Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1891-04-30
THE HEART OF A POSTWAR,
Pathetic Incident Involving a Mail Car
rier and u Dying Woman.

him down Hester street, whore there
IRE many tenement houses. And he
vas wont to stand in the doorway and
shout up the staircase. ''lettcr for Mis-
'us Mahony!" or something Of tho
sort.
So yesterday the postman blew on
lis tingers-for there was shrewd
wind from the Nor west-and he called
up the staircase. '.letter for Mrs. Me-
Namara." Three times he called
Then little girl came down the top
light of stairs and answered him in
piping voice. She had a wooden leg
hat clumped down the dead steps in
he funniest way Imaginable. You
would have died with laughter had you
seen her stumping down the stairs
one little leg. half starved and shoe
less, and the other stick of wood all
wrapped up in old rags. So this little
girl. who had IL pug nose and red eyes,
and dirty tow colored hair, shouted
Town: "Wot dye want. yer divil?
Missers MacNcmary is dyin' an we
don't want no gutf-sec?"
And the postman said; There's n
letter for Mrs. McNamara-a registered
letter.' And the girl with the wooden
leg said: Git a move on ye. then,
and bring it up here fur l amt 10
accribet, and the old woman is dyin'."
Then the postman went up stairs and
many pairs of them. Thereupon he
came to doorway and pushed it open.
1t was a grim little room with deal
boards on the floor and deal table
and three deal planks for a bed and
4 deal of everything except comfort
On the bed lay an old woman; thin,
white hair she had. and haggard face
and old, wrinkled, kind eyes. And
hunger had pinched her. and she was
wan and pale and the thin fingers
pecking at the bed clothes were knotted
and red, as though they We're knocking
at the hard door of death. The man
said that he had letter for Mrs. Nc
Namara. Its a registered letter."
he said; "sign your name.'
Then the old woman, who lay a-dy-
ing, said, softly, "But cannot write"
For at the time she was born, among
the round green hills OF Donegal, there
were no schoolmasters, bar the hedge
men, and they taught nothing but
Latin with Donegal accent.
So she said to the man who delivered
letters, Twill you be afther putin me
name to it:?" The little girl with ono
leg of skin and bone and another leg
Of wood, spoke up saying: ''Wot's do
matter wild yee Kent ye see de old
wummen's a-dying?" The postman
saw it and signed his blank. making a
mark where the womans name should
have been; then he started to go away,
but he did not go, for the old woman
stopped him.
Il can't read" she said; ''will you
read it to me?"
Then as the man tore open the en-
velope the woman continued: II
know it's from mydaughter-y'see Mary
she went away to Kansas City. and
she's living with Mr.. Warowell, and he
run fur mayor, and she sends me
money to pay the rent, an this is the
day for paying the rent, an there's
81 to pay. an she always sends $40.
Sewing dollars for rint, an tree dol
lars mont ter live wid," said the
girl with wooden leg, snuffing
through her small red nose.
While all this was going on the post
man had looked over the paper that
was in the envelope. And he said:
"Yessum, there amt no letter, but
there are order fur $40 on the post
Office and might as well cash it here,
fur kin save you the trouble OF call
in fur it," Then this postman took
out of his waistcoat pocket $40 bill,
which was half of his salary. and he
gave this money to the old woman,
who lay a-dying. But the girl with a
wooden leg grinned at him.
The letter carrier went down the
steep and dirty tenement steps. and
| when he came to the street he stood
aside for a moment and re-read the
paper. But Mary had never sent this
letter to her mother. For it came
from Kansas City. and the stamp OF
the Central Police" was on it, and il
stated that Mary had been dragged out
dead from the Kaw river.
The postman went home. but wha,
his wife said when she got half of his
salary every married man knows.
This is all, but the small girl lay on
the fiat of her small back and beat upon
the floor with her wooden leg. And
she was right. for she had the ten-dol.
lar bill tucked away in her waistband.
Moreover the old woman was babblinc
in her sleep--and it was deaths SLEEP
of Mary and the green, small hills
of Donegal and of Kit Murty who diei
long years ago.
And the odd part of this story is tina
| it is true.
| The Baby's speech.
| The verses commencing 'You'C
scarce expect one of my age" etc.