MILLER'S MAID.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 243, 27 November 1847, Page 4

MILLER'S MAID.

[From Tales of Female Heroism.'] Near the hamlet of TMorf, on the banks of the Rhine, not far fii om Bonn, there yet stands the mill which was the scene of the following adventure : — One Sunday morning the miller and his family set out as usual to attend service at the nearest church in the village of Heasel, leaving the mill, to which Ithe dwelling-house was attached, in charge of 'his servant maid Hanchen, a bold-hearted giirl, who had been some time in his service. '[The youngest child who was still too little to go to church, remained also tinder her care. As Hanchen was busily engaged in preparing dinner for the fartoily, she was interupted by a visit from her admirer Heinrich Botteler ; be was an idle, graceless fellow, and her master, who knew his character well, had forbidden him the house ; but Hanchen could not b'eiieve all the stori«l s she heard against her lover, and was sincerely attached to him. On this occasion she greeted him kindly, and not only got him something to eat at once, but found time in the mid Ist of her business to sit down and have a gossip with him, while be did justice to- the fare set before him. As he was eating he let fall his knife, which he asked her to pick up for him ; she playfully remonstrated, telling him she feared from all she heard, he did Ib'ttle enough work, and ought at least to wait 1 upon himself, in the end, however, she stooped down to pick up

the knife, when the treacherous villaan drew a dagger from under his coat, and carjght her by the nape of the neck, griping her' throat firmly with his fingers to prevent her/, screaming ; then with an oath he desired fcier to tell him where her master kept his mon:ey, threatening to kill her if she did not comply with his demand. The surprised and terrified girl in vain attempted to parley -<yith him ; he still held her tightly in his choking grasp, leaving her no other choice but to die or betray her master. She saw there' was no hope of soft- | ening him or changing his purpose, and with the full conviction o{ his treachery, all her native courage woke 'in her bosom. Affecting, however, to yield Uo what was inevitable, she answered him in a resigned tone, that what must be, must; only, if he carried off her master's gold, "he must take her with him too ; for she could never stay to hear their suspicions and reproaches, entreating him at the same time 'to relax his grasp of her throat, for she could hardly speak, much less do what he bid her, while he held her so tight. At length he was induced to quit his hold, on her reminding him that he must lose no time, or the family would be returning fiom church. She thin led the way to her master's bedroom, and Showed him the coffer where he kept his money. " Here," she said, reaching to Him an axe which lay in the corner of the room, "you can open it with this, while I run up stairs to put all my things together, besides the money 1 have saved since I have been here." Completely deceived by her apparent readiness to enter into his plans, he allowed her to leave the room, only exhorting her to be as quick as possible, and was immediately absorbed in his own operations ; first opening the box, and then disposing of the money about his person. In the meanwhile Hanchen, instead of going up stairs to her own ioom, t crept softly along several passages till she again reached her master's chamber. It was the work cf a moment to shut and bolt the door upon him ; and this done, she rushed out to the outer door of the mill to give the alarm. The only being in sight washer master's little boy, a child of five years old : to him she called with all her might, " Run, run to meet your father as he comes from church ; tell him we shall all be murdered if he does not come back." The frightened child did as she bid him, and set off running on the road she pointed out. Somewhat relieved by seeing that the child understood her, and would make her case known, she sank down for a moment on the stone seat before the door, and full of conflicting emotions of grief and thankfulness for her escape, she burst into tears. But at this' moment a shrill whistle aroused her attention ; it was from her prisoner Heinrich, who, opening the grated window above her head, shouted out to some accomplice without, to catch the child that was running away so fast, and to kill the girl. Hanchen looked around in great alarm, but saw no one. The child still continued to run with all his might, and she hoped it was but a false alarm to excite her fear and overcome her resolution ; when, just as the child reached a hollow in the next field (the channel of a natural drain), she saw a ruffian start up from the be! of the drain, and snatching up the child in his arms, hasten with him towards the mill, in accordance with the directions of his accomplice. In a moment she perceived the full extent of her danger, and formed her plan for escaping it. Retreating into the mill, she double locked and bol-ed the door, the only apparent entrance into the building — every other means of obvious access being prevented by strong iron gratings fixed up against all the windows — and then took her post at the upper casement, determined to await patiently her master's return, and her consequent delivery from that dangerous position, or her own death, if indeed inevitable ; for she was fully resolved to enter into no terms, and that nothiug should induce her to give up her master's property into the robbers hands. She had hardly had time to secure herself in her retreat when the ruffian, holding the screaming child in his arms, and brandishing a knife in one hand, came up and bid her open the door, or he would break it down, adding many awful oaths and threats ; to which her only answer was, that she put her trust in God. Heimich, who from his window was witness of this colloquy, now called out to cut the child's throat before her eyes if she still persisted in her refusal. Poor Hanchen's heart quailed at this honible threat ; for a moment her resolution failed, but only for a moment. The death of the child could be no gain to them, while her own death was certain if she admitted the assailant, and her master too would be robbed. She had no reason either to suppose that her compliance would save the life of the child. It was to risk all against nothing, and she resolved to hold ' out to the last, though the villain from without renewed his threats, saying, that if she would not open the door to him he would kill the child, and set fire to the mill oy,er,her head. " I put my trust in God," was still the poor girl's answer.

