The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1866-12-29
The Travelling Post-0hce
AN ENGLISH STORY.

MANY years ago, and before this Line
was SO much as projected, l was en-
gagged as a clerk in Travelling Post
office running along the line of railway
from London to town in the Midland
Counties, which we will call Fazeley.
Ny duties were to accompany the mail
train, which left Fazeley at S15 p. NJ,
and arrived in London about midnight,
and to return by the day mail leaving
London at 1890 the following morning;
after which had an unbrokcn night at
Fazeley, while another clerk discharged
the same round of work and in this way
each alternate evening l Twas on duty in
the railway post Office van. At first
suffered little from hurry and tremor
ofnerve in pursuing my occupation while
the train was crashing along under
bridges and through tunnels at speed
which was then thought marvellous and
perilous: but it was not long before my
hands and eyes became accustomed to
the motion of the carriage, and could
go through my business with the same
despatch and ease as in the post-oifice
of the country town where had learned
it, and from which / had been promoted
by the influence of the surveyor of the
district, Mr.. Huntingdon. In fact, the
work soon fell into monotonOus rou-
tine which, night after night, was pur-
sued in an unbroken course by
myself and the junior clerk, who was
my only assistant; the railway post
office work not having then attained
the Importance and magnitude it now
possesses.
Our route lay through an agricultural
district, containing many small towns,
which made up two or three bags only;
one for London; another, perhaps, for
the county town; third for the rail-
way pOstofficc, to be opened by US, and
the enclosures to be distributed accord
ing to their various addresses. The
clerks in many of these small offices
were women, as is very generally the
case still, being the daughters and fe-
male relatives of the nominal postmas-
! ter, who transacts most of the business
of the office, and whose names are most
frequently signed upon the bills accom-
panying the bags. / was young man,
and some what more curious i'll feminine
handwriting than | am now. There
was one family, in particular, whom j
| had never seen, but with whose sigma
lures | was perfectly familiar,-clear,
delicate and educated, very unlike the
miserable scrawl upon other letterbills.
On one New Years eve, i'll Il moment Of
sentiment, tied slip of paper among
bundle Of letters for their Office, upon
which l had written: "A happy New
Year TO YOU all" The next evening
brough. me return of my good wishes,
signed, as guessed, by three sisters OF
the name of Clifton. From that day,
every now and then, a sentence or two
as brief as the one above passed between
us, and the feeling of acquaintance and
friendship grew upon me, though had
never yet had an opportunity of seeing
my fair unknown friends.
1t was towards the close of the fol-
! lowing October that it came under my
notice that the then Premier of the min
istry was paying an autumn visit to
nobleman, whose country seat was sltu-
ated near small village on onr line OF
rail- The Premier's dispatch box, con- |
tanning, of course, all, the dispatches !
him. passed between him and the Secre-
tary of State, and was, as usual, in
trusted to the care of the Post office.
The Continent was just then in a more
than ordinarily critical state; we were
thought to be upon the verge of an Eu-
roDean war, and there were murmurs
floating about, at the dispersion of the
ministry, up and down the country.
These circumstances made the charge of
the despatch box the more interesting
to me. 1t was very similar i'll size and
shape to the old fashioned work-boXes |
uscd by ladies before boxes of polished |
i,,tn
like them, it was covered with red mo |
rocco leather, and it fastened with |
lock and KEY. The first time it came |
into nv hands, took such special no.
tice of il as might he expected. Upon
one corner of the lid l detected pecu-
liar device scratched slightly upon 1t,
most probably with the sharp point OF
steel pen, in such moment OF preoccu-
patton of mind as causes most OF us to
draw odd lines and caricatured faces
upon any piece of paper which may lie
under our hand. 1t was the old revolu-
tionary device of heart with dagger
piercing it; and wondered whether 1t
could be the Premier, or one OF his sec !
retaries, who had traced it upon the
morocco.
This box had been travelling up and
down for about ten days, and, as the
village did not make up bag for Lon
don, there being very few letters eX-
ccpting those from the great house. and
the despatch-boX, were handed di-
rect into our travelling poSt-otiicc. But. |
| in compliment to the presence OF the1
Premier in the neighborhood, the train,
instead of slackening speed only, stop
ped altogether, i'll order that the Prem
| ier's trusty and confidential messenger
might deliver the important box into
my own hands, that its perfect safety
might be insured. had an underlined
suspicion that some person was also en-
ployed to accompany the train up to
| London, for three or four times l had
met with foreign-looking gentleman
ut Euston-square, standing at the door
of the carriage nearest the post-otfice
van, and ewing the heavy bags as they
custody of the officials from the General
Post-oflice. But though l felt amused
and somewhat nettled at this needless
precaution, / took no further notice OF the
man, except to observe that he had the
swarthy aspect of foreigner, and that
he kept his face well away from the
ngnt OF tne lamps. EACePl IVA 'n'"'
things, and after the first time or two,
the Premier's despatch-box interested
me no more than any ether part OF my
charge. My work had been doubiy
monotonous for some time past, and l
began to think it time to get up some
| little entertainment with my unknown
friends, the Cliftons. l was just think
ing of it as the train stopped at the sta
tion about n mile from the town where
they lived, and their postman, gruii,
matter. of fact fellow,-you could see it
in every line of his face,-pnt in the
letter bags, and with them letter adj
dressed to me. 1t was an official en-
envelope, "On Her Majesty's Service.
and the seal was an official seah On
the folded paper inside (folded officially
also) / read the following order mir.
Wilcox is requested to meet the bearer,
the daughter of the postmaster at Eaton,
to see the working of the railway post
office during the np;journey.", The
writing knew well as being that OF