Year: 1865


humble but important individual, found
in every village and city in our country.


nat individual is the post Office clerk.
Nc one is more intimately connected with
the affairs of the public The preacher
and priest are acquainted with the stan
ding of their parishioners; the doctor
with many secrets of his patients the
lawyer with the business and legal diff
culties of his clients, but the post Office
clerk is acquainted with every one in the
community, with their business, trade,
and their intrigues.


In former years we spent some time In
the post Office department., and knew prac


tically the every day labors, trials and
amenities of the post Office clerk To
many, the calling of the post Office clerk
seems an easy enc, a pleasant occupation.
In this, such persons are wofully mista-
ken. We still remember our first days
experience in the business, and only ne
cessity prevented it from being the last


Legs as stiff as wooden ones, we were in
pain from head to feet, too tired to un


dress before retiring, more dead than
alive.


The post Office clerk must be at his
work long long before the mechanic, and
does not end his labor until the robust
farmer has taken a sweet, refreshing
sleep. When the clerks work is done
his feet are weary; his path is checkered
one. Consider for moment how labyrin-
thine are the footsteps of clerk in our
post Office. Two steps to the north, one
to the south, back to the starting point,
uUw to the eaet, now to the west, now a
right angle, now an acute, his feet de-
scribe. He also moves upon the line of


beauty. He describes a circle, spiral


curve and an eclipse. and in fact moves


upon every known line. His line of mo-
tion for one day would make a years


hard study for the mathematician Every


muscle is brought into exercise-hands
and feet are In constant motion. Nor are


his senses left uncultivated. His sight


must be good; hearing perfect. He must


know who it is that comes yelled like a
prophecies, must read addresses that
should be magnifed ten times to be legi-
ble He must incline his ear to hear the
golden but low whispering of the bashful
young lady who trembles as she gives her
name. His memory must be excellent
a thousand things are told to him in the
course of day, all of which he is expect


ed to remember If he fails to remem
Der any one of these particulars, he will
be punished most excruciatingly, it may
be, by some young lady, who does not


want her pa to know that she corresponds
/ with some young Take-she wants to get
| her own letters In every town there
are half dozen John Smths-When a


etter arrives for John Smith, the clerk
must know for which one it is-he must
/ know, if possible, from which place each
| of the j ohm Smiths gets his letters. The
/ clerk will be most fortunate if he remem


oers all the orders deliveredto him, and if
he does not, he will be most unfortunate.
| FOR he will he severely tongue dashed and


insulted No one that we know of must
| have as much patience as the post Office
clerk If he has not patience he will
have a most miserable life. IF he has
not a good deal of Job in him, we cannot


zee how he can get along without half


lozen fights daily. He must have either
patience or cowardice, else he must fight
als way The clerk seeing so much rude.


ness necessarily loves gentility. and no
one better than he knows how to appre-


late kindness. What little kindness he
meets with is an oasis of pleasure in a


mighty desert of pain.


When the most of persons go to a post


ofiee they throw off their masks; they are


not then what they have simulated. They
are queruIous, crowd others aside, and
seem wanting in every good quality which


goes to make up either the lady or gen.
leman. One says he knows there must


De letter lying around some place in


he office for him; another says, you
must have given my letters TO somebody
else. / knoao you have" One grumble1


insinuates that the clerk did not SEND
J his letter off else he baolos he would have


n answer by this time. He throws Out
: insinuations against the honesty of the
Jerk A remarkable instance of this
I kind strikes us now. In this case mos
r deserving young man was ruined. W.
r would give, with pleasure, the name o.
? the young man, and the place ofincident
/, put both have escaped our memory. i
+ happened in this wise: The clerk WA
t charged with purloining letter put int
? his Office The writer of the letter re
: ported far and near that- -ab
: straeted letter which he dropped int
: the Office, and which contained larg
;. amount of money. The clerks friend
/, repelled the base charge; those who kneT
|, him best would not believe a word Q
}, such a report. The spirit of the clerl
/, was broken; he could not live under sue
n a charge, though it had no foundation
), He resigned his position and enlisted
# A mothers heart was broken Tim
IS rolled on slowly and wearily.


l. The postmaster always looked anxious
l. ly in opening the Eastern mail to see
o there were any dead letters. What wa
d his joy in finding in one mornings ma
e a large official document from the Dea
l. Letter Office, addressed to him. Quick
u er than can be said he saw the foul, hC
n ticious stain vanish from the escutcheo
h of his much injured clerk. He open
r the package, and to his delight, he find
IN in it the lost letter. He is overcome
" tears freely rell down his cheeks, and h


hurries to the widows home TO bear I
s, dings more joyful than ever before fe
7e upon her delighted ears. The repol
is spreads rapidly, and a thousand heart
e. are made glad, though many have caus
is to repent for the injury they did to tn
rs clerk Win the clerk ever rejoice wit
Id his friends upon earth. Upon the ever
g. ing of that happy day which was tn
D. cause of so much happiness to that mott
n er. came the news that her son fell upo
o. that bloody field of Stone River. ST
IF. was resigned to her fate She felt prou
ut that her son died in good cause; b.


her greatest comfort arose from ii
,s. Thought that her sons reputation r
8 manned untarnished. The boy, unfo
in tunately, did not live long enough to r
to turn to hold up his head amongst h
,r- friends, though of course he knew that
-er was innocent of the charges made by b
an enemies. The whole difficulty sprai
I'm from carelessness and want of due rega
nd in speaking of others.


Ine writer of the letter intended to {
ICE rect his letter to some town in llllno
IN but being accustomed to write Ohio u
ID on the most of letters, he did so on tn
i'd land then ruined young man by char


u 4. ,N,