Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1902-02-15
A PENNY STAMP.

into my pocket with the best OF inten-
tons. explaining that | would get some
stamps as | went along. And now
took that letter out of my pocket and
looked at it, Where was | to buy
stamp at 11;30 p. m?
True, there was a public house just OPP
posite | hate going into public houses;
but it was so late, and | wasn't likely
to meet anyone | knew, so | went in. |
had always understood that public
houses usually kept stamps for the con-
venience of careless correspondents. |
ordered little something, and then | said
to the lady behind the bar that | sup
posed she could sell me a postage stamp
The lady said she was awfully sorry;
she had just sold the last one
l smiled drearily, and said it didn't
matter. This was not true. That letter
was addressed to a lady who should
have received it that night. She was an
exalted person whom my wife would not
have ventured to disappOint for worlds.
HO! There was a newspaper shop, just
putting up its shutters. | rushed in and
asked for an evening paper and a post
age stamp in the same breath.
An the evening papers had gone, and
the proprietor, evidently anxious to get
to bed, was cr0wding me politely toward
the door. | picked mp a little pamphlet.
1t was marked I'd" l said | would
have that instead, and | should consider
it favor if he would sell me a postage
stamp.
NO postage stamps this time of night,
said the proprietor abruptly. | stuffed
the pamphlet into my pocket and fed. |
never looked at it again till | reached
home, but | have since thought that the
news vender must have slightly doubted
the condition of n customer who would
accept in place of an evening newspaper
a manual on the art of dancing iigs and
reels. with two colored plates and sew
eral diagrams. \ little further up the
street there was bakers shop. Its door
was shut. but there was n light burning
inside, and on the strength of that
knocked for admittance. An old lady let
me in and then hurried behind the coun-
ter, where she stood with an inuuiring
stare. apparently under the impression
that | had come to buy up the shop.
/ apologized for the lateness Of 1.-THE
hour and everything else | could IT, r
Of, and then m4ekIy explAined fSTba
was ssins uiRssttffed. i caught mn 4 l6ns
- of bread-the only one left-and /
lid ! would have that. How much was
forget what she said-twopence or
threepence, with an odd farthing. | nut
the money down directly, and again sub
mtted that | was urgently in need Of
a penny stamp.
The old lady was very sorry, hut she
didn't sell stamps ut all. Had an idea
Il license or something of that kind had
to he got from the gov'ment. Never had
occasion 10 use stamps herself through.
not knowing how to write. Perhaps If i
inquired of the police
! | bade her good night hurriedly and
| turned 10 The door with
! DER my arm, when she called me back.
! IN spite of my protests she insisted on
! formally weighing the bread and press
! ing upon me stale crust, which, she
! sald, was necessary by law to make IN
! Tor an apparent deficiency in the weight
! OF the loaf. had no words. | caught
| up the morSel of bread and plunged out
! into the night.
mere | was in back street off the
| Marylehone road with a loaf of bread
| ana that extra crust under my arm. cal
! culatlng that | had just twenty minutes
10 catch the last train to Kensington. /
walked for about half n mile. dimly try
! ihS "a estimate the consequences of pos:
| lh~ that letter without stamp as
| went. All at once | came across a burlv
man standing at his shop door and
! smoking pipe. He was common. I'M
! pleasant looking person, but in my de-
| SPAR felt | could criuge to ANYBODY If
! there was chance of getting out OF
| my trouble. | walked M. and-yes. |
touched my hat as | said: Il beg
| your pardon. but would You mind obhg-
/ ing me with postage Stamp?"
'Beggln Yourn guy nor" came the
reply, but l only keeps stamps for my
| customers"
l took him Mt that. 1t was CLEAN of
! sunshine at last | limited meeklv thar I
! would Ike to become IL customer. | had
MT Al fDf n1t Il =
| sell. but | thought | could perhans huy n
| tritle that might come in handy at some
/ time. SO | followed him into the shoD
! lie was bird fanCter. or something in
| that way. He informed me that he had
| had dealings with the King when he was
! the Prince of Wales; then blufily INQUIRED
! # | would prefer Il singing canary or n
| Ieetle dorg. There was no help for it.
| said would have the canary. At the
worst, | could let it 20 when / got ONT
side, hit upon dingy little thing in n
dlugler cage and inquired the price
rive an Il tanner buys it, guy nor.
cage an ALL" he said.
bought II, cage and all. and then re-
fererd TO the postage stamp.
The dealer made long search. Ua
loo ed carefully behind the dog Kennels
under the bird cages. on top of the roh,
hlt hutcheS and inside the chicken coons
Then he came back and said mournrulIv
that he was blessed if they'd got one left
drifted sadly away, and thought I
would give up trying any more. | bad
the loaf of bread still under one arm. and
that Internal bird-cage and all-under
the other And still l had no prospect
of postage stamp.
y cab drove up. and the driver urged
me 10 he driven somewhere. I said.
81 No. thanks; but-cr-T say, cabbv. nave
Won got such thing as a poStage stamn
about YOU: l'n--er-I'u give Yea this
loaf of bread for it,"
The cahman Said-well no. it doesn't
matter what he said. but he drove ar
saying it, and said it till he was ifty
Yards away. and then he stopped short
and said il all over again.
arrived home that night by the last |
rain. with loaf of bread and a singing |
anary and q feeling of acute depression, |
Some days later my wife Informed me-
. E.n l.