TEN YEARS
AMONG
THE MAIL BAGS:
OR,
Notes from the Diary of a Special Agent
OF THE
POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
BY J. HOLBROOK.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
PHILADELPHIA:
H. COWPERTHWAIT & CO.
1855.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855.
BY J. HOLBROOK
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Columbia.
This Work
IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THOSE OFFICIALLY CONNECTED WITH
THE MAIL SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES.
PREFACE.
The idea of preparing the present work was suggested to the author by
the universal interest manifested in regard to the class of
delinquencies to which it relates, and the eagerness with which the
details of the various modes adopted in successful cases to detect the
guilty parties, have been sought after by all classes. He was also
induced to undertake this series of narratives by the hope and belief
that while it afforded interesting matter for the general reader, it
might prove a public benefit by increasing the safety of the United
States mails, and fortifying those officially connected with the
post-office and mail service, against the peculiar temptations
incident to their position, thus preserving to society some at least
who, without such warnings as the following sketches contain, might
make shipwreck of their principles, and meet with a felon's doom.
It has been said that whoever acts upon the principle that "honesty is
the best policy," is himself dishonest. That is, policy should not be
the motive to honesty, which is true; but taking into view how many
there are who would not be influenced by higher considerations, it is
evident that whatever serves to impress on the mind the inevitable
connection between crime and misery, if not between honesty and
happiness, will aid in strengthening the barriers against dishonesty,
too often, alas! insufficient to withstand the pressure of temptation.
The author has endeavored to enforce these truths in the following
pages, and he relies for the desired impression on the fact that they
are not dry, abstract precepts which he presents, but portions of real
life; experiences the like of which may be the lot of any young man;
temptations before which stronger men than he have fallen, and which
he must flee from if he would successfully resist.
The most elaborate treatise on rascality would not compare in its
effects on the mass of mankind, with the simplest truthful narrative
of a crime and its consequences, especially if addressed to those
exposed by circumstances to the danger of committing offences similar
to the one described.
Two objections to the publication of a work like the present, occurred
to the author as well as to others whom he consulted, and caused him
to hesitate in commencing the undertaking. First, the possibility that
the detailed description of ingenious acts of dishonesty, might
furnish information which could be obtained from no other source, and
supply the evil-disposed with expedients for the prosecution of their
nefarious designs. Second, the danger of again inflicting pain upon
the innocent relatives and friends of those whose criminal biography
would furnish material for the work.
In reference to the first of these objections it may be said, that,
although descriptions of skilful roguery are always perused with
interest, and often with a sort of admiration for the talent
displayed, yet when it is seen that retribution follows as certainly
and often as closely as a shadow; that however dexterously the
criminal may conceal himself in a labyrinth of his own construction,
the ministers of the law track him through all its windings, or
demolish the cunningly devised structure; and that when he fancies
himself out of the reach of Justice, he sees, to his utter dismay, her
omnipresent arm uplifted to strike him down; when these truths are
brought to light by the record, an impressive view will be given of
the resources which are at command for thwarting the designs of
dishonesty, and of the futility of taking the field against such
overwhelming odds. And in addition to the certainty of detection, the
penalty inflicted for offences of this description is to be taken into
the account. Doubtless many employés in Post-offices have committed
crimes of which they never would have been guilty but for a mistaken
idea of security from the punishment to which they were making
themselves liable. It is well for all to be correctly informed on this
subject, and to know that offences committed against this Department
are not lightly dealt with. Information of this character the author
has fully supplied.
Again--Comparatively but few of the secret modes of detection are
exhibited, and he who should consider himself safe in evading what
plans are here described, will find to his sorrow that he has made a
most dangerous calculation.
As to the second objection above mentioned, namely, the danger of
wounding the feelings of innocent parties, the author would observe
that fictitious names of persons and places are generally substituted
for the real ones; thus avoiding any additional publicity to those
concerned in the cases given. And furthermore, he ventures to hope
that few of the class to which this objection refers, would refuse to
undergo such a trial of their feelings, if by this means a wholesome
warning may be given to those who need it.
There are other wrongs and delinquencies connected with our postal
system, of a mischievous and immoral tendency, and of crushing effect
upon their authors, which, although not in all cases punishable by
statute, yet require to be exposed and guarded against. Descriptions
of some of the most ingenious of these attempts at fraud, successful
and unsuccessful, are also here held up to public view.
It was the author's intention to give two or three chapters of an
historical and biographical character,--a condensed history of our
post-office system, with some notice of that of other countries, and
brief biographical sketches of our Post Masters General. But matter
essential to the completeness of the work in hand, as illustrating the
varieties of crime in connection with post-offices, has so
accumulated, that the chapters referred to could not be introduced
without enlarging the volume to unreasonable dimensions; and the
author has been compelled to limit his biographies of the Post Masters
General to a short chronological notice of each of those officers.
[Illustration]
THE POST MASTERS GENERAL.
Under the Revolutionary organization, the first Post Master General
was Benjamin Franklin. He was experienced in its duties, having been
appointed Post Master of Philadelphia in 1737, and Deputy Post Master
General of the British Colonies in 1753. He was removed from this
office, to punish him for his active sympathies with the colonists;
and one of the first acts of their separate organization was to place
him at the head of their Post-Office Department. It is a singular
coincidence that this eminent philosopher, who cradled our postal
system in its infancy, also, by first bringing the electric fluid
within the power of man, led the way for the electric telegraph, the
other great medium for transmitting intelligence.
The necessities of the Revolutionary struggle, demanded the abilities
of Franklin for another sphere of action. Richard Bache, his
son-in-law, was appointed to succeed him as Post Master General, in
November, 1776. He was succeeded by Ebenezer Hazard, who subsequently
compiled the valuable Historical Collections bearing his name. He held
the office until the inauguration of President Washington's
Administration.
In relation to the several Post Masters General, since the adoption of
the Federal Constitution, the author regrets that he is compelled,
contrary to his original intention, to confine himself to brief
chronological notes. The succession is as follows:--
1. SAMUEL OSGOOD.--Born at Andover, Mass., Feb. 14, 1748. Graduated at
Harvard College in 1770. A member of the Massachusetts Legislature,
and also of the Board of War, and subsequently an Aid to Gen. Ward. In
1779, a member of the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention. In
1781, appointed a member of Congress; in 1785, first Commissioner of
the Treasury; and Sept. 26, 1789, Post Master General. He was
afterwards Naval Officer of the port of New York, and died in that
city Aug. 12, 1813.
2. TIMOTHY PICKERING.--Born at Salem, Mass., July 17, 1746. Graduated
in 1763. Was Colonel of a regiment of militia at the age of nineteen,
and marched for the seat of war at the first news of the battle of
Lexington. In 1775, appointed Judge of two local courts. In the fall
of 1776 marched to New Jersey with his regiment. In 1777 appointed
Adjutant-General; and subsequently a member of the Board of War with
Gates and Mifflin. In 1780 he succeeded Greene as Quarter Master
General. In 1790 he was employed in negotiations with the Indians;
Aug. 12, 1791, he was appointed Post Master General; in 1794,
Secretary of War; and in 1795, Secretary of State. From 1803 to 1811
he was Senator, and from 1814 to 1817, Representative in Congress.
Died at Salem, June 29, 1829.
3. JOSEPH HABERSHAM.--Born in 1750. A Lieutenant Colonel during the
Revolutionary War; and in 1785 a member of Congress. Appointed Post
Master General Feb. 25, 1795. He was afterwards President of the U.S.
Branch Bank in Savannah, Georgia. Died at that place Nov. 1815.
4. GIDEON GRANGER.--Born at Suffield, Ct., July 19, 1767. Graduated at
Yale College in 1787, and the following year admitted to the Bar. In
1793 elected to the Connecticut Legislature. Nov. 28, 1801, appointed
Post Master General. Retired in 1814, and removed to Canandaigua, N.
Y. April, 1819, elected a member of the Senate of that State, but
resigned in 1821, on account of ill health. During his service in that
body he donated one thousand acres of land to aid the construction of
the Erie Canal. Died at Canandaigua, Dec. 31, 1822.
