Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1906-06-24
HOW tie POSTAL BILL
 WAS CARRIED
IOrisinal l

One morning SIT houeflth buy io' NJ P T baronet living in London, went to fhe postotfce 10 ask If there were .np ,efters for him Now, at that time -ls39. the second year after the soou Ouneu Victoria aScended the throne of England-the postottice was very different bureau from what it is today. The mail was all carried on coaches, ap5 the charges on letters were i'll pro nort;on to the distance they were trans nitted. ranging from lG to 4o cents for a letter weighing an ounce, ana were collected when the letter was de' i,yered Since the value ot q shilling was proportionately much greater then than now the cost of postage. especlally on a letter sent from one extremity oI the Kingdom to another, was, to the poor, prohibltiye.
 Sir Rodcrick stepped up to the de- 1 livery window and, finding young woman, a maidservant. there, waited. The clerk had handed her q letter, ana she was looking at the superscrlptlon. Presently she sighed and turned to leave. The clerk called her back.
 .s'rhis Is the third time this week vousve been here to ask for letters, and. though I've had one for you every time you've called.
 "What.s tue matter lassieE asked Sir Roderch. Can't you pay for yonr 1 letter.
 Il Ilaseu't the monty, sir
 Whom is it from:"
 "s!y vouu" .Anrl, Sir,
 What is the postaee:' asked tue bo ronet o" tie e:.'e<.
 "A shilling f'.p.'nce' repil'Ad the clerk
 Str Koderi1.l< touG the amount from his wHllet and laid il 4a''s"e the clerk. Giancng ai the -rl to see how pleased she would be to read the letter from her lover he noticed peculiar expression on her face. H !iic sic shook I her head. as much a:, 10 say. Don't do It." But 1t was too late The clerk had taken the money. and the letter was Ill the baronet's hand. He gave 1t to the girl, and the two walked out or the postotice together When they reached the street Sir Roderick took out an eyeglass and read the super scription on the letter
 The name was Beth T. B. K. Perk." Sir Roderick was puzzled. He had never seen 80 many Initials in the name of one in her class. "fou are Beth Perk. I suppose" he said.
 "Yes, sir, on thAt letter Sometimes Ioth pnfS AT n the other names as belongs to Eliza. ! beth
 The good man looked at her wonder. inRly. And you seem to have q good many other names. judging from the initials"
 ''The letters. sir. Them differs. Sometimes there's three. like this one, sometimes two, aud once there was l five. but that was only once and vas necessary"
 ; Sir Roderick took the glass out of his eye aud surveyed the girl from head to foot What could she mean7 He was too we'll bred to ask even one so far be he could not possibly be expected to have ap interest. so he simply looked at her
 "Well, here's your letter." he said, handing it to her
 "Please, sir. I don't want t.'
 Don't want 1t -
 "No. sir There's nothing in 1t, sir."
 Nothing in it7 Then why" He paused
 ''1 tried to stop you payin' for 1t. sir. [ It's this way, sir Ny young mans valet to a laird in the north O Scot land, sir The postage on letter from him Is one and four. sir so We has a way O writin on the back Q the letter as we both knows what It means In side there's nothin but sheet O pa per. with nothn' on it. goes to the postoffice and calls for the letter and knows what 1t says by the writin' or the outside Then 1 hands it back tn the clerk and pays nothin'. won't mind tellin' you what this oue says if you won't look at me Beth means sweetheart T. means time. R R. means one month that is, it's one month before were to be married"
 Sir Roderick. who was statesman, stood looking down upon the girl think ing. The postal laws enabled him as one of the nations rich men and legls lators to send 8 piano through the mails free, if he chose but the poor must pay for an ounce of paper.
 The next day Rowland Iiills bill for uniform inland penny postage was to come np In the house of commons and Sir Roderick had proposed to kill it. It now occurred to him that the gov erument was carrying ihis girls love letters free. whereas the charge of a penny might be paid not only by her, but by housa ndS of others who could not pay the high ra att.s.
 Beth" he said tearing open the let ter and slancing at piece of blank paper within, when you want to send another letter to your lover come to me- he handed her card, "and 1t shall cost you nothing; I'll frank it for you. And heres q wedding present for 1..It thar fSp d Ir,,