, 1889-02-07
AT THE STAMP WINDOW.
QUEER STUDIES IN HUMAN NATURE
AT THE PoSToFFIcE.

Those Who Know What They Want and
Those Who Don t-InquIrIes which BE-
long Properly to the Depot-Bother Over
the Special Delivery Stamp.
There is n broad and fertile field in
the postoffice for those who are given to
making character studies. \ man.has
only to stand near one of the stamp
windows for n few minutes to see more
odd specimens Of man perhaps than are
to be found in any other one place in the
city, and hat means in the country. One
has only to watch the hurrying, nervous,
pushing line of people rushing in one
door and out another to realize what O
peculiar world this is. There is the
dappcr young lawyers clerk. He knows
what he wants and how to get it with the
least trouble. lie falls into line, impa-
tiently tapping his foot until his turn
comes. Then he puts down u dollar, says
shortly Fifty twos," snatChes up his
stamps and darts through the crowd.
Behind him, perhaps, is nm old, bent,
gray haired man, dressed in n jumper
and n pair Of overalls. lie asks for one
stamp, and when this is laid down before
him on the thick pane of glass, he goes
down into his pocket and pulls forth n
greasy, dilapidatcd looking leather wal
let. lie hunts around in this for a couple
of pennies, and finally, when he has
found them, takes his stamp and goes off
TO the side carefully TO paste it on tho
letter.
FOOT o THE WOMAN Halter.
The office boy omc in like n flash,
buys n great roll of the little green, hid
Gus things, tears it rapidly into strips,
and, %skillfully running his tongue along
the under side of them, slaps them ON to
n ,t1n af Letter. s.,vfaar I,,I 49,. -,
the strip with n quick, ripping sound.
Some girl hovers on the outskirts of
Ii crowd for n while, and then, watch
ing for n clear field, goes up to the win
dow. "When doe the next train leave
for FarmingtonY' she asks.
Don't know; this il n stamp window"
She bushes and begins to stammer.
Couldn't you find out for me.'
Time table Over on the wall, grufly;
and she goes over to look at tho sched-
ulc, which no living man could figure
out. Meanwhile the short man, in n silk
hat, with large glasses across his nose,
has been snorting and fussing about
women" He makes his purchase, fol
lows her over TO the wall, and, casting n
whitening look ut her, grunts out,
"Huml' He slams the door i'm n dis
gnsted behind him, still mutter-
ing o women"
In ten minutes the girl comes back to
tho window and says timidly: Il can't
find Pennington"
"Wcll, that amt my fault, is it," says
the man sharply, peering over the glass
at her. She tlees in dismay.
And so they come and go, men, women
and children, not more than half of them
knowing how to buy stamps, and one
slow one delaying a dozen more business
like and energetic people. The reporter
asked the stamp clerk to tell him some
OF the more amusing experiences he went
through in the course Of n week.
AN ODD TT MAN.
"a week." he said grimly; II couldn't
tell you all that happened in n day. Did
you notice that little shutting man,
whose head scarcely comes up 10 the
window! He never comes here less than
six times n day and he never buys more
h one stamp at n time. / asked him
once why he did not get twenty or thirty
in n lot. Oh he said, with n shrewd
air, people like to borrow them too
much He Is the queerest IN of all the
queer ones who come here. His office
is several blocks away from the post
office, and yet he will hobble down here
again and again in n day rather thar
take more THAI one stamp. | have tried
to get him to buy more, but he won't
Nhhih Vi Sh'll a lllllB' nc hlNuNS comes
to my window. l have seen him go to
the end of n line of ten OF twenty before
my window when there were not five Mt
tho next me. II happen to be away ut
dinner or off duty when he wants II
stamp, he goes out and comes in again
every minute or two until | return. He
Is n queer one, he is.
Then" he wen on, 'there is the
special delivery stamp. That makes a
good deal of trouble. Only one man in
ten can remember the name of it. l
have had it called the hurry up stamp,
tho get there stamp, the quick rush.
special, extra stamp, and n dozen other
names, but seldom the right one, while
about twenty times n day some funny
loan comes in and asks with n big grin
for a p. ID. O. stamp. l havo got so
tired of that stale old joke that / always
pretend not to know what he means. l
can stand anything but that. Oh, yes,
this is n good place to see strange people,
but it isn't worth your while to listen to
me. just stand here and watch them
for yourself. New York Tribune.
Returned for Their Tails.
Tho f,11Ars-- -. .I1.aa- "