The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1901-08-10
a Day In q Country Post-0Hlce.

FysNs oeia bohA yOt huut dLOuu
good, the ort q be letter heyere
fer 'er.'
The speaker of this declaration
stood on tiptoe, craned his neck
and looked in through the delivery
window of first-class post-office
down in Egypt and unwittingly
treated the clerk to an inhalation
of carbonic gas perfumed with
onions, tobacco, sorghum molas-
ses and other aromatics. There
was no letter fer Sal to be found,
not even in the waste basket, and
as the youngster turned away his
looks told me that my reputation
for veracity and honesty was not
universal.
SAL is only one of many who
have vague ideas regarding the
postal branch Of Uncle Sans bu-
siness. Postmasters and their
clerks are often held accountable
fer nonreceipt or slow transit of
mail. Yet the country postmas-
ter Is regarded as the fountain
head of information in his COM
nunity, and is consulted on va
rious and unlimited subjects from
the infants diseases to matrimo-
nY--and back again--and not in
frequently he receives injuries
from points outside his immediate
Jurisdiction. Sometime ago a
postmaster received a letter from
q man in an adjoining county, ask
him b. look out fer my speckled
pun with a stump tail which, he
alleged, had been stolen, and to
arrest the thief and hold him till
he came. Unfortunately for this
man the said postmaster's corps
of public detectives were all en-
.plOyed at that time and neither
the pup. his stump tail, nor the
thief were apprehended.
'Lemme see some O. year stamp
said fellow who had doubtless
never been private secretary to a
magnetic healer. ] laid out some
of the different kinds for his in
spection. These red uns is worth
two cents, amt theyp These green
uns amt worth but one cents,
air they? Amt they just as good
as the rod uns;' / told him they
were very nice stampsindeed, but
according to,the postal regulations
and Robinsons' arithmetic two
ones we're required where one two
would do. He took red un' and
handed 1T to me with his letter re-
questing me 10 stamp and back
1t for him. In what State is the
town. / asked him. 'Wel, I'll
declare, he said, I've plumb fer
got what State it's in, but it's
Summers in Arkansas Isback'
the letter and dropped in the box
and received the usual admoni-
tlonN ~ be sure an send it on the
first train BY way Of d parting
remark he said; Say, you fellers
make a heap o. profit sellin'
stamps, don't YEP ! told him we
didn't average over seventy-five
per cent. He looked incredulous
but left without further words.
Ignorance of postal regulations
makes humorous incidents of ev-
eryday occurrence. Occasionally
a customer tries to jew down the
postmaster on the price of stamp
I'd envelopes. Failing in this ne
threatens to bestow his patronage
elsewhere and departs with a Bit
ter feeling for postmasters and
mlllionaires, terms which though
regarded as synonymous by him
are often widely divergent.
Letters are often uniquely
backed | noticed one addressed
to the IN X. Fairbank Co., New
York, Chicago, st. Louis, Kansas
City, An incoming letter was
addressed to Granny Goddard,
Bill Goddard's maw.'
Before the present form Of Or
der came into use, money orders
were often mistaken for receipts
and carried in pockets for weeks.
A country postoffice affords an
interesting and varied experience,
often-times amusing, sometimes
vexations, and not infrequently
pathetic. The postmaster is call
ed upon to read and write letters
on an subjects and thereby gains
possession of secrets such as are
priced highly by members of sew
ing circles where gossiping is pro-
hibited. In country postoffice
varied tints of human nature are
seen.--Country Post master, in
ID Postmaster's Advocate.