Mexico weekly ledger., 1876-11-16


1t was always a ''drop-letter, - one of
the many thousands that found their
way through the little crevice in the wall
daily, and no n everknew who brought
it; although, when the regularity of her
visits began to attract attention, the I'M
known correspondent was carefully
watched tor about the first Friday Of
every month. But it WAS never known
who brought that strange yellow en-
velopa, nor did any one we get a
glimpse of its contents, although it's
outside was examined with curiosity a
great many times. And the mysterious
letter passed along like the thousands
of daily messages of love and hate, of
modification and pleasure, of good
cheer and evil b~idding-the duns and
remittances and promises to pay.
Years passed. The delivery clerks
were changed one after another; some
of them died; others were promoted;
some went to other employment; but
as each left he told the story of the
strange woman to his successor as a
part of the instructions of the office,
and the new clerks soon became famil-
lar with her visits as the months went
by.
, She was often questioned; inquisitive
chances were often cast into her face,
and several times she was followed by
curious fellows; but no one ever dis
covered whence she came or whittier
she went.
One day q new clerk who had con-
ceived o scheme to discover her identi-
ty told her he was not sure the letter
hDlo~rnI Il, hAr a1 Io Ina-r nEEn- =
dies in the city of the same name, and
asked her if there was not some one in
the Eeighborhood whom she could call
to identify her.
81 am o. stranger in this part of the
city, sir" was her quiet, dignified re-
ply, "but [ have been here a good
many times and never before was ask
ed to prove my indentity. If it will be
any satisfaction to you L will describe
the appearance of the letter / expect
but wait; L am quite sure it will CORE
spond with this one and she took
from q little r~eticule she always carried
the one she had received q month be-
lore.
A whole generation had passed away.
Men aud women had been born ard
buried, but still the queer letters came,
and were called for by the queer wom-
IN. The clerks in the Posr-office had
heard of her from those who had pre-
'eded them, and her mysterious ap-
,9arances had gained a romance with
.ge, and strange stories that had been
invented by the clerks long before were
old of her as true.
Her face was smooth and round and
.lacid when she first came, but it was
citing wrinkled, and her hair was get
ng gray. One time, only once for
wentY years, as nearly as could be re-
rendered, she failed to come, and one,
.vo, three letters were waiting for her
a the pigeon-hole. The clerk did not
.dvertise them nor send them to the
bead letter Office with the rest, for he
!. new if Maria Russell was living she
/ ould come for them in time, and if
! le was dead nothing could be gained
! Y hurrying them off to the great mail
orgue where all unclaimed letters 60.
ut after four months her familiar face
/ ppeared at the window again, and the
ERIK was as glad to see her as if she
!. Id been an old friend. But it was not
e face he used to see. Its calm smooth
/ ss was shrunken, its f~ullness was
listed; there were deep-drawn lines
\ found the mouth and eyes, and the
. %sh flush had turned to a wan pale
\ SIS. A friendly greeting was ON the
Vague of the clerkas he turned to meet
AZ, but when he saw how pale she was,
wv wasted, and how the calm express
An of her face had been erased and
syered with the autograph of pain, he
oppressed the cordial words that were
sshing his lips open, and simply re-
Erked:
You have been sickp"
Eyes, I have been SICK" she said,
4 gathering her letters in her hand
, left the window, and, like a snow