American union. [volume] (Morgantown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1859, 1856-01-05

tive of the amusing incidents which oc
casionally come under the eyes ofpos,
clerks:
s.r TO MY GRANDMoRHEn.
A little blight eyed, Haxen haired boy
was one day observed To enter the yesli-
bule of the post-otlice at Washington,
with letter in his baud, aud to wall
very modestly at the delivery window.
AS soon as The place was cleared, he APP
proached the letter box, and carefully
deposited his epistle therein, lingering
near. as If to watch over the safety of
tho precious document His motions
attracted the attention Of The clerk sta
toned at the window, whose curiosity
induced him To examine the superscrip-
lion OF the letter just deposited by The
little fellow. The address of the letter
was simply: To my dear grandmother
Louisana,' doubtless some good old lady
whose memory, in the mind Of her iu-
nocent graudchild, was redolent of cake
and candy, aud all The various goodies"
which grandmothers arc SD ready to sup
ply, to say nothing of the various we'll
meant offices of kindness to which their
sometimes blind affection prompts them.
"Look hero my little man." said the
clerk. "whatis your grandmother''s name
aud where does she live ~ .. %. 5
"Why, she's my grandma, and lives
in Louisiana" . IS e..
Yes see that on The letter; but it
will never get To her if her name isn't
put on, and the place where she lives"
"Well, please pat it on sir"
"But shalt not know what her name
is unless you tell me-" s4 N.
"Why, sir, she's my grand don't
you know her ? She used TO live at my
house." ~ -. la .....'
"Aiier display Of considerable inge-
noi'y on the part Of the clerk. and a
good deal Of innocent evasion by the
child, The old lady's name aud place Of
residence were finally ascertGined, and
added to the address after which tho
little one Went on bis way REJOICING in
the assurance given by the clerk that
now his dear grandmother would Ger.
tainly receive the important opisIlo from
her darling. ...
T.E DEAD LETTER.
The following incident is contributed
by Dave of tho Columbus (Ohio) post
Office,
During my term of service at the gem
eral delivery Of this office, il was my
custom, upon receiving dead letters from
Washington city, TO make a list of the
hancs of The persons TO whom they
Il Il 81, IL,
lobby of the Office, with notice to Call
for dead letters" .. ..
One day an Elegant specimen of Eriu's
sons, whose brawny fist and broad
shoulders seemed to denote construction
with all eye single ,o American railroads
/ loungeh into the Office and looked up
to The board containing the aforesaid
list. He looked at it a moment aud
burst into tears. spoke to him thro'
tho window, and asked him what WIS
the matter.
ooh! Mr.. Postmaster, see We hcv a
dead letther for me. | spect ME sister
in lroland's dead, and it's not wake
since stint her ten pound note to come
to America with--an' kin go tell me
how long she's been dead Mr.. Postmas
ter -
asked him his name, aud found the
letter, after request TO "rado il, sir, and
radc it aisy if you Place" opened it,
and told him not To cry, that his sister
was not dead, but that it was letter
written by himself and directed TO Mi
chael Flaherty Boston, Chicago.
"And is Michael dead, Mr.. Postnos.
ter -
guess not said |.
"Well, who is dead, Sir"
explained to him that letters not Ia.
ken from the Office where they were
| addressed, within a certain time, were
sent to what was called a Dead Letter
OiIlce, at Washington city, and from
theuce, if containing anything valuable,
10 the persons who wrote them.
"God bless yc for that, sir, but Mi.
chael lives III Chicago"
told him would not dispute that,
but Boston and Chicago wero two dis.
tiuct cities, and lbe letter was addressed
to both, and that Boston being the first
named, it had been retained there, aud
bis friend had not received it.
"Sure, aud lhought Boston was in
Chicago an that's what go call dead
letther, is it? Faith, aud | tjot it was
Bridget, aud not the Ieliber, was dead"