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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
169
It
would
be
impossible
to
explain
in
words
the
difficulties
that
are
met
with,
and
the
successes
which
are
obtained,
in
deciphering
badly
written
addresses;
and
facsimiles
of
the
directions
upon
some
such
letters
are
therefore
appended
to
enable
the
reader
to
appreciate
the
facts.
In
the
London
Post-office
indistinctly
addressed
letters
are
at
once
set
aside,
so
as
not
to
delay
the
work
of
sortation,
and
are
carried
forthwith
to
a
set
of
special
officers
who
have
an
aptitude
for
deciphering
indistinct
writing.
These
officers,
by
a
strange
contradiction
in
the
sense
of
things,
are
called
the
"blind
officers";
and
here
the
letters
are
rapidly
disposed
of,
either
by
having
the
addresses
read
and
amended,
or
marked
with
the
name
of
a
post-town
for
which
the
letters
may
be
supposed
to
be
intended.
To
facilitate
this
special
work,
the
blind
officers
are
furnished
with
a
series
of
gazetteers
and
other
books
containing
the
names
of
gentlemen's
seats,
farms,
and
the
like,
throughout
the
country,
and
many
a
letter
reaches
the
hands
of
the
person
addressed
through
a
reference
to
these
books.
In
addition
to
instances
of
indistinctly
addressed
letters,
a
few
specimens
of
addresses
of
an
artistic
and
humorous
character
are
furnished
in
this
chapter.
The
letter,
of
which
the
above
represents
the
address,
was
posted
in
a
town
in
the
north
of
England,
and
delivered
to
the
editor
of
the
'Courant'
in
Edinburgh.
A
facsimile
of
a
portion
of
the
communication
enclosed
is
also
shown,
which
will
give
an
idea
of
the
interest
attaching
to
editorial
work,
and
afford
some
valuable
information
to
the
reader!
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