Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1848-11-10
Tke Dead Letter Office.

| he story OF Adele Barron, published
IN arecent number Of the knickerbock-
er, which turns upon some missing let
terS has brought to mind an incident
related by Frank Granger, as having
occurred when he was at the head Of
the Post Office department. A letter
was one day received from a postmast-
er IN town in New Jersey, enclosing
letter very old and dingy, and cover
ed with fly specks in every part, except
where a tape had passed over it. indica-
ting that for a long time it had been
placed IN the paper or card rack of some
bar room or shop. The superscription
If there had been any had faded away.
he postmaster wrote that he had found
1t IN his letter box, and had tried in vain
to discover who had deposited it there,
IN order that it might receive pro, er
direction, as it apparently contained
money. As it had not been advertised,
It was not in strictncSs a dead letter.
but he sentit to the department in order
that they might dispose OF il. The Post
Master General took the responsibility
OF opening it, and found that it was da-
ted at PhIIade phia, in the wear 1921,
(twenty years betorc) and enclosed a
twenty dollar bill of the t. S. Bank. 1t
was addressed by a man to his wife. at
a small village not far from the post Of
flee where the letter was found, inform
ing her that he Qhe writer) should start
for home III two or three DAYS, but that
as his brother was about to start for
home, he took advantage Of the oppor-
tunity to send her by him the enclosed
sum OF money Wh2rcWith to make prep
arations for an approaching wedding.
The Post Master General caused a
letter to BE- written to the address of the
writer, informing him OF the circum-
stances. In the course of week a re-
ply was received from a female, who
stated that the writer of the letter was
her father, and the one to whom it was
addressed was her mother both of whom
were dead; that twenty years before, on
the eve of her own wedding. she remem-
bered that her father and uncle had
Quarreled, the former having been led
from some suspicious circumstances to
discredit the latters assertions that he
had lost letter containing money en-
trusted to his care, and to insinuate that
he had appropriated the amount to his
own use. The consequence was that
all intercourse between the families had
from that time been suspended, and that
she should Immediately write to her un-
Gle and cousins, who were still living at
a distance, to beg that the intercourse
and friendship SO long interrupted night
be resumed; the discovery of tins letter
having satisfied her of whit she long
suspected, that her father was wrong.
and relieved her heart from a weight of
painful anxiety.
Whether ay.y further clue to the man
ner in h.ch the letter had arrived at
the Office at so late a period was ever
aScertained, is not known; the proba-
pility is that the letter had been picked
up at or near some country tavern on
the road, and was placed with the vari-
ETY. of business cards and miscellaneous
papers which generally fill the tapes
over the manteI-pece of such a place.
and there it had remained from year to
year, perhaps concealed from notice bv
other papers and letters, until by a
change OF landlord, or an improvement
OF the house, the landlord had disposed
OF it by depositing it III the nearest post
office.