The scene printed on the present teapot depicts the grinding of old women into the young. the subject was much used in the late 18th and early 19th century as the basis for humorous cartoon accompanying rhymes and poems with titles such as The Miller's Maid and The Jolly Miller: Grinding Old women Into Young5i. Cf. R. Reilly, vol. I, p. 233 for another teapot printed in black with a variant scene based on a different saphic source of people being ground up in a hopper with the accompanying rhyme printed on the reverse.