The Portland daily press., 1870-01-22
Selected Story.
On Her Majesly's Service. Special

WHEN I was first appointed one of He
Maiesty's Inspectors of Machinery, / though
myse considerable parsonage. L was bu
ayoung man; but it seemed to me that wa:
set for ever above the troubles, and certainl,
the dependencies of life; that there was M
need to koto9 to any man, and that, by M
possible combination of circumstances, coult
ever be put In funk" It was lated, how
ever, that within very few months of m,
appointment, was to endure greater frieh
than l had suffered in my lifetime before
greater than when I was schoolboy told to
stay" at E'op, (which was the delicate liz
PRODUCTION to the flo, gins- block;) and greater
than when went in Tor my Civil Servive ex.
animation, choked with dates to the throat
gate As in the latter case, it was moral
fright, and not a physical one. l was moi
caught in the machinery which it was nv du
ty to overlook. las has happened to brothe,
inspector,) and dragged slowly in by the coat
tails to an assortment of cogs and wheels
which l only escaped by the skin-of m,
teeth; but am not sure would not have
preferred the brief agony Of such position tf
the slow mental torture which did suffer.
When inspectors Of machinery were first
appointed, many manufactures resented il
exceedingly. They contended that their mill
was their castle, and thai tyfanpical govern.
ment had no right whatever TO send its min.
lons 20 Pry into their goings on. If the ma
cninery fcds unfenced, and the workmen did
OCCASIONALLY lose iimh or life in consequence,
mat was their lookout, not ours Such mis-,
adventures made people all the sharper-that
Is those who were lett alive. The principle
OF free trade was invaded by this meddline
In its most vital part. England was moi
worth living in under such system of esrion.
age; and ii 1t was persevered in, they tfol
onel would throw up their bus. ness, aud leave
this benlgh.ed land. However, as a genera
rule, they did not throw up their business
tney renamed where they were, and took il
The storiss have had to listen to from
masters With respect to The certain ruin that
awaited Trade under such circumstances
would nave been terrible, had not the stories
OF thelr workpeople concerning matters thai
had happened before the law stepped in. in
the way OF mutilation and death, weighed SO
much more heavily in the opposite scale. OF
course was well treated. There are no more
nospiao.e people 10 the world than your mer-
eGant princes; aud the cases were few INDEED
where those whom it was my duty to visit
ana perhaps to rebuke, failed TO associate me
personally from my uDwelcome Office. Mr.
WolftoD. however, great Leeds mapufactur.
er proved an exception to this rule. He moi
only resented government interference. but
NINE. he was almost rude to me in the pres
ence OF ms workmen; and not content with
expressing himself very strongly upon the
unienced machinery" question, actually ad-
s use sea 70 me, from his country house, a let
tsr, couched In the same violent terms. which
4nao the honor to receive some days AFTER.
wards at nay ss>i1>-.~~-.--I---l -w.Urv
him, as was my duty 10 do, temperate and
reasonable reply; but his epistle tickled me
exec sively, and happening to be correspond
Ing that day With my college friend, Jack
hawlinS, who has very keen sense of humor.
epitomized Mr.. Wollton's communication
Tor bis benefit, adding a few lively comments
OF my own!
There was not the least harm in nv doing
30, OIL course. 1t was privileged commull-
cation" 1t would be hard indeed ii one might
not discuss the character of our fellow crea-
lures with ones friend. MI. w. himself would
scarcely have expected that should write to
Jack about unfenced machinery and the nat
nral rights OF employers of labor, as l did to
MIN. But II was essential not to put the too
letters Tn the Wr0ng envelopes.
Let me here adjure any young hand at bust
ness who may read this dreadful story, never
to be- gin second letter until be has finished
the first and placed 1t in its properly -directed
envelope. In the days of sand bottles, the
saving of time might have been some object:
but by help of the blotting paper, the time
mat may De lost In arranging matters in their
right order is so infiniteisma that it sho uld al
ways be done. For only imagine the risk that
may be run II you do otherwise! You NAV
pc ordering hearlhruss of your correspond
ent at Cape Coast, and trying 10 import iyory
and gold dust from Manchester Your Ahi-
can agent will, OF course, imagine YOU are
making heartess jokes upon his climate: and
your Lancashire friend, who makes millions
out Of old bones and DEVILS dust, will resent
your pleasantry as still more offensive. But
even then you will not have made such mis-
lake as made IF aid hoy hao
OF rudeness in any man to have written such
letter as l was involuntarily sending to the
ma2nate of Leeds; but in an oficiaI-an in
spector! 1 protest that at even this distance
OF time it makes me damp to think of if. Yon
WIZ ask me, perhaps, how it was that came
70 KNOW that had put the letters into their
wrong envelopes? can scarcely answer that |
Know is, the fact flashed upon me hours alter
wards as sat Ia my Office in Whitehall, and
felt at once as certain that it had occurrel
as DID OF my own existence. l cast one ago.
nlzed glance at the clock, and saw that it was
not yet four-that there was an hour and
haif before the country mails lett the receiving
omce IL Bayswater, and called Hanson
and drove thither at topmost speed.
Yes, remembered it all now; nv quiet
t D4t nrmty expressed communication to Mr..
Woiiton bad been laid on the right hand of
to him r had tnssad - az ~ Hope auaIessed
.Srssssd on my facetlos letter to jack and
cIosing either letter, Lad fallen into "a
u y. study" dream OF college Lire, with |
and @ .. friendship and careless joy;
the letters. and nut tham ~ =, had folded up
est envelope, which was the eaen INTO the near,
was bow worked it al out In nv head aS
the the III ng q i had eas q
we're now of little moment, but tine consa
nspsstorshptSa w ans dea snCaa lose ny
'.ron,h - : snouu rose Louisa Upon the
q nronose 10 ~. a Igra dnn mad veutured
y la. ~. sy ueaIest girl IN ali the
~ ,ndncod I 20 ona. nel iatner could hardly
Is ahIuceu % part WIN her 10 me, even at
.ounn0aas. ngaie wolcn was then able TO
laws. If eonIJ not .to N ,Ss. EAST as 10 lew
,e si,,ost r uu no' s'op 'nat letter, should
TA peuii'sss.
4, 1oW 1 cursed the facilities" afforded bv