Her Majesty's Mails

At length it struck one of the shrewd officials--who grow shrewd through dint of unravelling the most curious cases--that the letter-box at the person's door ought to be carefully examined. This was done, and the box was found exceedingly defective. Fifteen letters were jammed between the box and the door, where some of them had quietly reposed for the space of nine years.[197] The secretary of a charitable institution in London gave directions for posting a large number of "election papers," and supposed that his directions had been duly acted upon. Shortly, however, he received complaints of the non-receipt of many of the papers, and in other cases of delay. He at once lodged a strong complaint at the Post-Office; but, on examination, circumstances soon came to light which cast suspicion on the person employed to post the notices, although this man had been many years in the service of the society, and was supposed to be of strict integrity. Ultimately, the man confessed that he embezzled the postage (3l. 15s. 6d.), and had endeavoured to deliver the election papers himself. Once more: A short time since a registered letter was said to have been posted at Newcastle, addressed to a banker in Edinburgh, who, not receiving it according to his expectation, sent a telegraphic message to learn why it had not been forwarded. The banker supposed that the letter had been lost or purloined in the Post-Office; but it was at last found to have been duly delivered to the bank porter in order to post it, but he had locked it up in his desk and forgotten it.