Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1858-06-22
MISCELLA AN Y .
An Hour at the Dead Letter Office.

A female correspondent of Life Illustrated
gives the following account of visit to the
Dead Letter Office at Washington:
We had been fortunate enough to procure the
entree to this place through special favor and in
iuence, although, as general thing, no visitors
are admitted 1t was a large, light room, with
two or three desks, at which were seated aged
officers in silent occupation among literal DRIFT
of letters. The walls were lined on every side
with huge mail sacks which had been returned
full ofunclaimed epistles, from myrads of post
offices; there might have been fifty or a hun.
dred of these sacks, and each probably contained
thousands on thousands of letters!
"How rapidly you dispose of them!" said /,
watching the speed with which the clerks tore
open the epistles, glaneing over them to see that
no drafts, checks, or other important documents,
wers inclosed, and then threw them upon an
immense heap of opened letters at their feet.
at is all in habit, ma'am," said the gentleman
nearest me. "We are accustomed to open GER
tain number daily, and to those who do not un-
derstand the expedition and accuracy with
which we work, it would seem, indeed, almost
incredible"
As he spoke, tiny gold ring rolled from the
folds of q rose tinted letter, whose pages were
evidently written over by delicate female
hand. ;,
"A child's ring" he said, taking it up; ''would
YOU like to look ct it, ms'm!"
took it in my haud-it was fairy circlet OF
virgin gold, with the words "Nary to H. W
engraved within-and ! wondered who the Ma
1 ry was, and whether the little Vi. V."who new
or received the tiny gift, was dead or living. :,
| Meanwhile, the clerk bad been taking RAPID
note of the signature, directions, &c
II III i ,nnn "a.
4 turning the ring to his care
sWe lay all such things aside, in case they
should De called for"
sand are they often redeemed2"
!, ssNotofteu-not once in hundred instances,
be replied, taking little gold dollar from be-
meath the seal of another letter, and laying II
| carefully under the desk.
We stood in silence, regarding the pile OF open
! ed letters, which was growing higher every mo
ment. 1t was q strange medley of styles anc
/ hand writing. Some were inscribed on huge
\ sheets of fooscap in manner that conveyed
\ the impression to your mind that the writer
must have grasped the pen with both hands, anC
| gone st the paper as he would dig spade into
the earth, and folded with glorious disregard
i of all geometrical precision; Others again were
dsintily written on colored tissue paper, an(
some were in that easy, flowing hand, that be
speaks energy and refinement of character in the
caligrapher.
'Oh, how should like to read these letters =
said I, involuntarily.
The official smiled "This is what all ladies
saw. Il would be almost impossible to preserve
our charge from the curiosity OF the female sex
if fortunately, our rules did not protect US from
many visitors"
"Do yOu ever read themW
oNeyet, unless they seem very important, ol
contain Enclosures of amount. 1t is all we car
do to keen up with the arrival of the dead mails
now. If we were to stop to read one letter in
hundred, we should be lamentably behind
hand: besides, the privacy of these letters is 6
point of honor with us. We have no more righi
to read them here, when unnecessary, than to
prv into any other personal secrets"
i Here one of the clerks leaned over and handed
our companion tiny package"
"Fro,n one of the letters" he said; II thought
the lady might feel interested in it."
II was single curl of golden hair tied with
a bit of pink ribbon, and wrapped in little
piece of paper, on which was written Baby
hair"
knew the history Of that letter in an instant
though had never looked in its folds. | could
see the fair young mother parting the sunny
tresses from the infant head, clipping lock, ant
placing it, with a smile and half a tear, within
the closely written page that was to gladden. the
heart of the far away husband. And he never
received the letter. Perhaps he died under the
mighty shadow of the Sierra Nevada; perhap:
the turf of some Mississippi valley lay close or
his puseless heart, while she, the faithful wife
was growing more sad, less hopeful with every
day that brought no answering word.
3Baby's HART" | could not bear that the
bright curl should be thrown carelessy among the
host of letters; it seemed like desecration.
'sMay keep this little look"
'Certaiuly, if you like"
And placed it carefully in my reticule, with
tender hand. know not where the sorrowine
young mothers heart is breaking, day by day
but certain | am that there is an invisible bono
of sympathy between her soul and mine, clasped
by a lock of curling, silky gold-"baby's hair p
| 1t would be in vain to attempt to chronicle
the numerous Enclosures which dropped from the
various letters which were opened during the
short space of time we stood there. But of rain.
bow colored silk, sent for patterns" tiny mus
! lin collars, newspaper paragraphs, bank bills,