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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
143
With
some
men
it
is
impossible
for
them
ever
to
become
good
sorters,
even
with
the
most
earnest
desire
on
their
part
to
do
so.
There
are
certain
qualities
necessary
for
the
purpose,
and
if
they
are
not
united
in
the
person,
he
will
never
come
to
the
front
as
a
good
sorter.
These
are:
self-command--necessary
when
working
against
time;
activity
in
his
person
so
as
to
meet
any
sudden
strain
of
work;
a
methodical
habit;
and,
the
sine
qua
non
of
a
sorter,
a
quick,
prehensile,
and
retentive
memory.
So
much
has
a
sorter
to
learn,
that
a
man
without
a
head
can
never
distinguish
himself;
and
an
educational
test,
except
as
a
measure
of
acquirements
in
a
collateral
way,
is
of
very
little
use.
A
sorter's
success
rests
chiefly
upon
natural
aptitude.
In
the
circulation
of
letters,
we
may
discover
the
paradox
that
"the
longest
road
is
often
the
shortest";
the
explanation
of
which
is,
that
by
a
round-about
way
letters
may
sometimes
arrive
sooner
than
by
waiting
the
next
chance
by
a
more
direct
route.
Post-office
circulation
is
not
tied
down
by
any
strait-laced
lines
of
geographical
science,
nor
by
any
consideration
but
that
of
the
economy
of
time.
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