Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1901-02-22
ABOUT AN
FAMILY TREE
Showing How the Coomers
Came by Theirs.

came by lheirS.
hAA4~A~AAAAAAA%#AA~~A~AAA@ = =
None of the Coomers of the second e
generation was to blame in the least. J
and of course the third generation, con- I
sisting of Edith, Annabel and Tom
were equally innocent. On the whole. :,
perhaps. nobody was to blame at ALL
Moreover. the COOmers were pleasant
people, and it was only the enviOus
among their acquaintance who said
that they were puffed up with family
pride. We may have family pride and
not be puffed up with it. even though
we have heirlOoms and family tree
illuminated on vellum and framed and
hung up in our library 1t does not fol
low that few dim v dark ancestors
of the colonial period in oil, a rapier
and some embroidered waistcoats. and
irons from the old homestead hearth.
a tower musket and one or two minia-
lures on ivory will inspire their pos
SCISSOR with sentiments of exaggerated
self esteem and corresponding con
tempt for the common herd who have
been so careless as to lose track of |
their fOrbears.
COOmer was about as unassuming a |
man as could be found anywhere He |
was sure of his position by virtue of |
the family tree and other things afore-
said, and it did not seem to him neces-
sary to try to impress society at large
with his noble birth. He had Il beau
:
gardant in bend gules between two
acOrns azure within as many cOtises
ermines-and his crest was a cubit arm
/ erect graspng an oak branch, all prop
er. but neither crest nor coat was hla-
zOned on the panel of the family
brOugham-nothing but n monogram.
Mrs. COomer felt differently about it
and would have had the arms on the
baby cart if she could have had her
way. She put the crest on the coach
mans buttons and Oh a seal ring
which she gave to Tom on his eight
zenith birthday. and if any of her visit
Ors expressed any curiosity concern
ing the rapier or the dingy pictures or
the tower musket she was always will
ing to tell all she knew about them.
The two girls were proud of their blue
blood in the same degree or even a
little more so. Tom took it as a matter
of course just as his father did
One reason that Mrs. Coomer and the
girls detested Crazy was that he was
$ always making sighting remarks
l. about the family pedigree and escutch
u con. He didn't mean any harm by
: it, but he had a reputation for jocular
ity and had to sustain it. Noticing
+ that Mrs CoOmer WINGED one da!
/ when he spoke disresppctfully of ont
l. of the pictures. he thereafter proddeC
is the tender spot on all possible Occa
o siOns. If anybody was in the librar.
Ie for the first time and noticed the tre
il and the coat Crazy would get up an,
y look at them through his eyeglasses a
u if he had never seen them before.
sc ''What kind Of beast is that rubber
. necking on the shield?'' he would ask.
"a That's lion"
4 "Well. well! Who'd "a thought il
III What has he got his off front pay
Ut stretched out that way for? Looks a
rs if he had cramp in it and was tryin
:; to restore the circulation
u. ''Well, that shows his pOsition-pai
eu SAINT. He is also regardant, having h
FL neck twisted in the manner you d
Oh scribe"
III "You are sure that you have got IL
Oh animal sized up right? ! don't see @
- actly what a lion would be doing wit
acOlns. If they were cOcOanuts,
might be all right, but as it is the
seems to be a discrepancy. as it wer
" The arm with the stick and the acorl
~ ~ would suggest hog as the appropria
IA geological specimen"
~ "Maybe il should he hog" Coon
would say, with an indulgent smi
;. "but it's an old miSprint anyway. f
the Coomers of Salem have always hi
80 it that way. That old fellow up Their
~. pointing TO the lean faced ancest
~, in the wig--"had the lion on his FAM
~ coach, so my father told me. ney
-. paid much attention to those things.
,ma Couldn't even cOniugate the coat!
90, Not properly. I'm afraid You
-. those andirons there? Father brOug
= them from the old Coompr mansion
i, fore it was pulled down. DUAL
aren't they? There is lot of that
plumber around the house Yes. Il
the is a family picture-my grandmoth
Ock The one over the bookcase is
ark mother. | guess that is the real. or
INC nal empire gown Mary. where hi
ln.e you got those miniatures stow
Jon away?"
and "Has that old gun any historyT' a
vide the guest.
side well. hardly a history" says Coz
f of err. u believe that my great great-gra
) in father carried that in the RevOluti
:. airy war. Yes, you may take it do
l ,h: It's what they called a tower mus
hon, You can see the English governm
i'd" stamp on the lock and barrel. 1t 10
no. odd in these days Of repeating rit
but those old fellows made them
into the work"
,nds I've got one like it at home"
80 marks Crary. "only mine has