if
nave sworn upon tho Altar of God, eternal Hostility, to every form of Tyranny over tuo Mind of Mau.-Thomas Jeflerwn.
MINTED AND PUBLISHED BY II. WEBB,
Volume lili
BLOOMSBURGU COIiFMBlA COUUPT PA SATI7I&BAY NOVEMBER StO, 1839
Number Hi.
- , ,,:
i
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LETTERS addressed on business t must
be post paidi
THE MILLERS MAID,
Thera is a lonely mill Close beside the
little hamlet of Udorf, near the Rhino shore,
between the villages of Hersel and Urael,
On the left bonk below Bonn. This mill is
said to havo been the scenac of the follow
ing story i
It was on a Sunday morning, ' agio ldng
ago,' that the miller of this mill, and his
whole family, went forth to hear the holy
mass at the nearest church, in tho village of
Hersel, The mill, which was also his resi
lience, Was left in charge of i servant-girl
named Hannehen, or Jenny, a stout-hearled
lass, who had long lived with him in that
capacity. An, infant child, of an age unfit
for church, was left in her charge likewise.
The girl was busily employed in prepar
Ins dinner for tha-r,",-r . -nutt.
his family, when who should enter all ol a
Biidden but an old sweethart of hers, nam
ed Hcinrich Dottelor. lie was an idle,
graceless fellow, whom tho miller had for
bidden his house, but whom Jenny, with,
tho amiable perversity peculiar to her sex,
only liked, perhaps, all the better because
others gave him no countenance. Sho was
glad to see him, and she told him so loo;
and although in the midst of her woik, she
not only got him something to eat at once,
but also found time to sit down with him
and have a gossip, while he despatched the
food she set beforo him. As he ate, how
ever ho let fall his knife;
' Pick that up, my lass, said he in a jok
ing way, to the good-natured girl
Nay, Ileinrich,' she replied) 4 your back
should be more supple than mine, for you
liavc less work to make it stiff. I labor all
day long, and you do nothing. But, nover
mind ! 'twould go hard with, mo an I refus
ed to do moro than that for you, bad though
you be.'
This was spoken half sportively, and
half in good earnest; for, kind-hearted as the
girl was, and much as she liked the scape
grace.
sho was too honest and industrious
herself to encourage and approve of idle
ness, and a suspicious course of life in any
one else, however dear to her. She stoop
ed down accordingly, to pick up the knife.
As sho was in' the act of rising, however,
the treacherous villain drew a dogger from
tinder his eoat, and caught her by the nape
of the neck, griping her throat firmly with
his fingers to prevent her screaming the
Avhilo.
' Now lass,' he said, swearing out a bad
oath at tho same time, where is your mas
tor's money ? I'll have that or your life; so
take your choice.'
Tho terrified girl wnuhlfatn have parley
ed with the ruffian, but he would hear noth
ing sho could say,
' Master's money or you life, lass 1' was
nil tho answer he vouchsafed to her entrea
ties and adjurations. ' Choose at once,'
was tho only alternative he offered her; 4the
grave or the gold !'
Siq sawlhat there was no hope of mer
ry at his hands; and, as sho saw it, her na
tive resolution nwoko in her bosom, Like
the generality of her gentlo sex, she was
timid at tiiflcs a scratch was a subject of
fear to her; a draw of blood caused het to
rami; an unwonted sound filled her soul
with foat in the night. But when her en
ergies wdre aroused by any adequate cause,
she proved, as her sex have ever done; that
in Courage, in endurance, in presence of
mind, and in resources of emergency, she
far surpassed tho bravest and coolest men.
4 Well, well, Ileinrich !s sho said, resign
edly, 4 what is to bo, must be' But if you
take the money, I shall oven go along will
ye. This will be no home for md any more.
But ease your gripd of my neck a little
don't squeeze so hard; I can't move, you
hug me so tight; and if I can't stir you can
not get tho money that's clear, you know
ucsiues time presses; and it it be done at
all, it must be done quickly, as the family
will shortly be back from Hersel.'
Tho ruffian relaxed his gripe, and finally
let go Ids hold. lief reasons were all co
gent with his cupidity.
4 Come,' sho said; 4 quick, quick i no
delay : the money is in the master's bed
room.'