In the meanwhile the ruffian sat down the child for a moment to look about for combustibles to carry out his threat ; in this search he discovered a mode of entering the "mill unthought of by Hanchen. It was a large aperture in the wall communicating with the great wheel, and the other machinery of the mill; and it was a point entirely unprotected, for it had never been contemplated that any one would seek to enter by so dangerous an inlet. Triumphant at this discovery, he returned to tie the hands and feet of the poor child, to. prevent its escape, and then stole back to the aperture by which he intended to effect an entrance. The situation of the building prevented Hanchen seeing anything of this ; but a thought had meanwhile struck her. It was Sunday, when the mill was never at work; if, therefore, the sails were set in motion, the whole neighbourhood would know that something unusual was the matter, and her master, especially would hasten home to know the meaning of anything so strange. s Being all her life accustomed to the machinery of the mill, it was the work of a moment to set it all in motion ; a brisk breeze which sprung up at once set the nails flying. The arms of the huge engine whirled round with fearful rapidity ; the great wheel slowly revolved on its axle ; the smaller gear turned, and creaked, and groaned, according as the machinery came into action ; the mill was in full operation. It was at this moment that the ruffian intruder had succeeded in squeezing himself through the aperture in the wall, and getting himself safely lodged in the interior of the great drum wheel. His dismay, however, was indescribable v/hen he began to be whirled about with its rotation, and found that all his efforts to put a stop to the powerful machinery which set it in motion, or to extricate himself from this perilous situation, were fruitless. In his terror he uttered shrieks and horrible imprecations. Astonished at the noise Hanchen ran to the spot, and saw him caught like a rat in his own trap, from which it was no part of her plan to liberate him. She knew he would be more frightened than hurt if he kept within his rotary prison, without *.ny rash attempt to escape ; and even that if he became insensible, he could not fall out of it. In ihe meantime the wheel went round and round with its steady, unceasing motion ; and round and round he went with it, while, sense remained, besieging Hanchen with entreaties, promises, and wild impotent threats, which were all equally disregarded, till by degrees feeling and perception failed him, and be saw and heard no one. He fell senseless at the bottom of the engine, but even then his inanimate body continued to be whirled round as before ; for Hanchen did not dare trust appearances in such a villain, and would not venture to suspend the working of the mill, or stop the mill gear and tackle from running at their fullest speed. At length s.he heard a loud knocking at the door and flew to open it. It was her master and his family, accompanied by several of his neighbours, all in the utmost excitement and wonder at seeing the mill sails in full swing on a Sundeiy, and still more when they had found the poor child lying bound upon the grass, who, however, was too terrified to give them any account of what, had happened. Hanchen, in a few words, told all ; and then her spirit, which had sustained her through such scenes of terror, gave way under the sense of safety and relief, and she fell fainting in their arms, and with much difficulty recovered,, The "machinery of the mill was at once stopped, and the inanimate ruffian dragged from his dreadful prison. Heinrich, 100, was brought iorth from the miller's chamber, and both were in a stiort time sent bound under a strong escort to Bonn, where they soon after met the reward of their crimes. The story of this extraordinary act of presence of mind concludes by telling us that Hanchen, thus effectually cured of her penchant for her unworthy suitor, became eventually the wife of the miller's eldest son, and thus lived all her life' in the scene of her imminent danger and happy deliverance.