5. RETURN JONATHAN MEIGS.--Born at Middletown, Ct., in 1765. Graduated
at Yale College in 1785, and subsequently admitted to the Bar. In 1788
emigrated to Marietta, Ohio, then the North Western Territory. In
1790, during the Indian wars, he was sent by Gov. St. Clair on a
perilous mission through the wilderness to the British commandant at
Detroit. In the winter of 1802-3, he was elected by the Legislature
the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the new State. In
October, 1804, he was appointed Colonel commanding the United States
forces in the upper district of the Territory of Louisiana, and
resigned his judgeship. In the following year he was appointed as one
of the United States Judges for Louisiana. April 2, 1807, he was
transferred to the Territory of Michigan. In October following he
resigned his judgeship, and was elected Governor of the State of Ohio,
but his election was successfully contested on the ground of
non-residence. He was chosen at the same session as one of the Judges
of the Supreme Court of the State; and at the next session as United
States Senator, for a vacancy of one year and also for a full term. In
1810 he was again elected Governor of Ohio, and on the 8th of December
resigned his seat in the Senate. In 1812 he was re-elected Governor.
On the 17th of March, 1814, he was appointed Post Master General,
which he resigned in June, 1823. Died at Marietta, March 29, 1825.
6. JOHN MCLEAN.--Born in Morris Co., New Jersey, March 11, 1785. His
father subsequently removed to Ohio, of which State the son continues
a resident. He labored on the farm until sixteen years of age, when he
applied himself to study, and two years afterwards removed to
Cincinnati, and supported himself by copying in the County clerk's
office, while he studied law. In 1807 he was admitted to the Bar. In
1812 he was elected to Congress, and re-elected in 1814. In 1816 he
was unanimously elected by the Legislature, a Judge of the Supreme
Court of the State. In 1822 he was appointed by President Monroe,
Commissioner of the General Land Office, and on the 26th of June,
1823, Post Master General. In 1829 he was appointed as one of the
Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, which office he
yet holds.
7. WILLIAM T. BARRY.--Born in Fairfax Co., Va., March 18, 1780.
Graduated at the College of William and Mary. He was admitted to the
Bar, and in early life emigrated to Kentucky. In 1828, he was a
candidate for Governor of that State, and defeated by a small
majority, after one of the most memorable contests in its annals.
Appointed Post Master General March 9, 1829. In 1835 appointed
Minister Plenipotentiary to Spain, and died at Liverpool, England, on
his way to Madrid.
8. AMOS KENDALL.--Born at Dunstable, Mass., August 16, 1789. Graduated
at Dartmouth College in 1811. About the year 1812 removed to Kentucky,
and in 1815 was appointed post master at Georgetown, in that state. In
1816 he assumed the editorial charge of the _Argus_, published at
Frankfort, in the same State, which he continued until 1829, being,
most of the time, State Printer. In 1829 he was appointed Fourth
Auditor of the United States Treasury; and, May 1, 1835, Post Master
General. He resigned the latter office in 1840, and has, since the
introduction of the electric telegraph, been mainly employed in
connection with enterprises for its operation. He is yet living.
9. JOHN MILTON NILES.--Born at Windsor, Ct., August 20, 1787. Admitted
to the Bar in December, 1812. About 1816 he removed to Hartford, and
was one of the first proprietors of the _Hartford Times_, and had
charge of its editorial columns until the year 1820. In 1821 he was
appointed Judge of the Hartford County Court, which office he held
until 1829. In 1826 he represented Hartford in the Connecticut
Legislature. In April, 1829, he was appointed post master at Hartford;
which he held until December, 1835, when he was appointed United
States Senator to fill a vacancy, and in the ensuing May was elected
by the Legislature for the remainder of the term. In 1839 and 1840 he
was supported by his party, though without success, for the office of
Governor of the State. May 25, 1840, he was appointed Post Master
General. In 1842 he was elected United State Senator for a full term.
Mr. Niles is yet living.
10. FRANCIS GRANGER.--Born at Suffield, Ct., Dec. 1, 1792. Graduated
at Yale College in 1811. Admitted to the Bar in May, 1816. He was
elected a member of the New York Legislature in 1825, and again in
1826, 1827, 1829, and 1831. In 1828 he was a candidate for the office
of Lieutenant Governor, but was defeated; and in 1830 and again in
1832, he was run for Governor, with the same result. In 1834 he was
elected to Congress. In 1836 he was a candidate for Vice President,
and received the electoral votes of the States of Massachusetts,
Vermont, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. He was
again elected to Congress in 1838 and in 1840. Appointed Post Master
General March 6, 1841, but resigned the following September. His
successor in Congress thereupon resigned, and Mr. Granger was again
elected to that body. On the 4th of March, 1843, he finally retired
from public life, but is yet living.
11. CHARLES A. WICKLIFFE.--Born at Bardstown, Kentucky, June 8, 1788,
and was admitted to the Bar at an early age. He was twice elected to
the State Legislature during the war of 1812. He twice volunteered in
the Northwestern Army, and was present at the Battle of the Thames. In
1820 he was again elected to the Legislature. In 1822 he was elected
to Congress, and was four times re-elected. During his service in that
body, he was appointed by the House as one of the managers in the
impeachment of Judge Peck. Upon leaving Congress, in 1833, he was
again elected to the lower branch of the State Legislature; and, upon
its assembling, was chosen Speaker. In 1834 he was elected Lieutenant
Governor of the State, and in 1839, by the death of Gov. Clark, he
became Acting Governor. He was appointed Post Master General,
September 13, 1841. In 1849 he was chosen as a delegate to the
Constitutional Convention of Kentucky; and, under the new
Constitution, he was appointed as one of the Revisers of the Statute
Laws of the State. He is yet living.
[Illustration]
12. CAVE JOHNSON.--Born, January 11, 1793, in Robertson Co.,
Tennessee. His opportunities for education were limited, but made
available to the greatest extent. In his youth, he acted as
deputy-clerk of the County, his father being clerk. He was thence led
to the study of the law. In 1813 he was appointed Deputy Quarter
Master in a brigade of militia commanded by his father, and marched
into the Creek nation under General Jackson. He continued in this
service until the close of the Creek war in 1814. In 1816 he was
admitted to the Bar. In 1817 he was elected by the Legislature one of
the Attorneys General of the State, which office he held until elected
a member of Congress in 1829. He was re-elected in 1831, 1833, and
1835. Defeated in 1837. Again elected in 1839, 1841, and 1843.
Appointed Post Master General, March 5, 1845. In 1849 he served for a
few months as one of the Circuit Judges of Tennessee; and, in 1853,
was appointed by the Governor and Senate as President of the Bank of
Tennessee, at Nashville. He is yet living.
13. JACOB COLLAMER.--Born at Troy, N. Y., about 1790, and removed in
childhood to Burlington, Vt., with his father. Graduated at the State
University at that place in 1810. Served during the year 1812, a
frontier campaign, as a lieutenant, in the service of the United
States. Admitted to the Bar in 1813. Practised law for twenty years,
serving frequently in the State Legislature. In 1833 he was elected an
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State, from which
position he voluntarily retired in 1842. In the course of that period,
he was also a member of a convention held to revise the Constitution
of the State. In 1843 elected to Congress to fill a vacancy, and
re-elected for a full term, in 1844, and again in 1846. Appointed Post
Master General March 7th, 1849. In 1850 he was again elected a Justice
of the Supreme Court of Vermont; and in 1854 he was chosen United
States Senator, which office he now holds.
14. NATHAN KELSEY HALL.--Born at Skaneateles, N. Y., March 28th, 1810.
Removed to Aurora in the same State in 1826, and commenced the study
of the law with Millard Fillmore. Removed with the latter to Buffalo
in 1830. Admitted to the Bar in 1832. Appointed First Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas in 1841. In 1845 elected a member of the State
Legislature, and in 1846 a member of Congress. He was appointed Post
Master General July 20, 1850; and, in 1852, United States Judge for
the Northern District of New York, which office he now holds.
15. SAMUEL DICKINSON HUBBARD.--Born at Middletown, Ct., August 10,
1799. Graduated at Yale College in 1819. He was admitted to the Bar in
1822, but subsequently engaged in manufacturing enterprises. He was
Mayor of the city of Middletown, and held other offices of local
trust. In 1845 he was elected a member of Congress, and re-elected in
1847. He was appointed Post Master General September 14, 1852. Died at
Middletown October 8, 1855.
16. JAMES CAMPBELL, the present Post Master General of the United
States, was born September 1, 1813, in the city of Philadelphia, Pa.
