American Republican and Baltimore daily clipper. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1844-1846, 1845-02-14
CATHARINE M'INNES,
OR, THE WRONG LETTER-BOX.
? THE EDITOR OF THE U. S. GAZETTE

oh, IhE WRONG LETTER bun.
ny THE EDITOR OF THE U. S. GAZETTE.
Amusing incidents often occur by persons
lnistaking the letter box of stores and offices in
This vicinity for that of the Post Office. We
sometimes find three or four letters in our own
letter box, intended for the mails. These we,
OF course, put on their way.
Standing once at our front window, we OBJ
served young woman, whose face was not
visible to US, drop letter into our box, and on
taking it out, we found that she had mistaken
our establishment for that of the Post Office
1t was directed TO Thomas -, in Ireland
and the inland postage accompanied it. The
letter was caused to be sent with some others
to the Post Office, and we gave the circum-
stance no father thought.
Busted few months afterwards in exanIl-
ing the contents Of our exchange papers, in
ditng such paragraphs as they suggested to us,
we did not pay much attention to a gentle tap
~ the door of our private room, until it was
epeated. We then, too anxious to conclude
our labors to open to the applicant, babe the
one that knocked "come inn and continued
our labors without lifting an eye to the door,
which was opened quietly, and as quietly
closed. We were startled at length with a
eweetly moduiated voice, inquiring, SIS there
letter here for mel"
We at once raised our eyes, and saw fe-
male about eighteen years of age-or, US we
have Of late lost the art of Judging closely in
these matters, perhaps ttoenty 1t did not
make . dilnples difference to her face, and
would not it five more years had been added
to them. There was an oval face, with ma
lures own blush, and slight projection of the
mouth that told of Ireland, even without the
softened meditation of voice that belongs to
the women of that island. Neainess was all
hat hn had tn ar
that.
Letters are frequently asked for in a news
paper office, in reply to advertisments-so we
babe the young woman go to the front Office
ana inquire of the clerks
She had been there, and there was no one
but boy, who could not give her the informa-
ton.
So we inquired the name.
Kitty yNcInneS; bat perhapsit will be Cath
Gr:nes ION the letter." said she, Gas that is my
names'
We looked on the letter rack in the front Of
fee, among the GA. s." the tx. WIS" the
up. Q.'s," &c. but we saw none for Catharine.
Returning we inquired to what advertise
rnent the letter was to be an answer.
advertisement to no advertisement--it
would be in answer to my letter"
"And from whom did you expect etter?''
The young woman looked much confused
but apparently supposlng the question peril
nent, she said, s'from Thomas -"
We saw at once that she had, as hundreds
before had done, mistaken our office for the
, Post Office.
''He has not written, then," said Catharine,
in low voice, evidently not intended for our
ear.
'But he may have written"
''Then where's the letter." said she, looking
up.
Sat the Post Office, perhaps"
And we took Catharine by the hand and led
her to the door, and pointed out the way to the
Post Office.
"You will ask at the window" said we; s'but
as the clerLs are young men, you need not tell
them from whom you expect the letter."
'Not for the world" said she, looking into
our face with glance that seemed to say there
was no harm in telling us.
We must have used less than our usual pre-
cision in directing Catharine to the Post Office,
as quite half an hour afterwaId, when visiting
the place, we saw her at the window, receiving
the change and letter from one of the clerks,
and the impatience, shall we say of woman or
of love, induced Catharine to break the seal at
the door. A glow of pleasure was on the cheek
of the happy GIL. We would not have given
penny to be informed that Thomas was well,
ohu was COHiHS III TIC HcAI pdChct. W. icit
anxious to know whether Thomas would come,
but the names of such persons rarely appear
among the passengers of the Liverpool packet,
being commonly included in that comprehen-
sive line, "two hundred in the steerage.''
So we gave up all hopes of knowing when
Thomas would arrive, but concluded that we
would see the name with that of Catharine in
the marriage list to which we had determined
to keep steady look.
1t was but short time afterward that we did
indeed see the name of Thomas in the papers.
He was one of the passengers in the ship cast
away below New York, Of whom nearly every
soul persisted, and Thomas among the rest.
We had never seen Thomas, but had some
how cherished such an interest in his fate, that
we felt severe shock at its anauncatiOn-and
what must have been the feelings OF Catha-
rine, with her ardent, sanguine, Irish temporal
ment? Loving deeply as she must have loved,
and hoping ardently as she must have hoped,
what must have been her feelings?
We paused few weeks afterwards, to mark
the young grass shooting. green and thick, in
Ronaldson's graveyard, and to see the buds
swelling on the branches OF the trees that deco
rate that Populous city of the dead, when fn
neral, numeronsly attended, wound slowly
round the corner Of the street, and passed into
the enclosure. 1t was the funeral of an Irsi
person-we knew by the numbers that attend
ed-and as the sexton lowered the coffin dowr
= into the narrow house, the place appointed fol
All the living, we saw engraved upon simple
plate,