The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-12-28

but no one called for it. The clerk.
who was lady, then put it aside as if
it was too good for its company and
kept It near the window so that it would
be ready when Maria Russell came.
Another month went by, and another
letter came, which was put away with
its mate. Two more months and two
more letters, and four of them were "
ing there in a pile waiting for the queer
old woman" the mysterious woman of
the delivery Window they called her
now-to come for them. How often
those letters were examined. How
closely the address and the seal were
scanned, how they were held up to the
light so that maybe a word Of their con-
tents might be discovered. What a
temptation they were.
The chief of the delivery office or
dered them advertised.
"No," said the clerks. "She will
come for them. She knows they are
here. She must be sick or something.
She has come for them for thirty years,
and they never have been advertised
yet. Let them wait another MONTH"
So they waited another month, two
more, and still the queer old woman
didn't come. And they had to be ad-
yertised. On long list in the newspa-
pers, near the bottom, under the head
of Ladies Letters, "were these words:
Russell, Maria H., 6.
People glanced at tthem-almoste every
body looks over the list of advertised
letters to see if by some chance one be-
longing to them had strayed in among
the vagabonds, and people remarked:
81 wonder who Maria H. Russell is
she has six letters advertised.'
To the clerks in the post-office it
seemed a shame that old Mrs. or Miss
(perhaps she was an old maid) Rus
sells letters should be advertised, and
stuck off into dirty corner with a lot
of soiled envelopes, and there was quite
an indignation meeting held over the
matter. But still the queer old woman
did not come.
"Perhaps she is dead," they said,
"poor thing. Perhaps she is dead"
But if there were whispers of dis
pleasure when the letters were adver-
tised, there was storm of wrath when
the clerk announced that they must be
sent to the Dead-letter Office. The
Postmaster was appealed to. He was
a man of business, and didn't care
much for romance,so he said the letters
must 60, and the rules of the depart
ment carried out, and that the seventh
letter which had come in since the six
were advertised must go with them.
| But through all the sorrow there was
cleaning the sunshine of relief. Atth
Dead-letter Office it would be found ou1
what these mysterious envelopes con
tanned. And the lady who made up the
packages for the Dead-letter Office
pinned this note to Maria Russell's
seven letters:
These are very peculiar letters. They be
! long to woman who has been coming tt
| the post-office regularly every month TO
thirty years; but she has ceased to come
and we think she is dead. Whoever open
these letters will confer great favor by in
forming the clerks OF the New York Post
/ Office of their contents, as we have a grea
curiosity to know who Maria Russell is, o
| was, and something about the person VIII
has been sending her these letters regularl
for SO long.
This note was submitted to a conven
tionof clerks and declared unanimousl
to be the proper thing. A reply wa
awaited anxiously. Before it came tw
more letters had followed their fellow
in, and were waiting for Maria Russell
but she never came to get them, an
they were sent off like the rest to hav
their secrets revealed in the gres
morgue attWashington.
Finallyfhere came an envelope &C
dressed 20 ssthe clerks of the New Yor
Post-office,'' and it was opened by tn
first person in that category into who's
hands it came. That person read th
inclosure hurriedly through, and calle
q convention, to which he read the TO
lowing:
Although it is directly against the rules
the office, take the responsibility Of graf
flying your curiosity. Nine letters addresst
to Maria II Russell have come to my hand
Each one contained brlei note, gaining
tention to an inclosure, without date or si
/ nature. Each inclosure was five-doll
, bill. We have great deal OF curiosity ou
, selves here to learn something about tn
strange matter. Won't some Of you wri
us what you know? And if any further di
, closures are made we will inform you.
Here was q romance indeed. Mi
unsigned letters, each with similar /
closure of money. Was it possibl
they thought, that for thirty years the
: same sort of letters, with the same
closures, had been coming to Mar
Russell. And why didn't they stop.
: she was dead, as she certainly must
, The whole post-office was excited a.
3 perplexed in its efforts to find a sol
! ton of this mystery. But there was
: clew to Mrs. or Miss Russell; no clew
: her mysterious correspondent. i c.
not repeat the many theories that we
0 advanced, or the many speculations tt
2 were put out to explain the matter;