Admitted to the Bar in 1834, at the age of twenty-one years. In 1841,
at the age of twenty-eight, he was appointed Judge of the Common Pleas
Court for the City and County of Philadelphia, which position he
occupied for the term of nine years. In 1851, when the Constitution of
the State was changed, making the Judiciary elective, he was nominated
by a State Convention of his party as a candidate for the Bench of the
Supreme Court of the State, but was defeated after a warmly contested
and somewhat peculiar contest, receiving however 176,000 votes. In
January, 1852, he was appointed Attorney General of Pennsylvania,
which he resigned to assume the duties of Post Master General. He was
appointed to that office on the 8th of March, 1853.
INTRODUCTION.
A mail bag is an epitome of human life. All the elements which go to
form the happiness or misery of individuals--the raw material, so to
speak, of human hopes and fears--here exist in a chaotic state. These
elements are imprisoned, like the winds in the fabled cave of Æolus,
"biding their time" to go forth and fulfil their office, whether it be
to refresh and invigorate the drooping flower, or to bring destruction
upon the proud and stately forest-king.
Well is it for the peace of mind of those who have in temporary charge
these discordant forces, that they cannot trace the course of each
missive as it passes from their hands. For although many hearts are
made glad by these silent messengers, yet in every day's mail there is
enough of sadness and misery, lying torpid like serpents, until warmed
into venomous life by a glance of the eye, to cast a gloom over the
spirits of any one who should know it all; and to add new emphasis to
the words of the wise man, "He that increaseth knowledge, increaseth
sorrow." But until they are released from their temporary captivity,
the letters guard in grim silence their varied contents. Joy and
sorrow as yet have no voice; vice and crime are yet concealed,
running, like subterranean streams, from the mind which originated, to
the mind which is to receive their influence. The mail bag is as great
a leveller as the grave, and it is only by the superscription in
either case, that one occupant can be distinguished from the other.
But leaving these general speculations, let us give more particular
attention to the motley crowd "in durance vile." If each one possessed
the power of uttering audibly the ideas which it contains, a confusion
of tongues would ensue, worthy of the last stages of the tower of
Babel, or of a Woman's Rights convention. Indeed matters would
proceed within these leathern walls, very much as they do in the world
at large. The portly, important "money letter," would look with
contempt upon the modest little _billet-doux_, and the aristocratic,
delicately-scented, heraldically-sealed epistle, would recoil from the
touch of its roughly coated, wafer-secured neighbor, filled to the
brim, perhaps, with affections as pure, or friendship as devoted as
ever can be found under coverings more polished. Would that the good
in one missive, might counteract the evil in another, for here is one
filled with the overflowings of a mother's heart, conveying language
of entreaty and remonstrance,--perhaps the traces of anxious
tears,--to the unwary youth who is beginning to turn aside from the
path of rectitude, and to look with wishful eyes upon forbidden
ground. Need enough is there of this message to strengthen staggering
resolution, to overpower the whispers of evil; for close by are the
suggestions of a vicious companion, lying in wait to lure him on to
vice, and to darken the light of love which hitherto has guided his
steps.
In one all-embracing receptacle, the strife of politics is for a time
unknown. Epistles of Whigs, Democrats, Pro and Anti-Slavery men lie
calmly down together, like the lion and the lamb, (if indeed we can
imagine anything lamb-like in political documents,) ready, however, to
start up in their proper characters like Satan at the touch of
Ithuriel's spear, and to frown defiance upon their late companions.
Theological animosity, too, lies spell-bound. Orthodoxy and
Heterodoxy, Old and New School, Protestant and Catholic, Free Thinkers
and No Thinkers, are held in paper chains, and cease to lacerate one
another with controverted _points_. Nor in this view of dormant
pugnacity, should that important constituent, the Law, be left out of
sight. An opinion clearly establishing the case of A. B.
unsuspectingly reposes by the side of another utterly subverting it,
thus placing, or about to place, the unfortunate A. B. in the
condition of a wall mined by its assailants, and counter-mined by its
defenders, quite sure (to use a familiar phrase,) of "bursting up" in
either case. And the unconscious official who "distributes" these
missiles, might well exclaim, if he knew the contents, "cry havoc, and
let slip the dogs of war."
But we come to another discord in our miniature life-orchestra. Those
all-embracing, ever-sounding tones, which lie at the two extremities
of the "diapason of humanity," namely, Life and Death, here find their
representatives. Here lies a sable-edged missive, speaking to the eye
as the passing bell speaks to the ear, telling of blighted happiness,
a desolate home, and loving hearts mourning and refusing to be
comforted because the loved one is not; while close at hand and
perchance overlying the sad messenger, is the announcement of another
arrival upon the stage of life--Our First--and though it is as yet
behind the curtain, not having made its bow to the world at large, is
an important character in the green room; and the aid of that
convenient individual, Uncle Sam, is invoked to convey the information
of its advent to a circle of expectant friends, as highly favored as
that select few who are sometimes invited to witness a private
performance by some newly-arrived artist, before he makes his
appearance in a more public manner.
Nor should we omit at least a passing notice of the humorous aspects
of our Bag. Physiognomy will not go far in aiding us to determine as
to a given letter, whether its contents are grave or gay. A
well-ordered epistle, like a highly bred man, does not show on its
face the emotions which it may contain. But in what we may call the
lower class of letters, where nature is untrammeled by envelopes, and
eccentricity or unskilfulness display themselves by the various shapes
and styles in which the documents are folded and directed, there is
more room for speculation on their internal character; and it is the
author's intention to furnish some rare specimens of unconscious humor
of this kind, for the delectation of his readers.
As we contemplate the wit, fun, humor, and jollity of all sorts, which
lie dormant within these wrappages, we are tempted to retract our
commiseration for the imaginary official whom we have supposed to know
the contents of the letters in his charge, and therefore drag out a
miserable existence under their depressing influence. At least we feel
impelled to modify our remarks so far as to say that in the case
supposed, his days would be passed in alternate cachinnations and
sympathizing grief. He would become a storehouse of wit, a magazine of
humor. For there is much of wit, humor, and jollity running through
these secret channels, that never is diffused through the medium of
the press, but flows among the privacies of domestic circles, adding
life to their intercourse, and increasing the attractions of social
fellowship, like some sparkling stream, both refreshing and adorning
the landscape through which it takes its course.
We leave the further development of this prolific train of thought, to
the reader's imagination. Yet the imagination can devise no
combination more strange than those which may be found every day
within the narrow precincts of which we have been speaking; and the
same may be said of the Post-Office system at large, interwoven as it
is with the whole social life of civilized man.
The laws of the land are intended not only to preserve the person and
material property of every citizen sacred from intrusion, but to
secure the privacy of his thoughts, so far as he sees fit to withhold
them from others. Silence is as great a privilege as speech, and it is
as important that every one should be able to maintain it whenever he
pleases, as that he should be at liberty to utter his thoughts without
restraint. Now the post-office undertakes to maintain this principle
with regard to written communications as they are conveyed from one
person to another through the mails. However unimportant the contents
of a letter may be, the violation of its secrecy while it is in charge
of the Post-Office Department, or even after having left its custody,
becomes an offence of serious magnitude in the eye of the law; and as
the quantity and importance of mail matter is continually increasing,
it has been found necessary to adopt means for its security, which
were not required in the earlier history of the Post-Office. One kind
of danger to which the mails were exposed before the days of railroads
and steamboats, namely, highway robbery, is now almost unknown. The
principal danger at present to be apprehended, is from those connected
with their transportation and delivery, and a system of _surveillance_
has been adopted, suited to the exigency of the case, namely, the
creation of Special Agents, who have become a fixed "institution,"
likely to be essential to the efficiency of the Department, as long as
any of its employés are deficient in principle or honesty. The origin
of this Special Agent System will be given elsewhere. It is sufficient
to say here, that the curious developments of character, and
combinations of circumstances, which will be found in the following
pages, were mainly brought to light by the operation of this system,
as carried out by one of its Agents. "Ten years" of experience have
given the author (or at least ought to have given him) an ample supply
of material for the illustration of nearly every phase in Post-Office
life. His principal difficulty is the "_embarras des richesses_;" yet
he has endeavored to select such cases as are not only interesting in
themselves, but well calculated to benefit those for whose use the
present work is especially designed.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
No "Ear-Biters" employed--The Commission--A whole School
robbed--Value of a "quarter"--Embargo on Trunks--Unjust
Suspicion--The dying Mother--Fidelity of Post Masters--A
venerable pair of Officials--President Pierce assists--A clue
to the Robberies--The Quaker Coat--An insane Traveler--The
Decoy Letters--Off the Road--The dancing Horse--The Decoy
missing--An official Visit by night--Finding the marked
Bills--The Confession--The Arrest Page 25
CHAPTER II.
