Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1874-10-31
DEAD LETTERS.

A short space of two days and his
vacation would commence. Two weeks |!
But two weeks were two years of fun,
two centuries of real enjoyment, two
eternities of rest, compared to the COR
stant drag, drag, in that lonely b-asi-
ness which took up all his day hours
IN work, and all his night hours in
dreams. Two weeks awe.y from the
constant reading of letters which were
written for other ey ca than his How
he ever got into me Dead-letter Office
ne couldn't sa.5 and how he ever staid
there without growing wild to the ex-
tent OF pulling out all his hair aud
ramm ing pens into his brown eyes, he
cor-ldn't, for the life of him, tell. He
lad staid on two years, and was much
honored, in small way, as skillful
clerk in the department.. He couldn't
tell why again. In fact, his career was a
seyies of couldn't-tell-whys," which,
bowever, were the cogs to the wheels
which kept his life agoing. Casual
Observer might have told why he was
considered one of the best clerks in the
department, and said Observer would
have remarked that it was because he
Therel I've got just so far without using
name, and hoped Id get clear
Though the story without committing
myself; but it's no use. These pro-
nouns are terribly exacting things, and
I shall have to get name for the "he !"
before the last dash, or I shall be un-
able to proceed any further. Well,
Tom will do, won't it? Toms a name,
and there are lots of Toms in Washing
ton, and several Toms in the Dead-let,
ter Office. Now, then, we'll take an
othrJr start with Tom and the Observer.
[ say that the Observer would have
remarked that it Ego back few lines
for the explanation of the cit y was
because Tom had very tender heart
in his possession. A sad thing to have
tender heart when you're dealing
with persons, they say. Tom thought
it was sadder when dealing with letters.
He would choke fifty times each day
while reading some earnest, heartfelt
epistle which, despite the love and
fidelity mothers hand had buried in
the lines, had miscarried, nor would
ever reach dear sons eyes. Or per-
haps it was fathers strong call-strong
in tears and strong in love-which
would never bring back to the home
fold straying daughter.
The letters Tom read with heart
ache, which spread like neuralgia. and
somehow filed his whole body with
an untold pain, were by the thousand a
year but his interest in the sad cases
was never tagging, and he always made
good push to have the letters which
came from loving hands for loved ones
take one more chance of reaching their
destination. If Toms successes had
been each block of granite, the Wash
ington Monument would have been
completed over eleven months ago.
Tom was to have two weeks vacation
two weeks, commencing in two days.
He wasn't often idle ). but this morn
ing he held one of batch of letters
epistolary corpses-and sat thinking of
anything but his work. Where should
he go in vacation? There was no
mother, or brother, or sister waiting for
him to come home. There were no
kisses of welcome waiting for him
among green hills or by pleasant,
shining waters. Where should he go
Heigho He couldn't make up his
mind. With shake, like cat awak-
ing, he came back to his work and gazed
on the one letter from many in pile
before him he had semi-unconsciously
taken up. The direction of the letter
was as follows
MISS CLARA f. DENNETT,
st. Albans, Vermont.
The post. mark bore the name Of Provi-
dence, Rhode Island, and date of July
90. On the other side of the envelope
was a pretty monogram of three letters,
f. FL. W. or w. FL. F., or FL. W. f., OF
some combination, Tom couldn't decide
which. So he opened the letter and
read
"CnAnA. My heart is nigh breaking.
May not come back? I was wholly
wrong; but my love for you made me
unreasonably exacting and unwilling tc
yield. Forgive me, for Heavens sake
and say / may come to you. 1 will
wait one week more in Providence tc
hear from you. Do write. FRANK"
No date and no signature. "Just
like man in love - said Tom. "The
only thing settled is that the first let
ter of that monogram is an f., blue