The news=record. [volume] (Enterprise, Wallowa County, Oregon) 1907-1910, 1907-10-31
The Mills of the Gods

I allow it must be nigh onto twenty
years since me an Caleb heerd that
lecture; but it seems as II | nina
almost every word of it yet. You see,
there hadn't bin much goin' on that
winter; an so 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, Jest made
up my mind that was goin'. But
didn't let on to Caleb then. You see
mans that queer, first thing he'd
sed would ave bin, "You can't go with
that nuralgy,' jest as If a body could
not hev nuralgy on Sabbath an be
all right agen by Friday.
Well, as l was sayin', I'd made up
my mind to 60 to that lecture, so
sez to Caleb on Monday evenln'-it he'd
bin rainin' an sleetln all day, an he
he'd bin out at Midtown after feed
an was as cross as two stlcks-sez l,
you're not thinkin' of goin' to that
lecture, Caleb" an sez he, "What lee
tureT Jest as If he'd never heerd a
word about 1t. An sez l, "Oh, that
heather lecture you was tellin' me
about on Sabbath day. An he got as
mad as q hornet, an sez he, There
you go, Maria Ann Larrabee, sailin'
a
about. Here I've gone and told Uncle
Billy I'd take two tickets, an now
you don't want to go. declare If II
isn't enough to rlle saint"
"Well," sez l, 81 don't see any saints
lest 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 well CO." An
go we did.
You see I'd read bit of poetry onct
an there was line In 1t about "Tht
mills of the gods grlndln',' an
always wanted to hear somethln' NOR,
about them mills. The man that die
the lecturln' wasn't much to look at
about as lean an hungry a-lookin' NOR
tai as i ever laid eyes on-but III
could talk, an no mistake, He jes
talked about them mills till bod.
could almost hear the wheels hummin'
lie 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'
of days an months an years Into tn
hopper, not botherln' as to what kin,
of doln's an sayin's the grlst is mad
OF.
| don't know as ever heerd NOR
satisfyin' talk. You see that ma
wasn't tryin' to show Off his ow
learnln', nor to make us see how littl
we knowed alongside of him. Al
when body has somethin' to say, al
can say it without tryln to do eithc
of them two things, it's pleasure
listen to him.
Well, never forgot that lectur
Many an many's the time I've locke
Mt the hopper and watched for Il
meal, an I've listened to folks con
plalnln' and tindln' fault with Il
meal, when I'd seen them throwi
I'm helter-skelter, not carin' wheth,
II was corn or cobs or even stones.
Well, well! the mills of the go,
surely grind fine, an soon or late tn,
grind 1t all. But sometimes the me
makes bitter eatin'-oh how exceedil
bitter; but it's got to be ct all I
same.
Now, there was second cousin
Caleb's-Henry John Stone his naS
washed lived with us quite a sp
when he was little, an Caleb an
both thought good bit of him, thou
we never liked his closeness He nj
ried Mary Emily Lane. Nobody COT
hslp iikin' Henry John, he was b0