A competent Assistant--Yielding to Temptation--An easy Post
Master--Whispers of Complaint--Assistant embarrassed--Application
to his Uncle--The Refusal--Value of a kind Word--Resort
to Depredations--Evidences of Guilt--Decoy Letter taken--The
Bowling Saloon--The Agent worsted--The Restaurant--Bother
of the Credit System--The fatal Bank-Note--Keen Letter
to the Agent--The Arrest--The next Meeting 52
CHAPTER III.
Business Rivalry--Country Gossiping--Museum of Antiquities--New
Post Master--Serious Rumors--Anonymous Letters--Package
detained--Bar-room Scene--_Ram_ifications of the Law--First
Citizens--Rascally Enemies--Lawyer's Office--Gratuitous
Backing--Telegraphing--U. S. Marshal arrives--The Charge--The
Fatal Quarter--Enemies' Triumph--The Warrant--Singular
Effects of Fear--A Faithful Wife--Sad Memories--The Squire's
Surprise--All right 66
CHAPTER IV.
High Crimes in low Places--Honest Baggage-masters--Suspicious
Circumstances--Watching the Suspected--Shunning the
Dust--Honesty Triumphant--An Episode--Unexpected Confession--The
Night Clerks--Conformity to Circumstances--Pat the Porter--Absents
himself--Physician consulted--The Dead Child--Hunting
Excursions--"No Go"--Pat explains his Absence--His
Discharge--The Grave-stones--Stolen Money appears--The
Jolly Undertakers--Pat at the Grave--More Hunting--Firing a
Salute--Removing the Deposits--Crossing the Ferry--Scene at the
Post-Office--Trip to Brooklyn--Recovery of Money--Escape--Encounter
with a Policeman--Searching a Steamer--Waking
the wrong Passenger--Accomplices detained--Luxuries cut off--False
Imprisonment Suit--Michael on the Stand--Case dismissed 95
CHAPTER V.
An infected District--A "fast" Route Agent--Heavy Bank
Losses--Amateur Experiments--Dangerous Interference--A Moral
Lecture--The Process discovered--An unwelcome Stranger--Midnight
Watching--Monopoly of a Car--Detected in the Act--The
Robber searched--His Committal--A supposed Accomplice--The
Case explained--Honesty again triumphant--Drafts and
Letters--A long Sentence--Public Sympathy--A Christian Wife--Prison
Scenes--Faithful to the last--An interesting Letter 122
CHAPTER VI.
Safety of the Mails--Confidence shaken--About Mail Locks--Importance
of Seals--City and Country--Meeting the Suspected--Test
of Honesty--Value of a String--A dreary Ride--Harmless
Stragglers--A cautious Official--Package missing--An
early Customer--Newspaper Dodge--Plain Talk--A Call to
Breakfast--Innocence and Crime--Suspicion Confirmed--The
big Wafers--Finding the String--The Examination--Escape to
Canada--A true Woman--The Re-arrest--Letter of Consolation--The
Wife in Prison--Boring Out--Surprise of the Jailor--Killing
a Horse 136
CHAPTER VII.
Startling Complaints--Character against Suspicion--The two
Clerks--Exchanging Notes--The Faro Bank--Tracing a Bill--An
official Call--False Explanation--Flight of the Guilty--The
Fatal Drug--The Suicide--Sufferings of the Innocent--The Moral 152
CHAPTER VIII.
A NIGHT IN A POST-OFFICE.
Midnight Mails--Suspected Clerk--A trying Position--Limited
View--A "crack" Agent--Sneezing--"Counter Irritation"--The
Night Bell--Fruitless Speculations--Insect Orchestra--Picolo
introduced--Snoring--Harmless Accident--The Boot-black--A
tenanted Boot--The Exit 165
CHAPTER IX.
Throwing off the Cars--Fiendish Recklessness--The Boot-Tracks--A
Scamp among the Printers--Obstruction removed--A
Ruse--The Boots secured--"Big Jobs"--The Trial--Unreliable
Witness--A Life-Sentence 172
CHAPTER X.
STOPPING A POST-OFFICE.
The Unpaid Draft--The Forged Order--A Reliable Witness--Giving
up the Mail Key--A Lady Assistant--Post-Office Records--The official
Envelope--Return of the Post Master--The Interview--Embarrassment
of Guilt--Duplicate Circular--Justice secured 181
CHAPTER XI.
Indian Depredations--The model Mail Contractor--Rifles and
Revolvers--Importance of a Scalp--Indian Chief reconnoitering--Saving
dead Bodies--Death of a Warrior--The Charge--A
proud Trophy--Sunset on the Prairie--Animal Life--A solitary
Hunt--The Buffalo Chase--Desperate Encounter with an
Indian--Ingenious Signal--Returning to Camp--Minute Guns--A welcome
Return 192
CHAPTER XII.
Cheating the Clergy--Duping a Witness--Money missing--A
singular Postscript--The double Seal--Proofs of Fraud--The
same Bank-Note--"Post-Boy" confronted--How the Game was
played--Moving off 201
CHAPTER XIII.
Young Offenders--Thirty Years ago--A large Haul--A Ray of
Light 206
CHAPTER XIV.
OBSTRUCTING THE MAIL.
A sound Principle--A slow Period--A wholesome Law--"Ahead
of the Mail"--Moral Suasion--Indignant Passengers--Dutch
Oaths--A Smash--Interesting Trial--A rowdy Constable--The
Obstructors mulcted 213
CHAPTER XV.
A dangerous Mail Route--Wheat Bran--A faithful Mail Carrier--Mail
Robber shot--A "Dead-head" passenger--An Old Offender--Fatal
Associate--Robbery and Murder--Conviction and Execution--Capital
Punishment--Traveling in Mexico--Guerillas--Paying
over--The Robbers routed--A "Fine Young
English Gentleman"--The right stuff 222
CHAPTER XVI.
The tender Passion--Barnum's Museum--Little Eva--The
Boys in a Box--The Bracelet--Love in an Omnibus--Losses explained 226
CHAPTER XVII.
DETACHED INCIDENTS.
Bank Letter lost--The Thief decoyed--Post-Office at
Midnight--Climbing the Ladder--An exciting Moment--Queer Place of
Deposit--A Post Master in Prison--Afflicted Friends--Sighs and
Saws--The Culprit's Escape--How it was done--A cool Letter--A
Wife's Offering--Moral Gymnastics--Show of Honesty--Unwelcome
Suggestion--"A hard road to travel"--Headed by a
Parson--Lost Time made up--A Male overhauled 229
CHAPTER XVIII.
FRAUDS CARRIED ON THROUGH THE MAILS.
Sad Perversion of Talent--Increase of Roguery--Professional
Men suffer--Young America _at_ the "Bar"--Papers from Liverpool--The
Trick successful--A legal Document--Owning up--A
careless Magistrate--Letters from the Un-duped--Victimizing
the Clergy--A lithograph Letter--Metropolitan Sermons--An
up-town Church--A Book of Travels--Natural Reflections--Wholesome
Advice--The Seed Mania--_Strong_ Inducements--Barnes'
Notes--"First rate Notice"--Farmer Johnson--Wethersfield
outdone--Joab missing--"Gift Enterprise"--List of Prizes--The
Trap well baited--Evading the Police--The _Scrub_ Race 242
CHAPTER XIX.
POST-OFFICE SITES.
Embarrassing duty--An exciting Question--A "Hard Case"--Decease
of a Post Master--The Office discontinued--The other
side--Call at the White House--The Reference--Agent's
Arrival--Molasses Incident--An honest Child--Slicking up--The
Academy--Stuck fast--The Shoe Factory--A shrewd Citizen--The
Saw Mill--A Tenantless Building--Viewing the "Sites"--Obliging
Post Master--The defunct Bank--A Funeral Scene--The
Agent discovered--Exciting Meeting--"Restoration Hall"--Eloquent
Appeals--A Fire Brand--Committee on Statistics--Generous
Volunteers--Being "put down"--Good-nature restored--The
Bill "settled"--A Stage Ride--Having the last Word 264
CHAPTER XX.
