secret 81 the old
ausrn, but somehow u got out at last.
They were 80 proud ~ 10 that they could
no, help telling all about u, and the rich
brother insisted on buying the qnern.
Finally they L., him have l, for go.
II KEEP, on grinding for it, new owner,
but he wa. afraid % u, never feeling
sure Of what 10 would do next. ~ he
made hi. brother take II back at the
same price. The poor man was glad IA
get u back again. and u ground out un'
told richie. for himself and his family
They hal everything they desired. among
other things n golden house 10 live In,
and the r--ople came from every land u
-. the magniiicence % the family tina,
owned the wonderful quern.
One day q stranger. an old seaman who
hal been all around the then known
world. came Ia see the quern. and want
si IL 10 grind salt.
II 1. supposed that the owner OF the
.,uern was rich enough by this time. for
be let Il 70 for q moderate sum. and
fearing that he might repent Of having
sold IL the old sailor put 10 50 a,
once with his prize. anxious to know
low II would work. When hehad sailed
- far out that no one could reach him,
he said 10 the quern:
Grind sAlt, and grind both fast and
good"
No sooner had he given the order than
the querp began 10 grind HEAPS and
keaps u salt all over the deck until ths
ship was ready TO sink To the bottom oi
the sea. Scared half to death, the old
sailor begged the quern TO stop grinding
ALT. lie got down on his knees 10 II.
But there was no use talking 10 10. II
went On grinding. grinding. aud soon
the vessel went down with iis weight 81
SALT. And the quern still keep- on grind
ing In the depths Of the oc-an-and that
IL why the sra IL salt.-virginia Mc'
Sherry.
Mary Magdsiese's Grave.
90