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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
93
Bearing
in
mind
the
great
quantity
of
correspondence
conveyed
by
the
post,
as
well
as
the
hurry
and
bustle
in
which
letters
are
often
written,
it
is
not
astonishing
that
writers
should
sometimes
make
mistakes
in
addressing
their
letters;
but
it
will
perhaps
create
surprise
that
one
year's
letters
which
could
neither
be
delivered
as
addressed,
nor
returned
to
the
senders
through
the
Dead-letter
Office,
were
over
half
a
million
in
number!
It
is
curious
to
note
some
remarks
written
by
the
Post-office
solicitor
in
Edinburgh
eighty
years
ago
with
respect
to
misdirected
letters.
He
speaks
of
"the
very
gross
inattention
in
putting
the
proper
addresses
upon
letters--a
cause
which
is
more
productive
of
trouble
and
expense
to
the
Post-office
than
any
other
whatever.
In
fact,
three
out
of
four
complaints
respecting
money
and
other
letters
may
generally
be
traced
to
that
source,
and
of
which,
from
the
proceedings
of
a
few
weeks
past,
I
have
ample
evidence
in
my
possession
at
this
moment."
Letters
posted
in
covers
altogether
innocent
of
addresses,
number
28,000
in
the
year;
and
the
value
in
cash,
bank-notes,
cheques,
&c.,
found
in
these
derelict
missives
is
usually
about
L8000.
Letters
sent
off
by
post
without
covers,
or
from
which
flimsy
covers
become
detached
in
transit,
number
about
15,000;
while
the
loose
stamps
found
in
post-offices
attain
the
annual
total
of
68,000.
The
loose
stamps
are
an
evidence
of
the
scrambling
way
in
which
letters
are
often
got
ready
for
the
post,
and
probably
more
so
of
the
earnest
intentions
of
inexperienced
persons,
who,
in
preparing
stamps
for
their
letters,
roll
them
on
the
tongue
until
every
trace
of
adhesive
matter
is
removed,
with
the
result
that
so
soon
as
the
stamps
become
dry
again
they
fall
from
the
covers.
Letters
which
cannot
be
delivered
in
consequence
of
errors
in
the
addresses,
or
owing
to
persons
removing
without
giving
notice
of
the
fact
to
the
Post-office,
are
no
less
than
5,650,000,
such
being
the
number
that
reach
the
Dead-letter
Office.
But
of
these
it
is
found
possible
to
return
to
the
writers
about
five
millions,
while
the
remainder
fail
to
be
returned
owing
to
the
absence
of
the
writers'
addresses
from
the
letters.
The
other
articles
sent
to
the
Dead-letter
Office
in
a
year
are
as
follows,
viz.:--
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