She Gripped up stairs, gaily as tt lark he
followed closely at her heels. Sho led the
way into her master's bedroom, and pointed
out tho coffer in which his money was se
cured;
4 Here, she said, reaching him ah axe
which lay in a comer of tho room, 4 this
will wrench it open at once : and while you
ato tying it up, I shall just step up stairs to
my own apartment, and get a few things
ready for our flight, as well as my own lit
tle savings for the last five years.'
Tho ruffian was thrown off iiis guard oy
her openness and apparent anxiety to ac
company him. Like all egotists, lie deceiv
himself, when self-deceit was most certain
to hajliii-iloelriwlio --. . .
4 Go, lass,' was all he said; 4 but not long.
This job will be done in a twinkling.'
She disappeared at the words. He imme
diately broke open tho chest, and was soon
engaged in rummaging its contents.
As he was thus employed,, however, ab
sorbed in the contemplation of his prey, and
eagerly occupied in securing it on his per
son, the brave-hearted girl stole down the
stairs on tiptoe. Creeping softly along the
passages, she spaedily gained the door of
tho chamber unseen by him, and likewise
unheard. It was but the votk of a moment
for her to turn the key in the wards and
lock him in. This done, she rushed forth
to tho outer door of the mill, and gave the
alarm.
Fly, (ly !' she shrieked to tho Child, her
master's little boy, an infant five yeara old-
tho only being within sight or sound of her!
4 Fly, fly to thy father ! Tell him we shall
all bo murdered an he haste not back. Fly,
fly!'
The child, who was at play before the
door, at onco obeyed the eiiefgdtic command
of the brave girl, and speed as fast as his
tiny lfigs could carry him on the road by
which he knew his parents would return
from church. Hannchon cheered him on
ward, and inspirited his little heart as he
ran.
Bless thee, boy bless thee ! she ex
claimed, in the gladness of her heart; 4 an
master arrives in time, I will offer up a ta
per on tho alter of our blessed lady of
Kreutzburg, by Bonn.'
Sie sat down on the mono bench by tho
mill door to ease hor over excited spirit) and
sho wept, as she sat, at tho thought of her
happy deliverance.
4 Thank God I' she ejaculated, 4 thank
God for this escape. Oh, tho deadly vil
lian ! and 1 so fond of him, too l'
A shrill whistle, from tho grated window
nf tho chamber in which she had shut up
the ruffian Ilenrich, caught her1 ear, and
made her start at once to her feet.
'Diether! Diether i' she heard him shout
4 catch the child, and come hither ! I am
fast. rComo hither 1 Biing the boy here,
and kill the gitl 1'
Sho glanced hastily up at the casement
from which the imprisoned villian's hand
beckoned to soma one in the distance, and
then looked anxiously after hor infant ernii
sary. The little messenger held on his way
unharmed, however; and she thought to hei-
self that the alarm was a falso one, raised
to excilo het fear, and overcomo her reso
lution. Just, however, as the child reach-
ed a hollow spot in tho next field the
channel of a natural drain, then dry with
tlie Heats of summer she saw another ruf
fian start Up from the bed of the drain, and
catching him in his arms, hasten towards
the mill, in accordance with the directions
of his accomplice, in a moment she per
ceived her danger, and in a moment more
she formed her future plan of proceeding.
Retreating into the mill, she double-locked
and bolted the door tho only apparent en
trance to tho edifice, overy other means of
obvious access to tho interior oeing barred
u.. -r r .
uy in,uana ui airoiig iron-grauiigs nxeu a
gainst all the windows; and then took her
post at an upper casement determined to a
wait patiently either her masters return, and
her consequent delivery from that dangerous
position, or her own death, if it were inev
itable. 4 Never,' said she to herself, 4 never shr'l
I leavo my master's house a prey to such
villains, or permit his property to bo car
ried off bolore my eyes by them, while I
have life and strength to defend it.'
She had barely time to secure herself
within, when the ruffian from without,
holding the hapless child in one naud, and
a long sharp knife in the other, assailed the
door with kicks, and curses and impreca
lions of the mostdaadful character.
4Coufound thee, he cried, applying the
foulest epithets of which the free-speaking
I eutomc languages are so copious ; 'open
the door, or HI break it in on ye'
'If vou can you may,' was all the noble
aim in lifin I put my trust
V
'Cut the brat's throat 1 roared the Impris
oned ruffian above ; 'that will bring hor rea
son.' Stout-hearted as poor Hannehen was,
she quailed at this cruel suggestion. For a
moment her resolution wavcied ; but it was
only for a moment, She saw that her own
death was certain if she admitted the assail
ant, and she know that her master would
be robbed. She had no reason to hope
that even tho life of the infant would be
spared by her compliance It was to risk
all against nothing. Liko a discreet girl,
she consequently held fast-in her resolve to
abide as she was while life remained, or
until assistance should -reach her.
