Notwithstanding the sharp and severe terms of many of Whitley's admonitions to the postmasters, his letters contain repeated offers to serve and oblige them, if only they would do their duty to the office; and the same spirit of kindly disposition is shown towards persons outside the service. In reply to an application from the agent at Harwich, in the matter of finding employment for a relative, Whitley writes:--"By yours of the 13th, I understand that a relative of yours will be in London this summer, with a design to get some employment, wherein I should think myself happy could I be serviceable to him; but the world is so altered of late to the disadvantage of young gentlemen in point of education, that there is little encouragement to be had. In times past (before the wicked rebellion), a nobleman, or great officer of State or Court, would have half a score or a dozen gentlemen to attend him, but now all is shrunk into a _valet de chambre_, a page, and 5 or 6 footmen; and this is part of our cursed Reformation. If I can serve you in this or anything else, you shall always find me to be," etc. In the matter of a lost horse, belonging to a private friend, Whitley engages the services of a postmaster in the West of England, with a view to its recovery. He writes thus to the postmaster:--"Sir John Hanmer (a worthy gentleman) hath lately lost a large white gelding, about 15 hand fulls high, with a blew velvett saddle, silke and silver fringe, silver nailes, etc.; the horse trots and gallops, but not pace. Me was stole from Chester, and heares is seised on at Bristoll. I pray enquire after it; and if it be there, secure it, and give me speedy notice, whereby you will oblige," etc. This kindly spirit was not altogether on the side of the Deputy Postmaster-General, for repeated instances are given of good offices performed for Whitley, and of presents made to him by the postmasters. In many cases Whitley's letters commence with an acknowledgment in brief terms, thus: "With thanks for your kind present." It may be ungenerous to put a meaning upon these presents apart from mere feelings of kindness on the side of the postmasters; but there is reason to suspect that the presents often took the shape of money, and were the complement of expectation on the part of the Deputy Postmaster-General. In one acknowledgment Whitley says: "I have received your token, and thank you for it, as coming from an honest man for whom I have a great respect and kindness." The "honest man" was the postmaster of Manchester. Replying to a letter of the postmaster of Doncaster, he remarks: "I thought the seven guineas you sent by Mr. Butcher had been in recompence for the damage done me last year in your stage in the matter of By-Letters; or a present upon some other account; but it seems you intend it to clear what you owed to the office at midsummer."