| Show A FAMILY MYSTERY what my grandmothers black itono stono jar contained when my grandfather layso died grandmother came to lire at our lou c sho was my mother and tho anly grandmother iny brothers and sisters annl I 1 had ever had fathers mother died long before any ot us were born wo were very glad to have grandmother kyc come and live with u her husband had died in a distant state and mother biad gono nt oneo to bring grandmother to our home I 1 remember with what eagerness wo children made ready to meet mother and grandmother on their return wo eliud in tho country and father had said that nil of us might go to town with him an it was in tho fall of the year and there was not much to do nt home there were six of us beside father to climb into the big farm wagon ami ride firo miles to the railroad santion wo taw mother come out of alic car first and behind her was a little old lady in blick in her arnis the carried a black stone jar ian mouth was covered with a clean whito cloth tied down smooth and tight with many rounds of cord what can she have tn that jar my brother jeff of me before grand mother had reached us with her itol aej on each flour mouths it cant bo mincemeat mince meat said jeff with a half hopeful look tor jeff was inordinately fond of mince pica and mother ban often said wait until grandma comes to see u and abill make you some mince pim are mince pies allut no mince pies ever came out of that jar grandmother insisted on its being put on the cat beside her and she kept her caca on it all the way home mv twits full of money paid amter and fora long time after that we children were all very fal to the jar under the impression that Kati carmlo had ban correct grandmother had the carried up to her room and put on a high shelf in her closet wo heard mother say knoo clial grandmother was verv poor and hat damaged katies theory of the jar being lulled with money wo asked mother one day if ho knew what was in the mysterious jar 0 not much of anything nhom lil with great it is an old family relic and I 1 suppose grandma wants to keep it I 1 remember seeing it when I 1 was a little girl but this answer did not fix curious boys and girls grandmother gryso lived at our house two years and then went to tiny a year with my aunt in colorado and the jar went with her packed carefully in alie center of her feather lick for grandmother llyn had a horror of mcw things in tho way of hair mid pang mattresses and would sleep on only alien lie camo home rom colorado wo children all wed to meet her nt the station and wo aw that jar coming out of the car door before wo aw grandma herself them murray boys forgot to pack it in with my featherbed gho mid and I 1 ha no etleo or leaving a good liko that no I 1 jest jes t brungot along in the car with me to me mil ho would a goon travel with a young pig as n jar like that hut wo would nil have been glad to w our jolly old grandmother even though adv traveled with a pottery the murray boy who had forgotten to pack grand jar were our cousin and a few later one of them wrote thia to me ftp la lbs oia jr nj I 1 you know dont uio about tier sio fal to climb up to a title to pap loin ia foil down na broke bli bra it you aad out b I 1 la abe lr yourt ui know I 1 wrote alit wo would but cl ryar a pap into the jar for hj long ago u to go alo booro unica he invited u knoo when alic bad eally us all in to how u anio old of grandfather and li ul given us au anis cil 1 akol in tuf lono what la in that fanny old black lir gujt my brol br nd nil up mr cart but CT little huigh nd id nd and hula ian lond ot ind tha next lio arnt to new to jand alx lx with ft them and ju went rl tb ll 11 amno homo with lir in clr fall ind wj to it HM alt bl la her room the next arch naoi to with ht jou icel arm boys pack that jar now iho said as the came slowly downstairs with the blumy thing in her hands and set it down on the 1 I have that jar broken for a good deal they dont mako such jars n tn onca full 0 ant at that agomo one called grandmother and tho sentence was never ended jeff and 1 tried liard to get a peep into the jar that time but there wn lid under the whito and we dared not remove the cloth my brothers and sisters came out and wo nil around tho jar wo belted iti it i weight wo of it rolled it over we shook it we thumped if sides jaff hadji creative mind and w os ol 01 wars never would have thought of Ms grandmother ha gono and had grandfather cremated