4 An ye open not the door,' shouted the
villain from without, accompanying his
words with the vilest abuses and the fiercest
imprecations, 'I'll hack this whelp's limbs
to pieces with my knifo, and then burn tho
null over your head. 'Twill bo a merry
blaze, I throw.'
'I put my trust in God,' replied the
dauntless girl 'never shall ye set your foot
within these walls whilst I luvo lifo to pre
vent you.''
The ruffian laid the infant for a moment
on tho sward as he sought for combustibles
wherewith to execute his latter threat. In
this search he espied, perhaps tho only
possible clandestine entrance to the buil
ding It was a largo aperture in the wall
communicating with tho great wheel and
the other machinery of the mill and was a
point entirely unprotected, for the reason
that the simple occupants had never suppo
sed it feasible for any one to seek admission
through such a dangerous indet. Elated
with his discovery, the ruffian returned to
the infant, and. tying the hands and feet of
the child, throw it on tho ground even as a
butcher will fling a lamb destined for the
slaughter, to await his lime for slaying. Ho
then stole back to tho aperture, by which
he hoped to effect an entrance. All this
was unseen by the dauntless girl with
in. In tko meanwliilo her mind was busied
with a thousand cogitations. She clearly
perceived that no means would be left un
tried to effect an entrance, and sho knew
that on the exclusion of her foo depended-
her own existence, A thought struck!
her
4 It is Sunday,' said sho to herself; 'the
mill never works on the Sabbath, suppose I
sot the mill a-going now ? It can be seen
far off, and haply my master, or some of
his neighbors, wondering at tho sight, may
hasto hithor to know the cause. A lucky
thought,' she exclaimed 4 'tis God sent it
lo me l'
No sooner Said than doho Being all her
life accustomed to mill-gear, it was but the
work of a moment for liar to set ths machi
nery in motion. A brisk breeze which
sprang up, as it were by the speciol inter
position of Providence, at once, set the sails
flying. The arms of the huge engine
whirled round with fearful rapidity ; the
great wheel slowly revolved on its axile ;
the smaller gear turned . and creaked, and
groaned, according as thoy came into action
the mill was in full operation.
It was at that very instant that the ruffian
Diether had succeeded in squeezing himsel f
through the aperture injhewallrtrfia get
ting safely lodged irMlifrintSior of the greatf
drum-wheel. His dismay, however was
describablo when he begau to be whirled
about with its rotation, and found that all
his efforts to put a stop to tho powerful
machinery which set it in motion, or to ex
tricate himself from his periloos situation;
were fruitless. His cries wCre most ap
palling ; his shrieks were truly fearful ; his
curses and imprecations were horrible to
hear. Hannehen hastened lo tho spot, and
saw him caught, like a reptile as he was
in his own trap, It need not bo added,
that she did not liberate him. She know
that ho would be more frightened than hurt,
if ho kept within his rotary prison and she
knew, also, that unless he attempted lo es
nonn il.A.n t.i n . .1 - 1 " 1 II? .
liiaminatu all the while. In the meantime
tho wheel went round & round & went the
ruliian aloner with it, steadily and unceas
ingly too. In vain did he promise the
stout-hearted girl to work her no harm ; in
vain did he implore her (o p,ty on his help
less condition ; in .vain did he pray to all
the powers of heaven, and adjureall Ihe
powers of hell to his aid. She would not
hear nor heed him ; and, unheard and un
heeded of them likewise, muttering curses,
he was whirled round and round in the un
tiring wheel, until, at last, feeling and per
ception failed uiin, and he saw and heard
no more. He fell senseless on tho bottom
of the engine, but even then his inanimate
body continued to be whirled round, and
round, and round, as before ; the bravo girl
not daring to trust to appearances in con
nexion with such a villian, and being there
fore, afraid to suspend the machinery, or
stop the mill-gear and tackle from running
at their fullest speed.
A loud knocking at thd doof was ehortly
alter heard, and she hastuncd thither. It
was her master and his family, accompancd
by seveial of their neighbors, The unac
customed appearance of thu mill-sails iu full
swing on the Sunday, had, as she anticipa
ted, attracted iheir attention, and lhey had
hastened home from church for the purposo
of a6ceitaiiiing the cause of the phenome
non. The father bare his little boy in his
arms ) he had cut the cords wherewith the
child was tied, but he was unable to obtain
an account of the extraordinary circumstan
ces that had occurcd from the affrighted
innocent.
