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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
233
On
one
occasion
notice
was
given
to
the
Post-office
by
a
clergyman
residing
in
a
country
town
in
the
south
of
England,
that
a
packet
sent
by
him
containing
a
watch
had
been
tampered
with
in
the
post,
the
packet
having
reached
the
person
addressed,
not
with
the
watch
that
had
been
despatched,
but
containing
a
stone,
which,
it
was
alleged,
must
have
been
substituted
in
course
of
transit.
As
is
usual
in
cases
of
this
kind,
very
particular
inquiries
were
necessary
to
establish
whether
the
Post-office
was
really
in
fault,
because
experience
has
shown
that
very
often
obloquy
is
laid
upon
the
Department
which
ought
to
rest
elsewhere;
and
accordingly,
a
shrewd
and
practised
officer
in
such
matters
was
sent
to
the
town
in
question
to
make
investigations.
Arrived
at
the
clergyman's
residence,
the
officer
found
that
that
gentleman
was
from
home;
but
introducing
himself
to
the
sender's
wife,
he
explained
his
mission,
and
in
a
general
way
learned
from
her
what
she
was
able
to
communicate
with
regard
to
the
violated
packet.
While
the
interview
was
thus
proceeding,
the
officer,
with
professional
habit,
made
the
best
use
of
his
eyes,
which,
lighting
upon
a
rough
causeway
of
small
stones
somewhere
on
the
premises,
afforded
him
a
hint,
if
not
as
yet
a
suspicion,
as
to
the
locality
of
the
fraud.
In
fact,
he
remarked
a
striking
resemblance
between
the
stone
which
had
been
received
in
the
packet
and
the
stones
forming
the
causeway.
In
the
most
delicate
way
he
insinuated
the
inquiry
whether
the
lady
might
not
possibly
entertain
some
shadow
of
a
suspicion
of
her
own
servants.
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