The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1892-06-25
A BLIND LETTER.
The Clerks Patience Was Amply Re
warded That Time.


The Clerks Patience was Amply Re-
warded That Time.
| In the matter of-fact. language oil
the New York Postofiice. blind
letter" Is letter tho address OF which
lis either insufficient or written SO
illegibly that 1t cannot be deciphered
even by clever experts Yet though
the term is prosaic. there Is often a
touch OF romance about these letters
that cannot see their destination and
are therefore blind. Here is brief
account OF the strange case OF one OF
them that came under my own OBJ
servation.
10 my mother. New York"
This was the sole subscription OF
the letter in question--simple. not
without pathos but enough to bafe
the shrewdest and keenest- witted
letter carrier in Chr.stendom. The
letter was contained in common
white envelope and gave no moro
clue to the identity OF the writer Than
1t did to the whereabouts OF his
mother.
Long years OF experience had made
the blind clerk" as he was called.
skillful at interpreting the most mys-
ferrous addresses but this missive
completely nonplussed him. How
ever he was interested in document
with seemed to suggest that there
was one mother in New York who
could not be mistaken for anybody
al hA ant ha
aside carefully and determined to
await events when his curiosity might
be satisfied.
But month after month passed by.
and no client put in an appearance
for the epistle that was now grown
dirty with dust His colleagues In
Office used to chat the blind clerk
bit about his affection for the sin
gular letter. and ultimately he told
the mates that he would lock 1t up; so
the sight OF it should no longer irri-
tate them or annoy him.
On the very day on which he made
this announcement to his fellows a
poor old Irishwoman called Mt the Of
flee. and asked the clerk II he had a
letter for her from her son. She gave
her name to him. but after making
search for the missing letter in the
proper department he had to tell her
there was no letter in the Office adj
dressed to the name that she had men
toned.
The woman shook her head. There
must intimated In SO many words be
q letter somewhere In the Office from
her boy-her only boy.
MY good woman" inquired the
clerk. show long have you been ex.
pecting to hear from your sonp"
Every day for many q week." was
the answer.
.'And your son; where does he livep"
she was asked next
''Somewheres out West sorr but
forgit the name OF the place"
Like fash 1t came into the clerks
mind that the letter which had puz-
zled him SO much bore the postmark
OF an outlandishly named place out
West Was the mystery to be solved
at last?
Going to the cupboard where he
had placed the letter. he read out the
name Of the post Office from which 1t
had been despatched. and the woman
replied at once
Yes that's the name OF the place
where my son works"
The clerk handed her the dingy
letter. She gazed at it for a moment;
then kissed it again and again ex-
claiming the while '.It's my boys
handwriting.
0Then she added. in undertones. as
If speaking to herself Il knew he
would not forget his poor old mother"
With these words she bowed low to
the clerk. thanked him earnestly for
his kindly attention and walked
quietly out OF the Office clasping the
letter to her breast