Hannehen, in a few words, told all ; and
then the spirit which had sustained her so
long and so well while the emergency last
ed, forsook her at once as it passed away.
She fell senseless into the arms of the
m ller's eldest son, and was with difficulty
recovered.
The machinery of the mill was at oncd
stopped, and the inanimate ruffian dragged
forth from the great wheel. Tho other
ruffian was brought down from his prison.
Each were then bound and sent off to Bonn
under a strong escort ; and, in due course
camo under the hands of thd town execu
tioner. -
It was not lontr till Hannehen became a
jbride.
The bridegioom was tho miller's
don, who had Ib'ved her long and well, bit
With a passion previously unrequited. They
lived thenceforth happily together for many
years, atid died at a good old age, surroun
ded by a flourishing family. Td tho latest
hour of her life, this btave-hearied vomait
would shudder as she told the talo of her'
danger, and her dellefance;
A Tale of grenaiU.
BY WASHINGTON 1RVIN.
There was ortcc a poor mason or brick
layer in Grenada, who kept all the sainta
days ahd holy days, and Sti Monday in
the bargain, and yet he grew pbdrer, and
could scarcely,carn bread for his ntimerous
family. Qne night he was rddscd from nis
first sleep by a knock at the door. Ha
openad it, and beheld before him a tall mea
gre cadaverous looking priest
4'Hark ye, honest friend," said the strand
ger.Vl have oftertrjbserecLlhai you are a
good Ghristain, and one to be trusted ; will
ydli uuderldko a job this very night ?''
"With all my heart, Senor Padre or!
condition that I airt paid accordingly.''
44 That you shall be, but yod must suiter
yourself to be blindfolded.'', "
To this the mason made rib1 bpjectidn; sd
being hoodwinked, he was led by the priest
through various rough lanes and winding
passages, until he stopped be'fdre the portals
of a house. Tho priest then applied a key
turning a crcaking'lucki and opening what
seemed to be a ponderous door: They
quickly entered, tho door was closed and
bolted; and the mason waa Conducted
through an echoing corridor and spacious
hall, into the interior part of tho building'
Here the bandage was removed from his
.
In the center was the dry basin of ah bid
Moorish fountain, under which the priest
requested him to form a small vault, bricks
and mortar being at hand, for that purposo.
He accordingly worked all night, but with
out finishing the vault, Just beforo day
break, the priest put a piece of gold lntd
his hand, and having agnin blindfolded him
conducted him back to Ids dwelling.
44Aro you willing to retUrri and complete
your work 1"
. 4 Gladly, Senor Padre, provided I ant
well paid,"'
, 44 Vell, then, to morrow at midnight t
will call again."
"Now1 said tho priest, 4,you niust help1
me to bring forth the bodies that arc to bd
buried in this vault."
At these words, ho followed the priest
with trembling steps into a retired chamber
of the mansion, expecting to behold somd
ghastly spectacle of deathj but was relieve
ed dn seeing three or four 'porlly jars -stand
ing in one corner, lhey were evidently
full omoney.and it was with gicat'difficulty
that ho and the priest carried them to thd
lombi The vault was then closed, the pave
ment replaced; and all traces df the work
obliterated.
The mason was again hoodwinked and
led forth by a routo different from that by
which he had come. After lhey had wan
dered for a long time through a perplexod
maze of lanes and alleys', they halted, Thd
priest then put two pieces of Gold into hid
hand. 44 Wait here,'' said he, 14 Until you
hear the catedral bell toll for matins. If you
presume to Uncover your eyes beforo that
time, evil will befall you. So saying ho
departeds
Tho masoit waited faithfully; amusing
himself by weighing the gold pieces in his
hand and clinking them against each other.
The moment t5io bell rung its ihalnl peal,
he uncovered his eyes, and found himself1
oil the banks of. the Penil, from whence hd
made thd best of his way homo and reVelled
with his family for a whole fortnight on thd
profits of his night's work, after which hd
was as poor as evfer. Ho continued to work
a good deal, to keep Saints d.tys and holy
days from year to year; while his faun y
grow up as gaunt as a cruw of gipsies.
As ho was sealod ono morning at thd
door of his hovel, he was accosted b
i ft
A