The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-01-03
THE SAD STORY
Of 8 Girl Who Starved to Teath in
Wv York.

Wv York.
stricken With Tuberculosis, She
Nursed Age d Aunt Until the Lat
g Died and Tbs n Succumbed.
A dispatch from New York says 8
Philadelphia undertaken went to the
morque end got the body Of Mary
Weeks, who was found dead at SO
Barrow street. He was acting under
instructions from the young woman's
relatives. he took the remains to
P Philadelphia for interment.
The girl was found kneelirg by her
bed In tie basement Of the Barrow
street house. She grasped In her dea6
fingers a broken rosary and an old
nildewed letter, describing a scene
in the bass ment room where she CAM
to her lon. ly end. The letter read:
Spring had ripened into summer
and the day was far spant when !
again entered the happy basement. l
found Mrs. 81. sittlLg behind her
screen, reading her B BILE. She arose
and warmed my heart by her trul.
oenignant 8 nile, that threw a radisnc
scarcely Of earth upon her time worr
features. They were only two or
three art cles Of furniture left in the
room. In the fireplace was a pile OF
old books and letters, with a brJker
jewelry box on top. An old crpy o.
S%hakespeare's plays lay open at "A
Mtdsun mel Nights Dream"
Mary Weeks was twenty five years
old. She came from Philadelphia not
long ago to nurse her aunt, who was
the widow Of De Witt Waterman. The
old house, which has withstood the
changes that have been sweeping over
the neighborhood, was once Mrs
Wsterman's poverty, but 1t had been
alienated. She still retained the priv.
ilege, however, Of occupying the base.
nent, and there her niece took care OF
her for many weeks.
The young woman, however, was
afi .cted with consumption, and sh
had been taking the open air cure BE-
fore she came to New York. At one
time she became so weak It she had,
to give up the task Of nurs g her aunt
and went to Bellevue Hospital for
treatment. When she regained'a little
strength, however, she went back to
Barrow street and took care OF the old
woman until she died, on Friday, De.
cember Is
Nobody seems to know how the
young woman got along the succeed
ing week. She was too Ill to work.
and it Is believed that she had almost
no money. Mrs. Forshay, j snitress OF
the house, which Is now let out In ten
ements, went to her rooms on Satur
day to see how she was getting along.
She says she found the sick girl sit
ting on the side Of the bed trying to
4 8 ring the beads Of her rosary, which
had been broken.
There were NJ sheets or blankets
on the bed. The girl was crying, and
Polly, q little rouyh.coated terrier,
was sitting on the fl dor looking up into
her face. Ms. Forshay found out tia
10Th the dog and mistress were hun
Try and had nothing to eat. She ran
90 her rooms and brought them some
70 d Sle says she thinks Mary
Weeks was too week to eat and gave
all the food to the Dig.
Tuesday morning an old friend OF
Waterman sent for a portrait In
Ill of the dead man, which SILL hung
on the wall of the front base m emit
room. When MI. Forshay and the
messenger went to the room they
fourd the young woman dead. DR..
Conkling, of st. Vincent's hospital,
laid tuberculosis had caused death
People In the house say that the end
was at least accelerated by %priVations.
The little dog was still in the dark,
lonely room, where bis mistress died.
He whined from time to time, but
had not strength enough to make much
nose.
IL is said that Mrs Waterman and
Mary Weeks were descendants to
Capt. Abel Bradley, q notable Of the
r :volution, and that his dsu shter'in.
law, Charlotte Bradley, was once
known as IL ,dy Bountiful, CT Green.
witch village"