HARROWFORK POST-OFFICE.
A gloomy Picture--Beautiful Village--Litigation in Harrowfork--A
model Post Master--The Excitement--Petitioning the
Department--Conflicting Statements--The decisive Blow--The
new Post Master--The "Reliable Man"--Indignant Community--Refusal
to serve--An Editor's Candidate--The Temperance
Question--Newspaper Extracts--A Mongrel Quotation--A Lull--A
"Spy in Washington"--Bad Water--New Congressmen--The
Question revived--Delegate to Washington--Obliging Down
Easter--The lost Letters--Visit to the Department--Astounding
Discovery--Amusing Scene--A Congressman in a "Fix"--The
Difficulty "arranged" 289
CHAPTER XXI.
UNJUST COMPLAINTS.
Infallibility not claimed--"Scape-Goats"--The Man of Business
Habits--Home Scrutiny--A Lady in Trouble--A bold
Charge--A wronged Husband--Precipitate Retreat--Complaints
of a Lawyer--Careless Swearing--Wrong Address--No Retraction--A
careless Broker--The Charge repulsed--The Apology--Mistake
repeated--The Affair explained--A comprehensive Toast 323
CHAPTER XXII.
PRACTICAL, ANECDOTAL, ETC.
The wrong Address--Odd Names of Post-Offices--The Post-Office
a Detector of Crime--Suing the British Government--Pursuit
of a Letter Box--An "Extra" Customer--To my Grandmother--Improper
Interference--The Dead Letter--Sharp Correspondence--The
Irish Heart--My Wife's Sister 333
CHAPTER XXIII.
Responsibility of Post Masters 348
CHAPTER XXIV.
Official Courtesy, etc. 353
CHAPTER XXV.
Importance of Accuracy 358
CHAPTER XXVI.
Post Masters as Directories--Novel Applications--The Butter
Business--A Thievish Family--"Clarinda" in a City--Decoying
with Cheese--Post Master's Response--A Truant Husband--Woman's
Instinct 360
CHAPTER XXVII.
A Windfall for Gossipers--Suit for Slander--Profit and Loss--The
Resuscitated Letter--Condemned Mail Bag--An Epistolary
Rip Van Winkle 365
CHAPTER XXVIII.
VALENTINES.
Their Origin--Degeneration--Immoral Influence--Incitement
to Dishonesty 368
CHAPTER XXIX.
The Clairvoyant Discovery 375
CHAPTER XXX.
Poetical and Humorous Addresses upon Letters 381
CHAPTER XXXI.
Origin of the Mail Coach Service 390
CHAPTER XXXII.
Evasion of the Post-Office Laws 392
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Post-Office Paul Prys 394
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Special Agents 397
CHAPTER XXXV.
Route Agents 403
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Decoy Letters 409
SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER.
Practical Information--Post-Office Laws--Improved Letter
Case 413
TEN YEARS
AMONG
THE MAIL BAGS.
CHAPTER I
No "Ear-Biters" employed--The Commission--A whole School
robbed--Value of a "quarter"--Embargo on Trunks--Unjust
Suspicion--The dying Mother--Fidelity of Post Masters--A venerable
pair of Officials--President Pierce assists--A clue to the
Robberies--The Quaker Coat--An insane Traveller--The Decoy
Letters--Off the Road--The dancing Horse--The Decoy missing--An
official Visit by night--Finding the marked Bills--The
Confession--The Arrest.
In the fall of 1845, information was received from the Post-office
Department at Washington, of extensive depredations upon the mails
along the route extending from Boston to a well known and flourishing
inland town in one of the New England States, accompanied with the
expression of a strong desire on the part of the Post Master General,
that prompt and thorough efforts should be made to ferret out, if
possible, those who were concerned in these wholesale peculations.
It so happened that the gentleman at this time at the head of the
Post-office Department, had not been a very ardent believer in the
necessity or usefulness of "Secret Agents," so called. In fact, when
he entered upon the duties of his office, he dismissed the entire
corps of this class of officials, and notwithstanding the urgent calls
of the public, and the dissenting views of his most experienced
Assistants, he steadily refused to re-employ them, excepting
temporarily, and in special cases, until near the close of his
official term. Justice to that honest and thorough-going officer,
however, requires some mention of the causes which controlled his
decision in this important matter.
While he was a Representative in Congress, a violent onslaught was
made upon the system of Special Agents, for the reason (as was
alleged,) that they were neither more nor less than so many political
emissaries, supported at the public expense; and in consequence of
their secret, and therefore commanding position, possessing, and often
exerting an undue and improper influence against those opposed to them
in politics. Believing this charge to be unjust, he took up, in the
House of Representatives, the defence of this Special Agent system,
and called for proof in support of the accusations of violent partisan
conduct brought against these Agents.
Those who know him will be able to judge of his mortification and
displeasure when it was distinctly proved that in one instance a
Special Agent relieved his pugnacious propensities by getting into a
regular fight at the polls, and damaging one _poll_, by biting off an
ear attached thereto; the poll aforesaid being the property of a
political opponent.
It was also shown that this sanguinary Agent inserted a dirk knife
between the ribs of another antagonist, thus performing a sort of
political phlebotomy, with the intention, doubtless, of relieving the
patient of some portion of his superabundant Whig or Democratic blood
(whichever it might have been) and thereby bringing him to a rational
view of public questions.
This, and some other equally reputable cases of interference in
elections, having been fully established, it is not wonderful that
strong prejudices should have arisen in the mind of the future Post
Master General against this class of officers, although such
disorderly and disgraceful conduct was clearly the fault of the
individuals who indulged in it, and not of the corps or system, with
which they were connected. And I would here say, in justice to this
body of Agents, that many of them were gentlemen of intelligence and
discretion, who would be far from countenancing such proceedings as
have just been mentioned.
When, therefore, in the year above designated, the writer found
himself in possession of a Special Agent's Commission, signed by the
same gentleman, as "Post Master General," and rendered impressive by
the broad seal of that Department, which represented a 2.40 steed
rushing madly along, with a post-rider on his back, and the mail
portmanteau securely attached,--when he received accompanying
instructions to look into the alarming state of things on the route
aforesaid--his leading thought and ambition was to satisfy the
distinguished Tennessean that a Special Agent could catch a mail
robber by the ear quite as readily as a political antagonist, and
apply the knife of justice to those whose case required it, with at
least as much courage and skill as could be displayed in the matter of
disabling belligerent "shoulder hitters" at the ballot boxes.
How much the result of this first investigation, after the restoration
of the "ear-biters" (as they were then sometimes facetiously called,)
had to do with the radical change in opinion and action, noticeable in
certain quarters, as to the utility and indispensable necessity of
this "right arm" of the Department, it may not be advisable, nor
indeed modest, to inquire.
The depredations in the case thus placed in my hands for
investigation, were seemingly very bold, although from the length of
the route, and the number of post-offices thereon, the rogue had no
doubt flattered himself that it would take a long time to trace him
out, even if Government should condescend to notice the complaints
which he might suppose would be made at head-quarters. It is also
possible that he was encouraged to this course of rascality by the
belief that the Department had no officials whose particular business
it was to be "a terror to evil-doers," and that he could easily elude
the efforts of those no more experienced than himself in the crooks
and turns through which every villain is compelled to slink.
The letters stolen were principally addressed to the members of a
large and flourishing literary institution, situated in the town
already mentioned, and embracing in its catalogue pupils of both sexes
from almost every section of the Union. So keen was the scent of the
robber, that, like an animated "divining rod," he could indicate
unerringly the existence of gold, or its equivalent beneath the paper
surface soil, and he "prospected" with more certainty, though less
honesty, than a California miner. From all the mail-matter passing
through his office, he would invariably select the valuable packages,
abstracting their _material_ contents, and, as it afterwards appeared,
committing the letters to the flames. "Dead men tell no tales."
Neither do burnt letters.
The results of this system of robbery, as regarded those who suffered
by it, were somewhat peculiar. The abstraction of an equal amount from
the members of a business community, might have inconvenienced some,
but would have made little perceptible difference in the course of
business. The temporary deficiency would have been as little felt, on
the whole, as the withdrawing of a pail-full of water from a running
stream. The level is quickly restored, as supplies flow in.