on tho clr and has him in this jar jeff harker Hark cr cried sister kak as she took her noso away from tho top ol 01 dont you over say tuch ful things again cried sister alary it nio tick to think of it such things have boan done aid jeff bontly and I 1 bo ft bit cu it hut mary and kato had fled from alio room and jeff throw him ulf down on the featherbed feather bed and laughed ono of our cousins in minnesota wrote to mo and asked do ton know what h lb MR ay he ba no idea abat ll 11 ID it na the colln la new jarr wrote boil u 1 had iho jr litre jelt and I 1 and our two older sisters acro along in our teen now but our interest in that jar did not abato in tho least its just one of grandeas grandmas grand mas chims said mother one evening you know grandma is old and childish as most people of her ngo arc apt to be I 1 am enre I 1 dont care liow many old jars the has for five years we discussed tho probable content of that jar which camo and went with grandmother in all her journo ings to and fro sho biad eight children nil married and living in different states and sho visited all of her children in those civo years and tho jar went with her her box was delayed for two month s once on a western railroad line and sho wrote to my mother mr box li not hero tt and I 1 am to on of them hitler mat which I 1 do anil 1 fed lot without tant I 1 10 lo chopo nothing will bippes to it after alint wo felt more confident than ever that tho jar contained and most of our thirty avo cousin s acro also of this opinion they had all teen alio jar the outside of it only some of us great boys and girls in our cons had lain aunko nights wondering what could bo in that jar but I 1 am glad to remember now that wo aro all men and women that wo had too much veneration for grandmother and too much respect for ourselves to pry into her if secret it was by opening tho jar even tho murray conein alio nearly broke his head falling from grandeas grandmas grand mas closet shelf indignantly denied that he had any idea of opening alio jar lie mid he simply intended to chako it and smell of it and ho felt that his tumble wai a just punishment tor oven th n lack of respect to grandmother at tho end of the livo acara grandmother was visiting in kancis my brothers and and I 1 sitting around tho fire bucs evening in november talking about the jar and wishing it and grandma acro bogli in our homo again we were now all firm in tho conviction that alio jar contained valuables eliat might bo ours somo day if wo were good enough to them our cousins all shared this belief wa had heard of stranger things and grandfather and grandmother had both been noted for eccentricities while wo acro sitting around tho fire father camo homo from town with a n letter tor me it was from one 0 my kansas boains co ains the letter was long and newsy and added to it was thi aggravating and exciting postscript muck jr fell down nl broke 11 II to piece todar to dar W boudo arr tl lo 10 ahro contend jut M we thought thour ht I 1 oi writing la UK burra ib kwa aljo wo were to excited that wo could not sleep that night and fu raoui with cousin den for ending hi letter so abruptly even father and mother were interested now and I 1 sat down and broto to den to write immediately at and tell ns what the jar contained jeff and I 1 feared that tharo was a conspiracy on foot to rob us of our rightful share of tho jirs contents and tharo other cousins who lay adako that night thinking thing for ben had sent portals or letters with to all tho other cousin telling them what ho had told us and no more A whole work dragged away and then jeff and I 1 wrote n aucy letter to ben jeff thought I 1 had better intimate tatt it would ho to defraud us and suggested that I 1 ay thing about it ian did not write at once and tell us what that jar contained hen wrote A pontal came thru day I 1 had mailed the mccond letter over tho postal wa in alno ink tarr want chlor la lr old art ar tor od uch how ilo you with vun al the hoai lend wa tid tiling aro to inam ory only by fine and 0 o I 1 ass compelled to arop the jar out of our family mysteries companion dr T L cuylar in my it b taft only city that reared A public monument to sui eminent tit the lord jesa hrit in tbt wo ex apt jhb of dr in tho 0 achl inara he adla abb alaj in lilt robe with fan OHO resting on hi arm and hit franl lux the look of atlon which tho awe he ut st andrew church netho bei ot tho frato church t |
