Connecticut western news., 1882-04-26
THE P. 0. DELIVERY CLERK.
How He Appears to Man in Texas.
From Texas Siftings.l


 From Texas siftlngs.l
 The postofice delivery clerk is an off, cial paid by the government of the United States to make the travelling public, and those who have not got lock boxes paid for quarterly, in advance, feel that there are worse things than not getting the letters they expected. The worse things are the delivery clerk him. self and the manner in which he treats the anxious inquirer. There is no im petuous haste about the movements of the delivery clerk, but, instead, there is acalm repose of manner and leisurely disregard of time, as he turns to his pigeon holes to look for letter for you, and, becoming interested in the reading of postal card, forgets all about your presence.
 We heard man say, the other day, that the average delivery clerk is of 8 retiring disposition-he will retire be- hind desk for half an hour to finish reading the catastrophe of "Seaside Library" novel, while the unlettered public howl like foghorns outside, and pound on the sides of the window with their sticks and umbrellas.
 The postofice delivery clerk is really 8 very mild and inoffensive creature when he is dead, or discharged. In his official capacity, however, he is not ex- cessively communicative or progressively polite. He never comes out of his win dow to chat with friend, or to point out to stranger the way to the court house. There are several characteristics and eccentricities of the delivery clerk that may be worth mentioning. He will look at the inquiring one in pre- occupied sort of way, and when. the latter states that his name is J. F. Will son, ard asks if there are any letters for him, the clerk will go into reverie over about forty letters that he will fish out Cf the W box. After he examines them all and has had ten minutes of a joint discussion with the first assistant mail ing clerk, with regard to whether the second throw that Smith made last night was two sizes and three, or two threes and six, he will then look over few more letters, until he comes to one that looks as if it might fit the man outside, and coming to the window, says, "You are sure your name isn't J. P. Williams, are you?" as if Wilson might have lost or mislaid his name and unconsciously picked up some other mans name by mistake, as one might exchange hat or umbrella. When the man assures him that his name, as we'll as he can remember, is Wilson, the clerk looks disgusted and disappointed because he is again baked in disposing of some of his stale literature.
 The most exasperating specimen of delivery clerk is the one who has the reputation of having a remarkable memory. He remembers, or pretends to remember, the names of all the letters in all the pigeon holes, from A. to z. and we never saw man yet who wouldn't doubt the accuracy of his statement when, without looking through his stock of letters,s he says |: "Naw, nothing for that name"
 That the delivery clerk should have 8 gloomy and cheerless disposition is not to be wondered at. He has much to annoy and prejudice him against the people, who seem to have 8 deplorable and unsuitable yearning for letter or even one cent circular. He is worried by all sorts of unreasonable people. There is the drummer who wants any letters that may come for him during the next ten days, forwarded to him at Chicago ; the man who wants to know if a letter mailed now will go east on the APO; the boy who mailed letter without stamp and wants it back six men who forgot their box keys and want their mail handed to them the woman who knows there maust be letter for her and asks the clerk to "look again ;" the country man who gets angry, and wants the clerk to "come out on the sidewalk for just two minutes," because the clerk wants to charge him six cents on an in- sufficiently prepaid letter, and the colored female who does not get letter, on an average, once in two years, but who comes every Monday morning, and inquiries, not only for letters for her. self, but for all the cook and wash ladies in the ward she lives in.
 Taking all this into consideration, the delivery clerk deserves credit for not being more intensely sour and painfully ferocious than he is.