But when the victims of dishonesty are youth pursuing their studies at
a distance from home, and depending on remittances from their parents
and friends for the means of discharging the debts which they may
incur, the case is widely different. Here the stream is dammed up
somewhere between its source and the place where the waters ought to
be flowing, and the worst description of drought--a drought of
money--ensues.
All sorts of consequences, in the present instance, followed this
state of things. The school became, in this particular, like a
besieged city, cut off from supplies from without, while its
inhabitants lived on under an ever increasing pressure of
difficulties, which made premature Micawbers of the unfortunate
aspirants to that temple which is so artistically represented in the
frontispiece to Webster's spelling book, as surmounting the hill of
Science, and animated by the figure of Fame on the roof, proclaiming
through her trumpet a perpetual invitation to enter the majestic
portals beneath.
The possessor of money, received, under these circumstances, a greater
degree of consideration than is usually accorded to the millionaire in
the world at large. The owner of a "quarter" had troops of friends,
and became purse-proud on the strength of that magnificent coin. Happy
was he who had unlimited "tick;" to whose call livery-stable keepers
were obsequious, and with whom tailors were ready to in_vest_, having
faith to believe that the present dry aspect of the financial sky
would be succeeded by refreshing showers of "mint-drops" from the
paternal pockets. Some of the young ladies who had invoked the
milliner's assistance in defiance of the poet's line--"Beauty
unadorned, &c.," occasionally received hints respecting the settlement
of their trifling accounts, which materially diminished the pleasure
that they would otherwise have felt in the contemplation of their
outer adornments. Bonnets reminded them of bills, and dresses of duns.
The more juvenile portion of our scholastic community, too, felt the
pressure of the "hard times" which some invisible hand had brought
upon them. In early life, the saccharine bump is largely developed,
but unlike other organs described by phrenologists, this is within the
mouth, and is commonly called the "sweet tooth." Those luxurious youth
who had hitherto indulged the cravings of this organ _ad libitum_, or
as far as they could do so without the knowledge of their teachers,
found the wary confectioners unwilling longer to satisfy their
unsophisticated appetites, without more "indemnity for the past" if
not "security for the future," than they had yet furnished.
So these victims of raging desire were compelled to retire hungry from
untasted luxuries, not without sundry _candid_ expressions of their
feelings toward the obdurate retailers of sweets, and _tart_ replies
from those individuals. Their only consolation was to revel in dreams
in which the temple of Fame was supported by pillars of candy, with a
protuberant pie for a dome; while her trumpet was converted into a
cornucopia from which unfailing streams of sugar-plums were issuing.
But such annoyances and inconveniences as have been enumerated were
trifling, compared with other consequences which resulted from this
prolonged and systematic robbery of the mails. It is hard for one who
never had his word doubted, to learn by unmistakeable indications that
his story of money expected and not received, is disbelieved by an
impatient creditor, who perhaps hints that the money has come and gone
in some other direction than that which it should have taken. The
honorable pride of some was wounded in this manner, and much
ill-feeling arose between those who had hitherto regarded each other
with mutual respect.
The term of the school was just closing, and worthy Mrs. K., who had
several of the pupils as boarders in her family, being blessed with a
rather large organ of caution, refused to allow one or two to leave
(who did not expect to return the next term,) without depositing some
collateral security for the payment of their board-bills. Those
luckless youth had written again and again for the money necessary to
settle their accounts in the place; but their entreaties were
apparently unnoticed and unanswered. They were in the condition of Mr.
Pecksniff's pupils, who were requested by their preceptor to ring the
bell which was in their room, if they wanted anything. They often did
so, but nobody ever answered it. It very naturally seemed almost
incredible to Mrs. K. that the parents of her boarders should neglect
to provide for the various expenses which arise at the close of a
school term, especially as these pupils were not to return. So the
good lady felt bound by her duty to herself to lay an embargo upon
their trunks, and she further took occasion to observe that if there
hadn't been so much horseback riding, &c., during the summer, her bill
could have been settled. This of course provoked an angry retort, and
suspicion smouldered on one side, and resentment flamed out on the
other, until the whole mystery was unravelled.
In another boarding-house, inhabited by pupils of both sexes, it had
been customary for some of their number to get from the post-office
the letters and papers sent to them, and this duty had lately
devolved, for the most part, on one person, Henry S., who was a
relation of the post master, and, from other circumstances, had
frequent occasion to visit the office. As he returned almost
empty-handed of letters from day to day, his disappointed
fellow-boarders at first wondered at the silence of their friends,
then suspicion began to work in their minds; and since the post master
was a man of unsullied honor, and entirely reliable for honesty, they
at length reluctantly admitted the supposition that Henry S. must be
the delinquent.
Acting on the ground that S. was the guilty one, his fellow-boarders
gave orders to the post master, forbidding the delivery of their
letters to him. So the next day, when he presented himself at the
office, he was thunderstruck by the information that he had lost the
confidence of his fellow-pupils, and that they would no longer trust
their letters in his hands.
"It can't be," exclaimed he, "that they suppose I took their letters."
"I guess they do," said the old post master; "but I think they had
better be sure that there were letters coming to them, before they
suspect you."
"Oh, now I see why they have acted so strangely, lately, just as if
they didn't want me around. I never once thought that this was the
reason of it."
From that time, he withdrew himself as much as possible from the
society of his fellow-pupils, stung by a sense of their injustice, and
cherishing anything but amiable feelings towards them; yet he did not
escape sundry taunts and flings at his character for honesty, from the
maliciously disposed. And although those who had regarded him with
suspicion, frankly acknowledged their error when the true culprit came
to light, yet it was long before he could entirely forgive them the
deep mortification they had caused him.
Nor were such cases as this the worst that occurred.
There was a boy in the school, "the only child of his mother, and she
was a widow." The lad was quick in intellect, amiable in disposition,
and a general favorite throughout the institution. He loved his mother
with a strength of affection not often surpassed, and it was fully
responded to, by his tender parent. The frequent visits which she made
him during his residence at the school had given her opportunities to
become acquainted with many of her son's young companions, as well as
with his teachers, so that she was quite well known in the little
community.
Let us place ourselves at the residence of Mrs. E. (the lady in
question,) some hundred miles away. She is lying upon a sick-bed, from
which she will never arise. Let us listen to the conversation between
her and her attendant.
"Has the train come up yet, Mary?"
"Yes, ma'am, it passed a few minutes ago, but Charley hasn't come."
"Of course he hasn't, he would have been in my arms before this, if he
had."
"Perhaps," suggests Mary, "he will be here by the next train."
"God grant he may," groans the dying mother. "It is now more than a
week since they first wrote to him, telling him that I was very sick,
and requesting him to come immediately. Oh, what _can_ keep him away
so long? I fear he is sick himself. Some one must go to-morrow, and
find out what it is that keeps him from me. I cannot die without
seeing him once more."
While this mother was struggling with disease, and with that "hope
deferred" that "maketh the heart sick," her son was pursuing his daily
round of studies and amusements, anticipating with delight his return
home at the close of the term. We may imagine the grief and distress
of the poor boy when his uncle, who came for him, told him how the
friends at home had written to him twice, each time enclosing him the
requisite funds to bear his expenses home, that there might be no
delay from _that_ cause. And how his mother's only wish, as she now
lay rapidly sinking, was to see once more her beloved Charley.
Off they went, the boy and his uncle, on iron wings,--but the wing of
the Death-Angel was swifter, and before they arrived at the place of
their destination, had cast its awful shadow over the mother's brow.
It will easily be believed that the failure of so many letters to
reach those for whom they were intended, excited no small degree of
uneasiness in the minds of the parents and friends of the pupils; and
in some instances, such was their alarm and anxiety, that journeys of
hundreds of miles were undertaken in order to learn why their letters
were not received, and why they heard nothing from those to whom they
wrote; for the unknown author of all this trouble and confusion, in
order to prevent discovery, often destroyed the letters passing both
ways.
