Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1876-12-14
8 MARIA Fl. RUSSELL, -. -, +,
NEW. YORK PosT-oFFCE. IA


was carefully watched for about the first Fri
dayof every month. But it was never known
who brought that strange, yellow envelope.
nor did any one ever get glimpse Of its con-
tents, although, its outside was examined curl
ouslY great many times. And the mystic
hious letter passed along like the thousands
pf daily messages Of love and hate, of morti-
fcation and. pleasure, of good cheer and evil
6idding-the duns and remittances and prom
isss to pay. 80.
Ysas passed, The delivery clerks were
chssged one after another; some Of them
died Others were promoted; some went to
other employment; but, as each left he told
the st6gy of the strange woman to his succes-
sor as a part Of the instructions of the Office,
and the new clerks soon became familiar with
her visits as the months went by.
She was often questioned inquisitive CLAN
ces we're often cast into her face, and several
times she was followed by curious fellows but
no one ever discovered whence she came or
whittier she vent. .f,
One day a .hew clerk, whohad conceived 9
scheme to discover her identity, told her he
was not sure the letter belonged to her, as be
knew other ladies in the city of the same
name, and asked her if there was not some
one in the neighborhood whom she could call
into identify her.
II an, stranger in this part Of the city,
sirs"' was her, quiet, digniGed reply, "but l
have been here q good many times and never
before was asked to prove my identity. fit
will be Of any satisfaction to you'll will de-
scribeth appearance ofthe letter expect
but wait am. quite sure it will correspond
with this ON" -and she.took from the little
reticple the one she had received>a month be-
fore, r.5 I'd; 81 ap.AIs.-7,e.
A whole generation had passed :. away.
Men and women had been born and buried,
but still the queer letters came, and were
called for by the queer woman. The clerks
in the post-ofice had heard of her from those
who preceded them, and her mysterious ap-
pearance had gained romance with age
{ and strange stories that had been invented
by the clerks long before, we're told of her as
true. \
- Her face was smooth and round and placid
4hep shaafinst ,came hpt it ,Ra&s &sf5ssting wrin--
slts, and her hair sstsiias sray 0ao
time, only once for twenty years, as nearly
as could be remembered, she failed to come,
apa&ene, two, three letters were waiting her in
the pigeon.hol The clerk did not advertise
z them nor send them to the Dead Letter
Office with the rest, for he know if Maria Rus
sell was living she would come for them in
time, and if she was dead nothing could be
gained by hurrying them off to the great mail
morgue where all unclaimed letters 60. But
after four months her familiar face appeared
at the window again, and the clerk was as
glad to see her as if she had been an old
friend. But it was not the face he used
to see. It's calm smoothness, its fullness,
was wasted there were deep-drawn lines
around the mouth and eyes, and the fresh
flush had turned to a wan Of paleness A
friendly greeting was on the tongue of the
clerk as he turned to meet her, but when he
saw how pale she was, how the calm express
sion of her face had been erased and cover
ed with the autograph of pain, he suppress
ed the cordial words that were pushing his
hpsopen, and simply remarked:
aYou have been sick |" - r..r.
'".Yes, / have been SICK" she said, and gath
ering her letters in her hand, she left the win
dow, and, like snowflake in the sea, melted
away into the surging wave of humanity that
was roaring in the street outside.
After this she came regularly again, but
the paleness never left her face, and the wrin-
kles heightened and deepened instead of grow
ing less. ,,.ar'' -.
The clerks began to talk of her changed ap-
pearance, and concluded that she was suffer-
ing from some cause, they could not decide just
what, although there were plenty of reasons
suggested, and it was concluded at an infor-
NAL meeting behind the wall of boxes in the
post-ofice one day, that the next time she
came it was their duty to 6nd out if she was
needing anything that they with their ill-6lled
purses could supply. So when she came the
clerk who happened to be at the window held
her letter in bis hand moment to delay her,
and said with great deal of trepidation-for
the mystery of her life and the distant self
possession of her manner discouraged any in
quisitive attacks: ....,... -......
pray YOU to excuse me, madam; but l
thought if you we're in my sort Of need"
II am very well cared for, thank you," she
interrupted. "You have letter for me, l
see. e. -'''
And she was gone again.
The clerk went back to his fellows, and be-
ingla person of pride, related the incident,
with some details that were not supplied in
the occurrence He said he had rendered the
lady 10 their name, as delicately as possible,
any aid that she might need, explaining that
they had learned from long association to feel
an interest in her, and hoped if she was in
want tof any of the necessdries of life, or if she
needed assistance of any kind, that they would
assist her to the extent of their abilities
The clerks applauded the deftness with
which their fellow had performed the duty
and inquired anxiously for her reply.
"She told me-" he said, "that she was in
good circumstances, and was not just now in
want of any assistance, but, With our permis.
sion she would remember our kind offer, and
if ever in need would not hesitate to call upon
u.s. -.~ ..
And if she had been heroine formerly she
became a goddess from that hour out-a god
dess in an old fashioned, shabby Leghorn bon
net. rusty broche shawl, and q reticule like
the ones their grandmothers carried. But she
was as divine to those habit hardened post-of'
fee clerks as ever was St. Cecilia to the tone
poets Of the medieval, or St. Agatha to the suf
ering women of the church. The gray hair
6e5ks goddess had grown much thinner in
Ms5a9t years, her eyes were sinking back
iaief her abples and growing dim, and the
han hs8 clasped the letter as each month
&nis ygppd we're getting very gaunt and
shriSeaed, - s.l.i y u
= kIehhe war came on, the mails were laden
oaD with messages of sorrow and bereave
ent; the clerks we're hurried off as soldiers
1. L