Ten Years Among the Mail Bags: Or, Notes from the Diary of a Special Agent of the Post-Office DepartmentHolbrook, James
History
Ten Years Among the Mail Bags: Or, Notes from the Diary of a Special Agent of the Post-Office Department
Holbrook, James
Postal service -- United States
A person of good standing in community, who laid claim not only to a
moral, but a religious character, was visiting in a large town on the
Hudson river, about midway between New York and Albany. This person
owed a clergyman, living in New Haven, Conn., the sum of one hundred
dollars; and one day he called at the house of another clergyman of
his acquaintance in the town first mentioned, and requested to be
allowed the privilege of writing a letter there to his clerical
creditor, in which the sum due that gentleman was to be enclosed.
Writing materials were furnished, and he prepared the letter in the
study of his obliging friend, and in his presence.
After he had finished writing it, he said to the clergyman, "Now, as
the mails are not always safe, I wish to be able to prove that I have
actually sent the money. I shall therefore consider it a great favor
if you will accompany me to the bank, where I wish to obtain a
hundred-dollar note for some small trash that I have, and bear witness
that I enclose the money and deposit the letter in the post-office."
The reverend gentleman readily acceded to his request, and went with
him to the bank, where a bill of the required denomination was
obtained and placed in the letter, which was then sealed with a wafer,
the clergyman all the while looking on.
They then went to the post-office, (which was directly opposite the
bank,) and after calling the attention of his companion to the letter
and its address, the writer thereof dropped it into the letter box,
and the two persons went their several ways.
The letter arrived at New Haven by due course of mail, and it so
happened that the clergyman to whom it was addressed was at the
post-office, waiting for the assorting of the mails. He saw a letter
thrown into his box, and called for it as soon as the delivery window
was opened.
Upon breaking the seal and reading the letter, he found himself
requested to "Please find one hundred dollars," &c., with which
request he would cheerfully have complied, but for one slight
circumstance, namely, the absence of the bank-note!
This fact was apparently accounted for by a postscript, written in a
heavy, rude hand, entirely different from that of the body of the
letter, and reading as follows:--
"P. S. I have taken the liberty to borrow this money, but I send
the letter, so that you needn't blame the man what wrote it."
(Signed) "POST-BOY."
The rifled document was immediately shown to the post master, and in
his opinion, as well as that of the clergyman, a daring robbery had
been committed. The latter gentleman was advised by the post master to
proceed at once to New York, and confer with the Special Agent, and
at the same time to lay all the facts before the Post Master General.
He did so, and it was not long before the Agent had commenced the
investigation of the supposed robbery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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