I cannot here refrain from saying a few words respecting the
heinousness of such villanous conduct on the part of post masters or
their employés. Leaving out of sight the fact that they are sworn to
do nothing contrary to the laws, in their official capacity, and that
if they incur the guilt of a breach of trust, they also become guilty
of perjury, it should be considered that the well-being of community
in all its relations, domestic, social, commercial, and literary,
depends on the fidelity with which they discharge the duties of their
office. Much confidence is reposed in them by the public, and I am
happy to say, that in comparatively few instances is this confidence
misplaced. But in consequence of the circumstances just mentioned, an
amount of evil, terrible to contemplate, may be the result of an abuse
of trust, which may seem trifling to the guilty perpetrator. The law
considers no abuse of the trust reposed in those connected with the
post-office as slight; but with a jealous regard for the good of
community, provides penalties commensurate with the greatness of their
crimes, for those whom neither common honesty, nor honorable feelings,
nor moral principle can withhold from the commission of such deeds.
But we will resume the thread of our story.
It may seem strange that the disorders which I have partly described,
should have continued so long before the Department was informed of
the state of things; but in regard to this, I would say that
frequently such failures of correspondence go on for some time, and
work much mischief before the post master is apprised of the troubles
existing in his vicinity, as he of course is not expected to know what
letters are sent to his office, in the absence of complaints made
directly to him. It should be stated here, for the benefit of those
not informed in these matters, that it is made part of the duty of a
post master to report promptly to the Post-office Department all
complaints of the loss of any valuable letters said to have been
deposited in his office. In the case I am narrating, the failures in
the delivery of letters became at length so general, that complaint
was made to the post master of the town, and information communicated
directly to the Department at Washington.
Having received a commission from the Post Master General as before
stated, with orders to investigate this case, I proceeded at once to
the place in question, having first been assured of the entire
reliability of the post master in charge there; and if looks could
ever be taken as the index of the man, I needed no other assurance of
his honesty. I found an old gentleman who had numbered his
three-score years and ten, a veteran in the service, having held the
post which he then filled, "from time immemorial." He looked the
worthy representative of that class of men, whose moral principles are
applied to the discharge of public duties, as strictly as to those of
a private character,--men like that high-minded worthy, who, when his
son attempted to help himself to a sheet of paper from a desk
containing public property, rebuked him thus: "Take some paper from
_my_ desk, if you want it. _That_ paper belongs to the United States."
It is generally necessary in investigating cases of depredations, to
inquire into the honesty of the clerks in the offices to which we
direct our attention; but in the present instance, such a precaution
was uncalled for, since the only assistant of the old post master was
his wife, a venerable, motherly matron, of about his age, who had
aided him in his official duties, and had been his help-meet in the
household for many, many years.
The correspondence of a generation had passed through their hands, and
they were enabled to note the changes in the number and appearance of
the letters which were placed in their charge during the long period
of their incumbency,--changes produced by the increase of population,
the freer intercourse between distant places, and the facilities for
epistolary communication, which had been progressing ever since they
had assumed the responsibilities of their office. At first few letters
were transmitted but those of a sturdy, business-like appearance,
written on coarse paper, and sealed with wafers of about the
dimensions of a modern lady's watch,--wafers that evidently had in
charge matter of weighty import, and were mighty embodiments of the
adhesive principle. Then, as Time and Improvement advanced, and the
_cacoëthes scribendi_ became more generally developed, documents
appeared of a milder grade, and of a more imaginative aspect, not only
representing the cares of business life, but indicating, by the
fineness of their texture, the laboriously neat and often feminine
character of their superscriptions, and the delicacy of their
expressive waxen seals, that Love and Friendship, and the interests of
domestic circles, were also beginning thus to find utterance.
Our worthy pair, having been connected with the postal department
during such a large portion of its existence, had naturally come to
feel much interest in whatever concerned it, and of course were
especially anxious that no blot should come upon the reputation of the
office in their charge, and that the delinquent in the present case
should be brought to light and to justice.
The old man was slow to believe that a fraud had been committed by
those connected with any office in his neighborhood, as he thought he
could vouch for the character of every one of his brother post masters
with whom he was acquainted, and the information which he gave me
respecting them seemed to exonerate them, so far as his opinion could
do it.
My first proceeding at that point, was to examine the books of the
office, by which it appeared that Boston packages were received only
once or twice a week, while they had been sent daily, according to the
records of the Boston post-office.
After passing over the entire route several times _incog._, and taking
as minute a view of the several offices as it was in my power to do
without incurring the danger of being recognised, I concluded that my
duty required me to seek an interview with the United States District
Attorney, whose functions were then discharged by no less a personage
than Hon. Franklin Pierce, now President of the United States. On
laying the whole matter before him, he expressed much regret at the
seeming implication of the "Granite State" in such acts of dishonesty
and systematic fraud; at the same time confidently expressing the
belief that the incumbents of two or three post-offices, to which I
felt satisfied the difficulty was confined, could not be the guilty
parties, as they were personally known to him.
Although I greatly respected his judgment, yet I ventured to suggest
the possibility that his desire to think well of his acquaintances
might have led him to view the characters of some of them in a too
favorable light. So, in order to establish more firmly their
trust-worthiness in my estimation, he kindly went over to the
State-house, where the Legislature was in session, and confidentially
consulted the representatives from each of the towns in question.
One of the members thus consulted, and who readily endorsed the
favorable opinion of the Attorney, happened to be _a brother of the
post master who had done all the mischief_, as it was afterwards
ascertained. I have reason to believe, however, that this gentleman
was not aware of his brother's delinquencies, and that he was
incapable of doing anything to countenance or forward such
dishonorable practices.
One of the lost letters contained several twenty dollar notes on one
of the Boston banks. On the occasion of a public Exhibition, held at
the close of the term, in the Academy before referred to, a large
number of visitors from abroad were collected together, and as money
at such a time would be circulating in the town more freely than
usual, it seemed not unlikely that one or more of those bank notes
might find their way into the current of business, and furnish, by
their identification, some clue to the perpetrator of the robberies.
With this hope, I inquired privately of several merchants in the
place, whether they had recently taken any such bills, and learned
from one of them that, about two weeks before, at the time of the
Exhibition, several of those or similar bills had been offered for
exchange by a stranger, which fact would perhaps have attracted no
particular attention, were it not for the absence of any apparent
object in this exchange. The imperfect description of the stranger
which I obtained, agreed tolerably well, as far as it went, with that
of Mr. F., post master in the town of C., where was one of the offices
through which the many missing packages should have passed.
The most decided mark of identity which was furnished me, was a brown
over-coat, cut something after the Quaker style, which my informant
remembered to have been worn by the stranger for whose accommodation
he had exchanged notes similar to those described. Deeming it unsafe
to inquire of any neighbor of the suspected post master whether he
possessed such a coat, I adopted the expedient of attending, on the
following Sabbath, the church of whose congregation he was a member,
for the purpose, of course, of listening to a good sermon, not
forgetting, however, under the scriptural license furnished in Luke
xiv. 5, to look about now and then for the Quaker coat and its
owner,--a wolf in sheep's clothing. I observed the frequent
characteristics of a country congregation,--a noisy choir, a gorgeous
display of ribbons and other "running rigging" by the fairer portion
of the audience, and a peculiarly ill-fitting assortment of coats, but
never a Quakerish garment. By the time the preacher had drawn his last
inference, I had drawn mine, namely, that it is easier to identify a
man by his face than by his coat, inasmuch as he cannot lay aside the
one, while he may the other. The day, indeed, was remarkably mild, and
few over-coats made their appearance. Mr. F. was present, however, at
both services, as I afterwards learned, and occupied a seat in the
choir,--a _base_ singer, probably.
I have now to mention one of those singular coincidences which are so
frequently brought about, as if with the design of aiding in the
exposure of crime, and of pointing out its perpetrators with unerring
accuracy. The numerous instances which are every day occurring,
illustrative of this principle, leave us no room to doubt its truth.
"Murder will out," and so will all other crimes. Let the guilty one
envelope himself in a seemingly impenetrable cloud of secrecy; let him
construct, ever so cunningly, the line of his defences, sparing no
pains to fortify every exposed point, and to guard against every
surprise; yet some ray of light, darting, like the electric flash, he
knows not whence, will pierce the darkness which surrounded him; some
hidden spark will kindle an explosion, which will bury him and his
works in ruin. "Trifles light as air" harden into "confirmation strong
as words of Holy Writ."
Assuming that the aforesaid coat, if it had any connection with the
author of the robberies, was probably manufactured at the only
tailoring establishment in the place, I happened in there on Monday
morning, and inquired of the presiding genius his price for a
respectable over-coat, intending in some roundabout way to find out
whether he had made one like that which I was in pursuit of.
