, 1884-04-30
BILL ARP'S LETTER.
He Talks of the Time When His
Father Was Postmaster.
The Difference Between Then and
Postage, r-WritInE,
aud NALL urryIng--HIa FIX
perieDre as Nail Boy.


a postage stamp it carries me away back,
Back To- the time when my father was post
master and | was his clerk, and had to make
up the mails in IL country town. tn differ
ence between now and then shows the worlds
progress in a privilege and a pleasure that is
hardly eXcelled in any other branch Of i'm
provement. We couldn't bear to be set back
aguin in that line to the old ways that our
fathers thought we're pretty good. There
were no stamps aud no envelopes, and no
niuciGg~. The paper was folded up like "A
thntnb-phpcr, anl one side slipped in the
other and sealed with u wafer. The little
ehoolbpys. YOU know, had 10 use thumb.
papers IN thor spelling books to Keep them
clean where their dirty thumbs kept the
pages open. Girls didn't have to use them,
for they were nicer aud kept their hands
clean, aud didn't wear out the leaves by the
friction oi Their fingers
Boys are rough things anyhow, aud don't
see what u nice. sweet, clean, pretty girl
wants with one OF en-. Urls they say are
mace OF sugar ana SPICE ana All thats nice,
OUT p"Sh are 'naue pl snaps ana shaiI' and
puppy uoSs tei!s' J"Hepinz says, thnt When
tue queen OF 9hela was testing SoIomon's
WISDOM sue had httS boys ana htty girls all
uIesset npk1 !" sHH clothes ana seated
hr"u"u u nS r"oui' anu asker the KING TO
Pich out the boys from the glrla' ana lie called
ai""h' 70 cue o"e nnu totu mem 10 WASH
'ieir h"Hnh. Inc elrls all rolled up their
t'"''' " i't'e "'' III Tue boys Just aiosueu
'"eii ahu hn"N why anu Bot water all
over tuoif aprons, ana so the king spotted
eFeiy INQUIRER : sou Oh en-.
P'sS'ke ~ 70 "e fesuiateu ny tno
Instance tnht .hc'e sam carried tue letters.
IL was iS's cents anywhere IN the state, and
i92t cents toNnhr'est"h' ana = cents TO New
i tlhH IL WIS never prepaid. ~ mum GDllu
uniict ahouhe, WIN "a pistareeh letter that
""sh' "ortn . cents "A Pistareeh' you
Ano"' WINS rs 'ents-Snht " "a . pence
an a thH" W. ""' NJ uilhes OF man uihles'
Nv "'i"r ""N " "P ih'" eiBn'ns instead Oh
tehths' men Il eo"htrytnan called Tor let
Vrs "hu so' "Mo "e "oulu iook at IL some
'"'e a"u turn 'oNer ana hie''itate oeiore ne
PAM " y "a 'erS."4'eh they would say
" Mere an TINS letter come fromF Well, !
"ouid say Tor Instance, 1t come from DAN
loheSh -'oht you SEQ Dhhlohegh written up
on the cornerf Then he would say, well,
reckon IT'S from DICK, my brother Dick.
lie Is up there dlgSlnS gold. Don't you
lechuh lts from Dickf i reckon II rs
Nulh why noht you oltl II ana seer
No III wall until set hone. Tneyil all
want 10 see IT. "lrn ne got home the let
tef Would DC an event III the family ana per
ihlH II womb take mem n halt an hour TO
"tue through " ana make ON i- contents
SIMS our OF zen OF t"os' country letters be-
sbh' thhe my pen III hhhu 10 Iet YOU know
that am wei ana hope these Few lines viii
NM you ENJOYING tne same blessing. MY
ihther KEPT store anu MS country customers
'Heu 10 hsh mint" "rIte tneir iettets LOT them,
anu ms Always sent Uheih 70 me- ana most OF
mem uoid me 10 OcSlh tneif letters that way.
inhre was nov 'hoIe tnah ono IN hVe could
"ii'e' Ou' I"cS Melc goou' cIeNer, honest
PeoPie' anu pau tneir ueDtS' out tney haruly
ever PAM up III 'ui hC tue end OF the year.
nhu :" tneF saNo tncH noes LOT the balance
anu nlaue tneir marx MY rather USED 10 say
tnn ne mao Ano"h cases where u man swore
." III written Signature out ne never knew
" nv 70 uehS us h"rA"
Our Dig northern man used TO come In "a
s.aSo y S"ieea "eeh' anu used
MINK the souhu Oh tne stage morse as the
s.asu eane over tns nlh wa" one OF tne
supi"neH' 'hinss III V"e "orlu' anu thougnt
nat " ! oNer gov U pe " man l would ne
stag uriNer II coulu' wen, come pretty
"e"' - o my iat"'r n"u nted a man 10
NV Nv na" W ''"H"eH an" DUCK 1Wlce u
"eeh' IN 'he maj s"t s'ch anu ~ my Lhther
Jul Nv VI u "'"vu"' u " hoISe nho tue
man III some 7"uule-O"ss oehihu me, ana l
hhu 10 make the 'ofty-elght miles IN a day
"hu KEPT u up All winter: Iked 70 nave
luz Se'elSi Nihc'' gu" hau 70 - mica oH
Il horso "heh l sot ho'heahui 1t nearly broke
my HloIner ue"''' put l WIS SeStlhS a uoIiaf
" UP ""' " was my ihoneS' nhu SO l
W"u'"h I unck out Inc on women on the
Eoutr u7eu TO crow" me WIN Ihelr lttle com
MUSEUMS anu get me 10 oilhB them a mite
PepP' or coPperns' OF ol"ihg' or pms and
nee"'e'' or get me 10 take along socks and sell
aneln' anu 30 | mace FRIENDS ana aequaint-
hlCtN VI nc way. u nIst "Trip 1 made, an