The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-10-30
Story of a WheelbarrOw Pas
Senger.
An Old-Timer at the Station
House.

The rain fell in torrents and the lightning
rend them asunder. Reporters sat dreamily
wishing for some disaster to turn up-a muir
der, fire, anything that would furnish food for
their hungry brains. The operator enjoyed
quiet siesta in his armchair, and all tina.
broke the Quaker-lke silence was the mo-
notonous tick-tick of the telegraph instru-
ment, occ asioned by some unim porsant mes
sage or one operator conversing with the
other to make the dreary hours slide away
unnoticed.
We had all of US just yawned and stretched,
and come to the conclusion that our wishes
were to remain, at least tor the night unre-
Quilted, when suddenly there cams along a
rumbling, rolling sound; it was policeman
bringing in a female prisoner, who was much
the worse tor the many potations of five cent
whisky with which she had RECALLED herself.
The moment the light fell upon the face. the
turnkey exclaimed: "Oh, well, its you, Is it,
Mrs. Mary Jane Cronan, bad luck to you, will
you ever stop drinking?" A low cultural
sound came from the object in the wheelbar-
row, but could not by any means be tortured
INTO an answer.
She was queer-looking creature. Perhaps
she had seen some forty summers come and
CO. Her hair was disheveled and fell in
snaky masses over her debauched face, which
bore the imprint of vice and recklessness.
The turnkey, as he took the bunch of large
cell keys from their hanging place, remarked
soto uoce: "Well, sure that's bad lot"
The other reporters not being surprised at
seeing a drunken woman brought in (as it
ar1uaH their
meditations and inquired no more into the
matter. But our reporter is of peculiarly
inquisitive turn of mind, and when Mr.. Fur
nice (for he was the turnkey returned, our
reporter said, "You seem to know Mrs. M ,ry
Jane well; now tell us something about that
curious creature of nature.
A long puff was taken at the old clay pipe.
and then, holding it firmly between his teeth,
he began:
"You SET, here is woman that I have
known for over twenty years; yes, Sir, you
might not believe it, but remember the time
when she was just as pretty and nice looking
girl as you ever saw; she was rich, too. Yes,
Mary at one time must have had several thou
sands.
"In the course of time, like most women,
she got married to a pretty fair sort of man,
but ne was poor himself, and had not much
business sense, you know, but he thought he
had, and induced his wife to embark in bust
ness, but they were poor pair to manage,
and in short time what Mary owned was
gone to the dogs; this disheartened John,
for that's her husbands name, and he told
many that he was going to sea.
"This was some fifteen years ago. He
shipped on British vessel, but has never
since been heard of. The loss of her hus-
band and money drove Mary to drink, and
worse, and ever since she has been going
down the hill. getting from bad to worse, I'M
til now there is not a night that she can be
found sober. That's the way she is always
brought herein the barrow. All, l tell you
she's bad lot indeed y
With this the turnkey took another long
draw at his pipe, and leaned back in his chair
to think of the time when Mary Jane was
young and beautiful girl.