"But the quarter will not be ended till to-morrow," remarked the astonished official; "and, on the whole, I think I must refuse compliance, unless the original instructions are placed in my hands." "Then I understand you as refusing to obey the order of the Department, do I?" said the applicant. "Not at all," was the mild response; "I am perfectly ready to comply when I see the written command over the signature of the proper officer of the Department. It can be but little trouble to produce that, and I think, under the same circumstances, you would demand as much yourself." "But do I not bring a reliable witness to prove that this is an exact copy of the original?" asked the visitor, impatiently. "True, but my request is reasonable, and I think I will adhere to it," he replied; and the gentleman, with his companion, left the premises, simply remarking, "You will hear from me again, to-morrow." And sure enough, he did. Towards sun-down on the following day, the abolisher of post-offices made his appearance, and, with an air of authority, without uttering a word, threw the extinguishing document upon the counter. The post master took it up, and after adjusting his spectacles, examined first the outside. It had the usual printed endorsement on the right hand upper corner, "Post-Office Department, Official Business," was properly franked by the Second Assistant, post-marked "Washington," and plainly addressed to the "Post Master, M----, R. I." On withdrawing the letter from its covering, it had, sure enough, every appearance of genuineness, and no doubt remained that it was the official action of the Department. The post-office effects were accordingly put in shape as hastily as possible, and handed over. But "The course of _knavery_ never did run smooth." Strong suspicions began to arise that the neighboring post master, before mentioned, was the author of the whole transaction, and when the knowledge of a motive on his part was supplied, his guilt became to my mind clear and positive. It appeared that at the time of the establishment of the now defunct post-office, there was a tremendous opposition, in which he took an active and leading part, but the member of Congress for that District favored the application for the new office, and it was finally granted. Being but two miles from the old establishment, there was, as had been anticipated, a considerable falling off in the receipts of the latter. The snake was "scotched, not killed," or in other words, post master number one had bottled up his wrath, and was biding his time. The affair had now become with him a matter of pride as well as interest, and when joked, as he frequently was, about his defeat in the post-office contest, he was often heard to say that the new post-office was "short-lived any way."