Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1848-12-07

The Dead Letter office.

|
| The story of Adele Barron, published in re.
cent number of the Knickerbocker, which turns
on some missing leller, has brought to mind an
incident related by Frank Granger, as having oc-
Cured when he was at the head of the post Office
| department. A letter was one day received from
| postmaster of town in New Jersey, enclosing
letter very old and dingy, and covered with fly
specks in every part, except a tape had passed
over it, indicating that it had been for long time
placed in the paper card rack ofsome bar room
or shop. The superscription, if there ever had
been any, had entirely faded away. The post
master wrote that he had found it in his letterbox
and had tried in vain to discover who had depos-
tied it there in order that it might receive proper
direction, as it apparently contained money. AS
it had been advertised it was not in strictuess
dead letter; but he sent it to the department in
order that he might dispose of it. The Postmast-
er-General took the responsibility of opening it,
and found that it was dated at Philadelphia, in the
year 1921, Qwenty.one years before,) and enclosed
a twenty dollar bill Of the United States Bank 1t
was addressed by man to his wife, at small
village not far from the post Office where the let.
ter was found, informing her that he (the writer)
should start for home in two or three days; Sut
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 the approaching wedding.
u The Postmaster General caused letter to be
written to the address of the writer informing him
of the circumstances. In the course of a. week
reply was received from a.female who stated tha.
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 90 years before the
eve Of her own wedding, she remembered that her
father and uncle had quarrelled, the former having
been led from suspicious circumstances, to dis
credit the latter's assertion that he had lost the
letter containing money entrusted to his care, and
to nsinuate that he had appropriated,the amount
to his own use. The consequence was, that all
intercourse between the two families had from
that time been suspended, and that she should inl-
mediately write to her uncle and cousins, who
still lived distance, to beg that the intercourse
and friendship SO long interrupted might be re-
sumed the discovery OF this letter having salts
fed her of what she SO long expected, that her
father was wrong, and relieved her mind from
weight Of painful anxiety. =: -, = -.
Whether any farther clue 10 the manner in which
the letter had arrived at the Office at so late
period was ever ascertaned, is not known the
probability is that the letter, had been picked up
at or near some country tavern on the road, and
was placed with the variety of business cards and
miscellaneous papers which usually fill the tapes
over the mantle piece Of such place, and there
it had remained from year to year, perhaps con-
cealed from notice by other papers and letters,
until, by change of landlord, or an Improvement
of the house, the landlord had disposed of it by
! depositing it in the nearest post office.