DEAD-LETTERS.
“And thus there were many dead.”—Gower.
It would fill a volume were we to attempt any thing like a history of this department of the general post-office. One thing, however, would impress itself forcibly upon the minds of our readers, were we to furnish such a history, and that would be to establish the fact beyond the possibility of a doubt that “the fools are not all dead yet.”
As far as the employees of the post-office are concerned, if not irreverent, this would be a “consummation devoutly to be wished.”
Many of these letters, containing important information and large amounts of money, are so villanously directed that a modern mesmeriser would find himself at fault, or a spiritual medium confounded, if put in connection with the writers, in their endeavor to arrive at the mystery of such superscriptions as it has been our misfortune to encounter during our connection with the post-office. In another portion of this work we furnish the reader with numerous specimens of such directions. Would we could give specimens of their chirography also! In connection, however, with “dead-letters,” we annex the following superscriptions to letters which contained money and drafts, and of course found their way to the “dead-letter office:”—
Miss Jeannie Wuterez,
Bile. 677 Auen
N.J. 34 S.A.
Is it likely that such a direction would carry a letter to Miss Jeannie? or the following to its direction?—
Miss S. Sorerie,