" The widow had a very
appreciative listener in the person of Mrs. Waters, and I know not how
many experiences of a similar kind might have been related, had not the
entrance of my aunt put a sudden check upon their conversation; for they
both knew her sufficiently well, to be aware that a conversation of this
kind would not for a moment be tolerated in her hearing. It was something
entirely new to me, and it kept me awake for a long time after I retired
to rest. Can it be, thought I, that an All-wise Providence makes known by
such means, events which are not revealed to the wisest and best of
mankind: and young as I was, I banished the idea, as an absurdity, and
to quiet my mind, I began repeating to myself what had been grandma's
favorite psalm, and before I reached the close fell quietly asleep. In
after years, the conversation between these two women often recurred to
my mind, and more than once I have smiled at the recollection of the
broken yeast-jar.
But they verily believed their own statements, having listened to
stories of a similar kind since their own childhood; a belief in them
almost formed a part of their education, and having never set reason at
work upon the subject, they were sincere in their belief that events are
often foreshadowed by those superstitious signs which formed the topic
of their conversation.
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