The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-03-25
A FAMILY MYSTERY.
What My Grandmother's Black
Stone Jar Contained.


When my Grandfather Ryse died,
grandmother came to live at our house.
She was my mothers mother, and the
only grandmother my brothers and sis
tiers and | had ever had. Fathers
mother died long before any of us were
born. We were very glad to have
Grandmother Ryse come and live with
us. Her husband had died in dis
tant State, and mother had gone. at
once to bring grandmother to our
house. / remember with what eager
ness we children made ready to meet
mother and grandmother on their re-
turn. +
We lived in the country, and father
had said that all of us might go to town
with him, as it was in the fall of the
year, and there was not much to do at
home. There were six of us. beside
father, to climb into the big farm
wagon, and ride five miles to the
railroad station. We saw mother come
out of the car first, and behind her was
little old lady, dressed in black. In
hera arms she carried black stone jar
It's mouth was covered with clean
white cloth, tied down smooth and
tight with many rounds of cord.
''What can she have in that jar?"
asked my brother jeff of me, before
grandmother had reached us, with her
quaint "How de do!n and her kiss on
each of our mouths
'sIt can't be mince-meat,' said jeff,
with half-hopeful look, for JEFF was
inordinately fond of mince-pies, and
mother had often said: -
ssWait until grandma comes to see
us, and she'll make you some mince-,
: pies that are mince-pies. But no
minee-pies ever came out of that jar
Grandmother had insisted on its be-
ing put on the seat beside her, and she
kept her eyes on it all the way home.
MAY be it's full of money! said
sister Katie: and for "a long time after
that we children were all very respect
ful to the jar, under the impression
that Katie's surmise had been correct.
Grandmother had the jar carried up
To her room and put on high shelf in
her closet. We heard mother say once.
that grandmother was verv poor, and
that damaged Katie's theory of the jar
BENG filled with money. We asked
mother one day if she knew what was
In the mysterious jar.
70. not much of anything" she said,
with great indifference. 1T is an old
family relic and / suppose grandma
wants to keep it. Ircmember seeing
u when was little girl" But this
answer did not satisfy six curious BOYS
and girls.
Grandmother Ryse lived at our house
TWO years, and then went to stay year
with my aunt in Colorado and the jar
went with her, packed carefully in the
center of her feather tick, for Grand
mother Ryse had a. horror of new
tangled things in the way of hair and
spring mattresses, and would sleep on
feathers only. When she came home
from Colorado, we children all assem-
Died to meet her at the station, and we
saw that Jar coming out of the car door
Almost before we saw grandma herself.
fhem keerless Murray boys forgot
% pack it in with my feathe-bed, y she
sad 'sand | had no idee or leaving a
good jar like that, so I jest brung it
along in the car with me-
JeH whispered to me, and said he
would as soon travel with a young pig
Is with q jar like that. But we would
ali have been glad to see our jolly old
grandmother, even though she travelled
WITH whole pottery. The Murray
poys, who had forgotten to pack grand
mothers jar, were our cousins, and a
Iew weeks later one of them wrote this
tome: ee 8 81 - 3,
I; nat do you suppose grandmother keeps
49, - snat Old black jar? Brother Sam and
s III 70 md out but we couldn't GU know
ssssanumother don't like inquisitive people,
~ sssA sne le 80 particular about her things.
s;s1 ;rs sfie9 TO climb up to q high shelf to peep
h sy sne Jar once, and fell down and nearly
whas. oae ms. head. II you and JEFF find out
".as IS IN the jar. you let us know.
A wrote that we would, but despaired
= ever getting peep into the jar, for
motner had long ago forbidden us to
" INTO grandma room, unless she in.
sl,ed US there. Once when she had
csiied us all In, to show us some old
pNtqres OF grandfather, and had given
= al sweet anise and cardanaon seeds,
asked, IN my Notwithstanding tone:-
1ra ndmother, what is in that fun.
y ola black Jar up therep''