The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-08-26


in 2 melancholy tone, with a shake Of the head
and finger, said, "UNtente."
now wrote to the principal merchants in
Marseilles, Leghorn and Havre, beseeching them
to look into the port offices of those PLACES fer
letters, and / discharged .bnoadside upon my
friends IN America, from all the chief ports. 1
noW felt a little easier had Wells and Greene,
oflavre: Fitch, Brothers and Co., of Marseilles;
and Grant and Co., OF Leghorn, on the look
oun for me- Still haunted the pest-ofiice, and
wo9ried the man that, through the grated win
dow, presides over the distribution OF human joy
ard disappointment, and coolly kills the hope OF
many an ardent breast Slth Fs.Ntente."
At ,engtht, one day, when the mail was just in
/ from Havre, the man saw my face among the
crowd, and, with a smile said, ''There is letter
fer you to-day" He went to my box, which,
from an unlucky coincidence of circumstances
always seemed to be nearly empty, and, after some
close examination, (vvlile my heart was in my
throat,) laid down letter. l struggled, and
thrust my way through the crowd, tore my surtout
halssf my back, dropped my purse, and raised
quite sensation. At length grasped Tiny
hand trembling with eagerness-and struggled
back again into the fresher air to breathe
-ssoho!" said l, to myself, with the swelling
triumph of an usurper who seizes the crown;
''seho! at last, then, have you"
/ 6tole round the corner into a narrow street,
II.
and cut through in several places, and covered
with. score of post-otfice hieroglyphics, dates,
names Of countries, directions, erasures and r.
observation-disclosures, mensieurs, prices OF postage
paid and all that. ] kept it, thrilling and trem-
bling, in my hand, like new-caught fish, till
should collect my breath and ideas, and calm
myself to a mood for deep and deliberate enjoy
ment Oh, the bliss of letter from home.
turned it over and over, felt it carefully, exam
cd he ,1aOtnarsbin Of the snnprccrinfiCO read
all the post-marks, and came near being ran down
by the carriage of one of the Bonapartes, while
absorbed. soul and body, in unravelIing the mys-
tick symbol ON the seal. 1t was no; Ms writ
ing-nori B-'s-nor A-'s-nor the girls. 1t
had cnraa by the way sf Havre-that was GER
tain-soit must be from America. l took out my
penknite deliberately, and cut the paper round
the wax, closed and put up the knife, and slowly
opened the folds. There were six lines, and they
ran thus
Hacre, etc. etc.
DEARsSIR-We shall be happy to forward your
letters to America, as desired by yours of the
fifth instant; but beg you will write your name
on the cover, as, otherwise, they would remain
in the Office We are, etc. etc
WELLS AND GREENE.
To ,ffoBs.L- B..
That night | attended SOiree. and met Mr.
jackson from New York, who was pointed out
10 me as a man I0dC ana leL-
tiers by the packet of tie eighteenth What
happy fellow! Toward the close OF the evening
another American gentleman, who received pack
cts with uniform regularity, stepped, up to me
in his oif-handzTay, and said, "By the way, b,
what did your aunt Sue die of ~
My aunt Sue dead-my favourite old aunt I
was the first man, the next day, at the office. l
no more trustedtto UiUG gOce interrogadons.
thought these outlandish Italians had not under
stood my namc, and had, therefore, now writ
ten it out in hand which the sculptors would
have called colossal. Ilaid down nv card.
''Poor, dear, old aunt Sue" thought I, as the
aalan brought forth he letters from the box mark
ed B., AMI turned them over carefully, one by
eene.
Oh those feelings, who can describe fol-
lowed every motion of his hand and eye with in
tense eagerness, almost amounting to pain: some
times he stopped and went back letter or two,
ton. Yes-that was it-there it was-but no
be Passed on to the last. His 'Fniente" chilled
my heart. / could have sworn, l could have
wept- Sometimes thoIght of returning home
then of pushing on to Constantinople and Jeru-
salem, and Of abandoning my obstinate, careless,
cruel, ungrateful friends, for ten years at least
Then nay passion found vent in invectivcs against
the European post-ofice depal tments. At last |
concluded, instead of going to Jerusalem, to re-
H03lt NhileIc was, Jul ~ 0A1-iS9 IAAC va
letters fron my mind.
al will not go to the office again for a week, )"
said / the next morning, .sanntered out into
the streets fer walk. I turned into the grand
square andsaw man, who had stopped on cor
ner, with maris of surprise and pleasure on his
countenance, to read letter. As passed him
he smiled 1t was too mach. lihelievc there
was scarcely friend of NINE on the ether side OF
the Atlantic, who did not al that moment flash
through my mind. In two minutes my colossal
card was on the post-office tablethe letters were
again taken down-again he Turned them over, |
one two, three-again he stopped, looked close,
and then passed on till the end.
A shake of the head slightly sympathetic, |
negative motien of the6ogcr, laconicl feicslte.'
As turned away, somebody at my elbow receiv-
ed a packet, and on looking around perceived |
twenty people reading letters We are all supcE-
stitious sometimes my heart smote me. felt
that was singled out by fate.
elbow poor are they that have not patiencem
| continued thus on the rack month longer
cannot paint my doubts, anxieties, misgivings
my alterations of hope and disappointment
Oh correspondents take warning from my
worGs-neglect not the sacred duty oil answering
letters. You know not the isolation of travel
Ter abroad the ianguishings for tine veriest whis-
per from home, the keen hope with which he
gTeetS each TIC oAShShiA5
prehensions with which he beholds every de-
scending sun roll away upon bis desolation.
had leaned my forehead upon the table in
deep reflection. 4 knock at the door-the servant
OF my friend G., to whose care, | had ordered
nv letters, entered with packet There were
letters from all whom most loved-no black
seals. tore them apart with a ravenous plea
sure that bordered on ferocity. They were tfa
latest possible dates, alluded to numerous others
by which they had been preceded, complained
bitterly of my silence, and dear old aunt Sue
abused me through four pages crossed with red
ink at right angles, and then diagonally with
green. Hwas late atnight, a dozen sweet cigars
lay on my table, and bottle OF Madeira, which
Cooke had carried with him round the world.
broke apart the rich-massy embers of my mid
night FIRE, touched the end of the choicest cigar
to the end Of fame from taper, poured myself
out a bumper of the flowing bliss, and get as far |