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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
297
At
the
Stamp-counter.
A
man
who
can
stand
at
the
stamp-counter
and
serve
the
public
without
fear
and
without
reproach,
must
needs
be
possessed
of
a
highly
sweetened
temper.
What
with
the
impatient
demands
of
some,
the
unreasonable
demurs
of
others,
the
tiresome
iteration
of
questions
propounded
by
the
eccentric,
and
the
attention
required
to
be
given
to
the
Mrs
Browns
of
society,
not
to
mention
the
irritating
remarks
at
times
of
the
inconsiderate,
the
position
behind
the
counter
is
one
which
calls
for
self-control
and
a
large
share
of
good-nature.
The
sort
of
thing
that
has
to
be
endured
at
the
hands
of
"Perfect
woman,
nobly
planned,
To
warn,
to
comfort,
and
command,"
when
she
chooses
to
lay
siege
to
the
stamp-window,
is
thus
described
by
an
American
writer,
and
the
description
is
not
to
any
great
extent
an
exaggeration
(if
it
be
so
at
all)
of
experiences
which
are
had
in
our
own
country
in
this
particular
direction:--
"Just
about
eleven
o'clock
yesterday
forenoon
there
were
thirteen
men
and
one
woman
at
the
stamp-window
of
the
Post-office.
Most
of
the
men
had
letters
to
post
on
the
eastern
trains.
The
woman
had
something
tied
up
in
a
blue
match-box.
She
got
there
first,
and
she
held
her
position
with
her
head
in
the
window
and
both
elbows
on
the
shelf.
"'Is
there
such
a
place
in
this
country
as
Cleveland?'
she
began.
"'Oh
yes.'
"'Do
you
send
mail
there?'
"'Yes.'
"'Well,
a
woman
living
next
door
asked
me
to
mail
this
box
for
her.
I
guess
it's
directed
all
right.
She
said
it
ought
to
go
for
a
cent.'
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