Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1848-10-21
THE DEAD.LETTnR OFFICE.

The story of Adele Barron, published in q
recent number of the Knisksrboeisr, which
turns upon some missing letters, has brought
TO mind an incident related by Frank Gran
ger as having occurred when hs wac ct the
head of the post.office department. A letter
was one day received from the postmaster Of
town in New Jersey, snclosinss letter very
old and dngy, and covered with sy spscs in
every part, except where's tape bad passed
over it, indicating that it had been for . long
time placed in the paper or csrd-sok ofsome
bar.room or shop The superscription, ifthere
had been any, had entirely faded awsy. The
postmaster wrote that he had found il in his
letter box, and had tried in vain TO discover
who had deposited it there, in order thst it
might receive proper direction, as it appa.
renty contained money. As it had not been
advertised, it was not, in strictness, . dead
letter; but he sent it to the department in
order that they might dispose Of it, The
Postmasier-General took the responsibility OF
opening i, and found that it vas dated st Phi
ladelphia in the year 1921, twenty years be-
fore) and enclosed twenty.dollar bill of the
United States Bank. Itwas addressed by
man to his wife, at village not fer from the
pos,-office where the letter was found inform.
ing her that he (the writerl should start for
come in two or three days; but that, as his
brother was about to leave for home, he took
advantage of the opportunity to send her by
him the enclosed sum of money wherewith
to make preparations for an approaching wed.
ding. .A
The Postmaster General caused letter to
| be written TO the address of the writer, in
| forming him of the circumstances. In the
course of week, 2 reply was received from
female, who stated that the writer Of the
| letteI was her father, and the she to whom It
was addressed was her mother, both OF whom
were dead-ihat, twenty years before, on the
eve of her own wedding, she remembered
that her father and uncle had quarrelled, the
| former having been led, from suspicious cir.
cumstances, TO discredit the latter's assertion
that he had lost letter containing money en-
,rusted TO his care, and 10 insinuate that he
had appropriated the amount to his own use. !.
The consequence was, that all intercourse be.
tween the families had from that time been
suspended, and that she should Immediately
write TO her uncle and cousins, who were still
living at distance, to beg that the inter-
course and friendship 90 long interrupted
| might be resumed ths discovery Of this
letter having satisfied her Of what she had
long suspected, that her father was wrong, and
lieved her mind from weight of painful
| anxiety.
Whether any father clue to ths manner
in which the letter had arrived at the Office
at 50 late period was ever ascertained, ID
not known; the probability is, that the lettsr
had been picked up At or near some country
tavern on the road, and was placed, with tho
variety Of business cards and miscellaneous
papers which usually fll the tapes over the
maplel-piece Of such place, and there i
| had remained from year to year, perhaps con
cealsd from notice by other papers and let
teri, until, on change Of landlords 81 ~
Improvement Of the house, the landlord haf
disposed .qf il hy depositing it in the nseSes
ynJkS6nS.-Hoa< Joxsxk, ''i z ili '9'aae