Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
125
The
raison
d'etre
of
the
travelling
post-office
is
to
circumvent
time,--to
enable
that
to
be
done
on
the
way
which,
without
it,
would
have
to
be
done
before
the
train
started
or
after
it
arrived
at
its
destination,
at
the
expense
of
time
in
the
doing,
and
to
collect
and
dispose
of
correspondence
at
all
points
along
the
route
of
the
train--which
correspondence
would
otherwise
in
many
cases
have
to
pass
through
some
intermediate
town,
to
be
detained
for
a
subsequent
means
of
conveyance.
The
T.P.O.
is
one
of
the
most
useful
parts
of
the
machinery
of
the
Post-office.
Among
the
smaller
things
that
might
be
observed
in
the
carriage
would
be
balls
of
string
for
tying
bags
or
bundles
of
letters,
cyclopean
sticks
of
sealing-wax,
a
chronometer
to
indicate
sure
time,
a
lamp
used
for
melting
the
wax,
and
various
books,
report-forms,
seals,
&c.
The
stranger
would
be
surprised,
also,
to
see
with
what
expedition
an
experienced
sorter
can
pass
the
letters
through
his
hands,
seldom
hesitating
at
an
address,
but
reading
so
much
of
it
as
is
necessary
for
his
purpose,
and,
without
raising
his
eyes,
carrying
his
hand
to
the
proper
pigeon-hole,
just
as
a
proficient
on
a
musical
instrument
can
strike
with
certainty
the
proper
note
without
taking
his
eye
off
his
music.
In
some
cases--as
in
dealing
with
registered
letters--a
sorter
has
much
writing
to
do;
but,
standing
with
his
feet
well
apart,
and
holding
a
light
board
on
his
left
arm
on
which
to
write,
and
further,
by
accommodating
his
body
to
the
swinging
of
the
carriages,
he
is
able
to
use
his
pen
or
pencil
with
considerable
freedom
and
success.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
