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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
238
The
following
anecdote,
borrowed
from
a
French
source,[5]
will
illustrate
how
serious
the
consequences
may
be
when
letters
are
not
clearly
and
intelligibly
addressed,
and
by
what
slight
accidents
such
missives
sometimes
go
far
from
their
right
course.
[5]
'La
Poste
Anecdotique
et
Pittoresque.'
Par
Pierre
Zaccone.
About
the
year
1837
there
was
garrisoned
at
a
small
town
in
the
Department
of
the
Pas-de-Calais
an
honest
soldier
named
Goraud,
who
had
served
with
the
colours
a
term
of
seven
years.
Though
he
had
conducted
himself
well,
and
was
favourably
thought
of
by
his
superiors,
he
had
never
been
able
to
rise
above
the
grade
of
full
private.
He
liked
his
profession,
but
being
unable
either
to
read
or
write,
the
avenues
to
promotion
remained
closed
against
him.
Goraud
came
from
an
obscure
village
in
Provence,
where
his
poor
old
mother,
a
woman
of
over
sixty,
lived,
and
where
also
resided
a
married
brother,
younger
than
himself,
who
was
surrounded
by
a
rising
family
of
children.
The
soldier
received
from
time
to
time
letters
from
his
mother,
which,
on
being
read
to
him,
affected
him
deeply,
sometimes
even
to
tears.
There
were,
besides,
other
friends
in
his
native
place
of
whom
he
entertained
kindly
recollections,
and
with
whom
he
kept
up
intercourse
through
his
family;
especially
a
young
woman
towards
whom
he
had
formerly
had
very
tender
feelings,
which,
though
not
now
so
strong,
time
and
distance
had
not
as
yet
effaced.
Becoming
home-sick,
and
having
no
bright
prospect
before
him
in
the
army,
Goraud
yearned
to
be
set
free,
so
that
he
might
spend
the
rest
of
his
days
"in
the
midst
of
those
he
so
much
loved,"
as
is
expressed
on
the
tomb
of
the
great
Napoleon.
He
had
already,
as
has
been
before
stated,
served
seven
years;
he
had
been
of
good
conduct;
and
now
he
had
but
to
demand
his
discharge
in
order
to
accomplish
his
fondest
wish.
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