The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-03-25

WHIT ms PtzzLED TNQtTSTTTVE PER
SONS FOR TUENIY YEARS..


fire m"dn the Pre'emec Tor searching """se
w." INV ,ne ww" ,''''' , W" Wv ,, ="
W
In an oblong thrcc-acfo lot, not nun
,lr,1 ,,ris fr,,, Pho Ntorrts nd Essnx Rnilrond
u''' S"'"s ,'"i' wv wv - INV - '"'''""'
Depot ut Montclair. n. j.. stands n largo old
fashion vi house bearing all the marks OF age,
and yot unfinished. Never hnytng been painted
.'''' ~ "'''''''' -,
II owes liz melancholy dnEy, gray oolor 10 tho
storms and sunshine of score of scasons
,S,i,,.,,, ,,i,l s,nb,,,,a ruin,d with min il
"m''''h WIN S""o'"'n7' run =" WV" '''"
looks as II the carprn''rs ana ni'sohs hhn lo',
~, ~, WD,N ~. .io n'L,r. ''i' "'',
III wv '''o.i'"s' i'.''''S' 10 ""'''''' W w Wv"
steps leading 10 me rather pretohtlous uoor'
moss-coyrrcd blanks are piled against
.,'u ,,,t,.,., I'LL, Ill, a,o, d. ,ho
.ho ou''u'nE sue, "ouuen ueep III vi"
from long contact with New Jersey soil. and
-. - -. -. -, IL, T.. -, ...., ,...,,,,,
what was once barrels OF lime Is grass grown
mound. Tho large piazza ut the rear is laden
down with timber and the month of n we'll
,,,,n,'.,', g., - ~. ,,I,,'ri, e,o,,os ,nr
Unprotected py STONE OF Woou"ork' e"p's ior
unwary feet u few yards further on. Stats have
fnllen from the unnaintod shutters nil of which
49,, -. ~ 80, ~, = 49,, ~, -.
"io "i""S9 oiVsou S"'o 'io'o VI " o'nNo "'a"'"
on the west side. Not n tree grows in the large
v,rI .nJ grand yloomv ond nnculiar thn old
''. 80. IT,, ~, -, ,,,,,',,,,.s,,a
mousse stahds solitary. the most conspicuous
feature Of the landscape and the object of i'm
,nedi,,e inouirv IN IN. trnvoll.r on first reacb
~ t'' W Wv ' VI nav
ing Montclair.
In this house. for twenty years pnst. has lived
M"r' RAM 'ne u"us''cs VI oiu n'nt I'M
who. when he died, IN ls5s. owned half OF Mont
Cranctown. me house was pegun, ny KING
rane ,he year ntore ms dcnth hn an, i t9.day
years ago. Miss Crane. or Aunt Mary. by which
mime she is alfectionatcly known to all Mont
workmcn after her fathers funeral and from
that dav until Ihursday night last Except her,
the uncompleted dwelling. Although woman
ot property. King crane having lett her. beside
the h0use fortune Peculiarly estimated at
SGO.O0O. there Aunt Mary has lived. without ser
want and without companion. her own hover
OF wood and drawer OF water. Sheis now over
seventy. but age has not prevented her from
cooking, and she does her own marketing and
makes her Ire herself. rs she did when she first
entered the house.
While for all this time she has resolutey shut
her doors against all Visitors. her own relations
been bee rec9se in her " habits. No one calls
of,cncr on her neighbors than she, and no one
more wccc@c w IA always va Hsas%0 Word S
and Montrlair has no more fayof.tc visitor
Sh" il. too. an ardent member of the Picsby-
misses n service or a sociable. For all her
barring her doors against people, Aunt Mary
return her calls Apparnntly on hospitabln
thoughts intent. she pleads her loneliness and
urges them To- visit her The one or two tLnt
have taken her nj her word have got no further
| than the door through n crack Of which Aunt
| Mary has talk ed % them. md in pen-uut
weather She has loined them on the steps out
| side for "A while
OF course this Jealous watch against ntru-
ders has been a perpetual stimuiant to curl
| osity For two decades il has been the ambition
~ I'D and young in Montclair TO learn the
secret Of Amt Nary's myetcrious mansion
| Numerous hav, brep the devices 10 gain admit
| lance but they have all fnied. Not even her
! currently believed ever entered Aunt Mary's
| house in all these years until last Thursday
evening Then the opportunity for which
/ ~. A.
| II was apparently 6y accident and not design
that the public curiosity was At last gratncd
Waterman nt the railway depot saw a little line
Of flame illumine the darkness Of the side OF
G nos1 Gn wn an an" s b shutter wss
the space separating the mysterious mansion
from The depot. followed by the throng that the
atcd more ny curiosity than u desire Ia save
open tho doors at both front and rear and
swarmed into the house from all points. In
lrss than I'VE minutes fully fifty men
which, they had been, for so many years
oar ,r Inc ire which Was in the only room
| cupWton. was east "Niinguished with few
hu,k,is O., water Then IA. tnrong began. with
lanterns 70 search Tor Aunt Mary. who was no
where To- 10" seen AMI Their anxious solicltude
| On her account a1cIdcd them an excuse To wan
GIg over inr h'nse To- th.ir hearts. Content
met their eye. In none of the rooms was the
! mortar on me walls N any nui rough con
| iltohi anu ~ some ths marks 9t the trow"l
lfphSrn as 'a,sn ~ i, maze On the dhy pfcvous
i"c pvu's '''iu W W. i'u-h'u chSlhSS, nearly
! ef"rSwnvrr, 2hI Vh' throhE s'nulhied over
p,'hhs, p'n W. 'u IN ,ne r,'uEh potn upstairs
! HlduuWii. Il' room IN Whlt,n tlcllre chughtcon-
uilhu: Soy, , wiiicn Was 81 the oprn,
".'lI siiou A,i'n wv" W ~ -'loWh 'nhirr N
nm'isn' lnuhg'; hYhE MIL "onee POT uacH WIN
,,s ~ rury Nt ~ INV h."s NM lew
LIS ~ 70 -, 10y. on on" slu' 81 tie room
m nrs The house, c"se s ncor 10 thc rnsd
,in., ,rs ailJ ,,i,h b,,,iis -" :" w ~ ~
pa ii NE If,r VI" H. bni w. a. nlLws n
49, v,. .r,, - , ~, no., w "au ~, nI,'',oS
ai' GiIi NH ~ ~ WHY" H.S
IN Ur.rv ~, wr rn,'J -, vra p "
| the stairs In nnnrlv ali The ro0ms thn h,,silas
| If nnwstapers 81 ,n"rc ar less nn,.i..nt If" nat
| were dunlicated N"t n he'd WINS IN ha fomni
nnvyharn AMI The nniv firni,nra a,nar.ntlv IN
The building was where the Are had been -
! ThS thr"ng had inst finished nakimc tbesa
| discoveries ,,s Amt Mary suddenly ar1,s"r.d
| with hnr brother lanes Gran" Sh,. Inni nnsn
| To- nrsyer meeting Adyanciny toward the in
| ya,isrs Of her dwelIin,, abe sail. '-O 80
| "I,entlemon / thant Won for nuttiny ON, tba
No ami now Tint Won In va s,te,,.eI.d Won m. -
| % w $50 N' ~" "'"'
| '" The hint WAS taken and Amt Mary was lef
| alone. excrut that She herself deiaincJ two