But if the scythes cut well and swing merrily, it is due to the kidwho turned the grindstone. 0h, it was nothing to do, just turn thegrindstone a few minutes for this and that one before breakfast; any"hiblack man" was authorized to order the kid to turn the grindstone.How they did bear on, those great strapping fellows! Turn, turn,turn, what a weary go it was. For my part, I used to like agrindstone that "wabbled" a good deal on its axis, for when I turnedit rapid, it put the grinder on a lively lookout for cutting hishands, and entirely satisfied his desire that I should "turn rapider."It was some sport to make the water fly and wet the grinder, suddenlystarting up quickly and surprising him when I was turning fairlyslowly. I used to wish occasionally that I could turn rapid enough tomake the stone fly into a dozen pieces. Steady turning is what thegrinders like, and any kid who turns steadily, so as to give an evenmotion to the stone, will be much praised, and will be in demand. Iadvise any kid who desires to do this sort of work to turn steadily.If he does it by jerks and in a fitful manner, the "hiblack men" willbe fairly apt to dispense with his services and turn the grindstone foreach other.