The record-union., 1899-03-31
THE MAIL CARRIER.
HAS TIME TO STUDY HUMAN
NATURE A BIT.
How He Knows When He Is De-
Hvering a Love
Letter.

You must have seen a postman
. hustling to cover a business district, u
said the carrier, and it is easy to fg-
ure out that he has no time for Senti-
ment. 1t is into a store and out again
up and down in an elevator-from
place TO place at his best gait. Most
of the carriers among business houses
get grabbed and crusty. That is be-
cause they are shaved too close for
time. None of them stops to draw a
long breath until the last letter is de-
hvered, and them they think more about
their corns and callouseS than the peo-
pie they have met. It's hard work on
residence route, but carrier is al
lowed more time and can study human
nature bit
4 presume 1 deliver an average OF
a dozen love letters day on my
route" continued the carrier as his
face grew bland and good-natured. II
you ask me how I know they are love
letters, I can't explain in all cases ex-
cept to lay it to intuition. In most
instances, however, the person who re-
oeives a love letter gives himself or
herself away to the carrier. Young
women are no worse than young men,
and old men and old women betray
themselves quicker than young ones.
In my time I have been the indirect
medium of a great many marriages,
and I regret to say that l have also
been the innocent cause of many heart
aches and arrangements.
IT take a good deal of interest in
love match. and always watch it to the
end. The beginning I do not see. Two
young people meet at a party and fall
in love The young man is invited to
call After the call a correspondence
is opened Some morning as I am as
sorting nv letters ! find his first epls-
tie. and the romance begins. I do not
handle her letters in reply. but get an
idea. of how often she writes by keep
ing tab on his Most mail is delivered
at basement doors, but when there is
q. cases of love it is not the cook or Sec
ond girl who is waiting for me, but
the Young lady herself. Sometimes she
is at the door, as if by accident, and
again she will meet me at the gate or
half way up the block.
TRYING TO DECEIVE THE CAR
RIER.
at don't know why she should want
to deceive the carrier, especially when
children but she does, and she always
hlunders over it. Why, only yesterday
a Young woman to whom l have deilv-
cred at least twenty love-letters in the
last four weeks was at the gate IN ex-
pectation. 1 had nothing for her, and
after an exclamation of disappoint-
ment she said:
!" please be real sure about IT, for my
aunt in Connecticut .s very i'll, and L
am anxious about her
Let me hand out a. love-letter.' con-
tinued the carrier, and I can always
tell how the affair is progressing. II
things are all right there'n be smiles
and bushes; if a misunderstanding has
crept in. there'll be anxiety instead Of
smiles. The general idea is that
young man proposes marriage to his
best girl while seated beside her on the
parlor sofa with the gas turned low and
the clock holding its breath. Don't you
believe it. I've good reasons for saying
that about half the proposals go
through the mails. When a young man
has watched for my coming for a long
half -hour-when. he turns pale at sight
of me-when he gulps and stammers as
l hand him the little letter with blue or
red seal, I'd be an idiot not to know