The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1865-03-25

miles away from the station. We worked
/ on, however, for a little time longer, and
tnen determined to get as fast as / could to
my destination. We placed her on the car
in sitting position, and started for -.
We haa not gone more than four or five
hundred yards when we encountered most
abominable stencil, so sickly that | deter
mined to stop and ascertain what it was
I Looking 10 the right, our attention was d.
rected to a tim column Of blush smoke,
which came OF, Of the bog. Walking over
TO the place whence the smoke issued, and
scarcely able to breathe from the offensive
! odor, which became worse and worse,
! found to my horror that the smoke gas from
a human habitation, if such it could be
called, an old era el pit, in which very
soon found the cause Of the stencil. uere
were laying two bodies il an advanced s,tage
OF decomposition, an old man and w nan.
| shudder now when | think Of the sight
saw 1t was horrible beyond description.
Ii occurred to me at once that the woman we
found on the road had crept out of this novel.
ON seeing the car coming across the boz, and
had sunk in the lifeless state of exhaustion
| in which we found her And so it turned
out TO be when made subsequent inquiry.
We now resumed our journey, and at last
arrived at the station, where | lost no time
in getting medical relief for my poor patient,
and in sending to the gravel pit TO have the
bodies removed and buried. The next day
| returned TO head quarters, and from time
to time afterwards had letters from the doctor
reporting to Inc that the woman very speedily
recovered, and out of moneys placed at my
disposal for charitable purposes | was ena-
bled 10 contribute to ner comfort IL the
shape Of clothing.
couple Of months or more passed away,
and the severity Of the famine was mitigated
by the abundance of food which came inse
the country. The people began to look bet
ter, and every one was ia better spirits. Ny
visits to the reinoter stations Of my district
were necessarily fewer, for mad important
duties TO discharge at the town in which
lived, and where the union wOrkh01se was
situated. They we're nos principally di-
rected to the prevention Of abuse in the ad-
ministration Of relief Though the distress
was still great. yet it was an undo1oted fact
within the experience Of all those engaged
in the poor law service, that abuses erept in
to very large extent, and il was no easy
matter to control them.
On another lovely morning, now fa- ad-
vanced in the summer, | again started for the
station at --, near which occurred the in
cident which have endeavored to tell. As
passed by tn spot where our progress on
the road was arrested BY the body Of the
poor woman, Mick said
All, your honor, glory be to God and
thanks TO you. do you re, llect the crayture
we saw heres' Ik
g. Voc Mel - "A ekfr1I ho,.a xxrr112-~f1 I
never see such s'gstasain-n4x A.
Amen, sir" said, Ne giving the ponyf5
gentle reminder that he was b. get along as
quickly as he could We trOve on for =
couple of miles, when we met a groap Of the
peasantry Of the district going to the relief
station for their rations Of Indian meal STIR
about
| stopped to make some inquiries, when
suddenly felt my knees embraced, and
saw girl about eighteen years Of age at pay
feet.
"N hat DO you want, my good girl ?" said ].
"Ahi your honor said she, looking at
me with an expression can never forget,
don't you recollect Mary Canavan9r MI
Mary Canavan.l surely you cannot be
the woman l."
AN yes. sir" she cried
And there she was, the shrivelled hag Of
forty transformed into girl Of eighteen, and
all by thu simple administration Of whole
some food for a few weeks To those who
saw scenes such rs did, this will not appear
strange But even now, at this lapse of
time, when the great famine o: Ireland with
all It's horrible circumstances is we'll nigh
forgotten, venture to tell this story about
poor Mary Canayan- Ft