Crittenden press., 1902-07-17
PECULIAR WRITING PAPER.
Missives Written on Ping-Pong Balls
Sent Through the Mails.

| SNNN NAN
Liverpool postmen have recently
been in state bordering on dlstrac-
tion. Some foolish person in that city
inaugurated a new fashion of using
| plng-pong balls as post cards. The
balls were stamped, an address writ
ten under the stamp, and the message
scrawled on the rest of the surface.
The fashion spread rapidly, and the
pillar boxes became full of these ms
slyes, which, from their shape, gave
the unfortunate postmen and post
office officials an enormous amount of
trouble. At last the authorities were
forced to intervene, and it is now con-
trary to the regulations to use the lit
tie globules of celluloid for postal
purposes
Among those idle people who waste
their superiluous energies in testing
the forbearance of the postal officials
is Southampton man whose fayorite
form Of missiye used to be a postage
stamp. But as he wrote the address
on the face Of the stamps the author
ties decided that they were not bound
to deliver them. II was probably the
same person who afterwards posted a
complete pack of playing cards, each
neatly addressed on the back, but
with no message whatever on the col
ored side.
Another very peculiar letter found
In a North London pillar box las t au-
tumn was a green apple, on one side
Of which was cut an address and on
the other the simple but expressive
message: "Sour-like you"
Bank notes have been employed
as writing paper more than once by
extrayagant or foolish persons.
Among the effects of an Exeter miser,
who died about 10 years ago, was
found tye-pound note, on which the !
deceased had written directions as to |
the disposal of his property. At |
Hampstead there lived, until recent
ly, a wealthy bachelor Of whom it was |
said that he once wrote a proposal |
of marriage to lady on the back of |
ESQ note, and because it was sent /
back without word of comment by /
the recipient refused ever afterward |
to have anything to do with the fair
sex.
Writing paper, OF, indeed, paper of
any kind, is usually at a premium
among soldiers on active service.
Many very curious substitutes have
arrived from our army in South At
rica. One of the commonest has been
mealie leaves. "Mealie" is the South
African name for maize.
After Colenso there was found
in the stiffened hands of a
dead soldier piece Of leather with a
dying message scrawled upon it with
stump of pencil. 1t was a layer of
the sole Of the dead mans boot, which
had probably been loosened with
much marching, and which he had
to rip off. 1t tsafely reached
the poor fellows family in England.
From the Philippines, too, some
curious letters have been received by
the friends of American soldiers
sighting in those islands. One of the
most ingenious was piece of native
bamboo, about foot long, on which
IN address had been carved with a
oenknife. The letter was inside the
hollow tube, and held there by wood
n pins at each end. The writer ex-
olained that he had found it impos-
ible to get an envelope OF to find any
yum to make one, so had bad recourse
o this expedient.
The ceiling of a room is, as a rule,
o far out of ordinary reach that the {
dea of using it for writing on seems
TRANCE. But in a case tried last year ,
L Tottenham it transpired that |
had been in the habit of