The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1907-12-06
The Mills Of the Gods



allow it must be nigh onto twenty
years since me an Caleb heerd that
lecture; but it seems as IL | mind
Almost every word of it yet. You see,
there hadn't bin much goin' on that
winter; an 50, when along in Janu-
ary, Caleb come home from preachin'
Il he'd a bad spell of nuralgy that
day an didn't get out-an' sed there
was goin' to be lecture up at Nubeh
on the next Friday night, l jest made
up my mind that was goin'. But l
didn't let on to Caleb then. You see
q mans that queer, first thing he'd
sed would ave bin, you can't go with
that nuralgy," Jest as If body could
not hev nuralgy on Sabbath an be
all right agen by Friday.
Well, as | was sayin', I'd made up
my mind to go to that lecture, so
sez to Caleb on Monday evenin'-it he'd
bin rainin' an sleetln' all day, an he
he'd bin out at Milltown after feed
an was as cross as two sticks-sez I,
"YOure not thinkln' of goin' to that
lecture, Caleb" an sez he, "What lee
ture?" jest as If he'd never heerd
word about It, An SEE l, "Oh, that
heather lecture you was tellln' me
about on Sabbath day" An he got as
mad as a hornet, an sez he, 'There
you go, Maria Ann Larrabee, q sailin'
at things you don't know a thing
about. Here I've gone and told Uncle
Billy I'd take two tickets, an now
you don't want to go. l declare If it
isn't enough to rile saint"
'Well," seq l, II don't see any saints
Jest round handy; but If you've told
Uncle Billy you'd take two tickets why
you'll have to take them, an If we've
got tickets we might as we'll CO." An
go we did.
You see I'd read bit of poetry onct
an there was line In 1t about "The
mills of the gods grindln'," an
always wanted to hear somethin' more
about them mills. The man that did
IliG lCClNlL III NuSh liiuNh W lOph
about as lean an hungry a-lookin' NOR
tai as l ever laid eyes on--but he
could talk, an no mistake. He jest
talked about them mills till body
could almost hear the wheels hummln'.
He went on to say how every mean act,
every unkind word comes back to
body soon or late, an how many
time folks go on throwin' the doln's
of days an months an years into the
hopper, not botherin' as to what kind
of doln's an sayin's the grist is made
Of.
don't know as ever heerd more
satisfyin' talk. You see that man
wasn't tryin' to show Off his own
learnin', nor to make us see how little
we kuowed alongside of him. An
when d body has somethin' to say, an
can say 1t without tryin' to do either
of them two things, it's pleasure to
listen to him.
Well, l never forgot that lecture
Many an many's the time I've looked
ut the hopper and watched for the
meal, an I've listened to folks a COM
plainin' and tindin' fault with the
meal, when I'd seen them a throwin'
in helter-skelter, not carin whether
1t was corn or cobs or even stones.
Well, WE'LL the mills of the gods
surely grind fine, an soon or late they
grind 1t all. But sometimes the meal
makes bitter eatin'--oh how exceeding
bitter; but it's got to be ct all the
same.
Now, there was second cousin of
Calebs-Henry John Stone his name
Washed lived with us quite spell
when he was little, an Caleb an me
both thought good bit of him, though
we never liked his closeness He mar
rIed Mary Emily Lane. Nobody could
help likin' Henry John. he was . born