"That depends," replied he, "on the material and style of making."
While continuing a desultory conversation with him on the subject of
coats, their various shapes and styles, &c., my eye fell upon a small
slip of paper pinned to the sleeve of a garment hanging near the door,
and on approaching it, I found the name W. F. written upon the paper.
"That coat belongs to Mr. F., our post master," remarked the knight of
the goose. "It was a trifle too small, and I have been altering it."
Its color, unusual length, and peculiar make, were circumstances
almost conclusive to my mind of the identity of its owner with the
individual who had been exchanging the twenty dollar notes.
I bid the tailor good morning, feeling pretty well satisfied that I
had laid the foundation of a more important _suit_ than any which his
art could furnish.
The distance from this place to the town where the academy was
situated, was about twenty miles, and the next thing to be done was to
ascertain whether F. had been there within a week or two. A little
reflection suggested a tolerably safe and direct mode of ascertaining
this fact, which was, to see the merchant before referred to, as being
cognisant of the passing of the twenty dollar notes, who had already
been partially informed of the object of my former inquiries
concerning them; and to request him to address a line to Mr. F.,
inquiring whether he recollected seeing a person, apparently insane,
in the stage-coach, while on his way home after the Exhibition. This
certainly could do no harm in case he was not present on that
occasion, while if he had been, he would very naturally confirm the
fact in answering the question proposed. The next mail brought a reply
to the effect that he did not return home by the stage, but in his own
private conveyance, and therefore saw no such person as the one
inquired about.
I had thus made a beginning in laying a foundation for the
superstructure of evidence which I was endeavoring to raise; a
foundation, of which a tight coat was the corner-stone. If Mr. F.'s
outer garment had not required alteration, I should, up to this time,
have failed in establishing a most important fact, viz., his probable
identity with the individual who passed the bank notes; and as long as
this point was involved in much uncertainty, I should hardly have felt
prepared to push my researches with much energy or hope.
The following facts were now in my possession: Mr. F. was in the same
town where the Exhibition was held, and upon that occasion; his
general appearance corresponded to that of the person who had then and
there exchanged the notes; and his position as post master gave him
sufficient opportunities to have committed the robberies. All this
seemed to authorize and require more definite and concentrated
measures on my part.
In the mail from Boston, which was to pass on that route on the
following day, sundry tempting-looking packages might have been found,
which were not altogether valueless in a pecuniary point of view, and
would assuredly have been missed had they been stopped anywhere short
of their place of destination. In other words, these packages were
what are called _decoy letters_,--a species of device for entrapping
the dishonest, which will always be effectual, and whose detective
power the shrewdest rogue is unable to withstand. The utmost sagacity
will never enable one to distinguish between a decoy-letter and a
genuine one, so that the only way of securing safety from these
missives is to let all letters alone. The coat of arms of Scotland--a
thistle, with the motto "_Noli me tangere_,"--would be an appropriate
device for these paper bomb-shells.
This set of packages, however, passed the suspected point in safety
on this occasion, and several times afterwards, for the very good
reason, as it subsequently appeared, that, in the absence of the post
master, an honest person overhauled the mails.
The snare was laid once more, and with better success.
Upon a certain day, as the mail was leaving Boston, a letter
containing some fifty dollars, in good and lawful money, duly marked
and recorded, that it might afterwards be identified, was placed in
the package of letters for the post-office which had suffered so many
losses before, and to pass through the office over which he of the
tight coat presided. This package was watched by the Special Agent for
the distance of seventy miles or more, until it had arrived unmolested
within ten or fifteen miles of the suspected office.
About this time I again fell in with General Pierce, who kindly
offered to act in concert with me until the result of that day's
experiment should be decided; he taking the stage which was to convey
the mail, and I intending to follow after by private conveyance, both
to meet again, and to examine the contents of the bag after it had
passed the office at C. The object of this temporary separation, as my
readers will readily see, was to prevent the possibility of any
recognition of my person, which might have been incurred had I been
seen traveling with a gentleman so well known as the Hon. Mr. Pierce.
Much curiosity would inevitably be manifested to know whom the U. S.
District Attorney had with him, and speculations on the subject might
approach too near the truth for the interests of public justice.
The united efforts of the sixteen legs which impelled the "leathern
conveniency" containing my friend, the Attorney, were soon too much
for the four that hurried along "Cæsar and his fortunes;" and the
first-mentioned vehicle ere long was "hull-down" in the distance. I
had often been over this route before, yet in some incomprehensible
way, either by turning off too often, or not turning often enough, I
got upon the wrong road, and came near making a bungling job of it.
Pressing on as fast as possible to get a glimpse of the stage once
more, I had driven furiously for several miles, until, becoming
convinced that I was not likely to overtake it though I should go in
that direction till doomsday, I halted at a farm-house which stood
near the road, and addressed a man who apparently had been engaged in
cutting wood in the yard, for he stood, axe in hand, with an unsplit
log lying before him. The sound of my wheels had undoubtedly arrested
his attention. Dropping his axe with alacrity, he lounged up to the
fence, and leaned his elbows upon it, evidently prepared to refresh
himself after his bodily toil, with a little social intercourse.
"Is this the road to G.?" said I.
"What are yer in such a darned hurry for, now," replied my
interlocutor. "I've heerd them air wheels of yourn a rattlin, rattlin,
this half hour by spells, and I don't bleive I've cut the vally of an
armfull of wood all that time. I do'no what She'll say."
Here he glanced uneasily over his shoulder towards the house, as if he
feared _Her_ awe-inspiring presence.
"But, my friend," I remonstrated, "this don't tell me anything about
the road. I _am_ in a hurry, and no mistake; and I'll be much obliged
to you, if you will give me a short answer to a short question."
"Wal, if that's all you want, mebbe I can 'commodate yer. 'Taint no
use keeping on this ere road. Ef you should drive ever so fast on't,
you couldn't never git to G. Cause it don't go there! Wal, you wanted
a short answer, so I'll give it to yer. That are beast o' yourn hes
some good pints. Wal, ef you want to git to G.--lemme see,--never bin
on this road afore, hev you?"
"Of course I haven't," replied I, somewhat testily.
"Then you wouldn't know nothin about the old Hoxie place; no, sartin
you wouldn't. Wal, abeout two mild furder on, you'll come to a brick
house with four chimblys, jist where another road comes in. You turn
to the right by the brick house, and that'll bring you to G."
"How much further is it to G. this way than it is by the direct road?"
"Wal, 'bout four mild."
Upon this, I was about starting, when he called out, "I say, mister,
don't you want to trade hosses? I----"
"What yer beout there, Jerry," exclaimed a shrill voice from the
house, which could be no other than that of the redoubtable
"She"--"not a stick of wood in the house, and you a loafin there on
the fence. I tell you----"
Her further remonstrances were lost to me, but I doubt not that the
luckless Jerry received a suitable reprimand for his delinquency.
Here I was then, having four miles further to go than the stage, and
my horse beginning to show unequivocal signs of fatigue. As the stage
driver knew nothing of our plan, the probability was that he would
pass the next office long before I could arrive and examine the mail
bag. In this emergency, I could think of nothing better than to leave
horse and carriage at some place on the road, and obtain a
saddle-horse, with which I might succeed in "coming to time." And
after turning at the "brick house with four chimblys," I was gladdened
by the sight of a tavern some half a mile beyond, to which I hastened
with all practicable speed, and lost no time in inquiring whether I
could obtain a substitute for my over-driven animal.
The landlord was prompt in answering my demand, and forthwith ordered
his hostler to put the saddle upon "Bob." While Bob was being "got
up," I found myself the object of many inquisitive looks from the
assemblage of tavern loungers, to whom my arrival was a rather unusual
windfall; for it was not every day that the intervals between drams
were enlivened by such a comet-like approach. The team wagons and
other vehicles which frequented the road, and whose motions were as
methodical as those of the planets--the tavern being the sun of their
system--produced no emotions in the minds of these idlers, like the
unexpected appearance of an unknown body like myself, coming no one
knew whence, and going no one could tell where. One of two
alternatives seemed forced on them by the "hot haste" of my movements.
The stranger was either a pursuer or the pursued. If he was the
latter, what had he been doing? And if the former, of what had
somebody else been guilty? These perplexing questions were settled in
a manner apparently satisfactory to them, by the inquiry which I made
of the landlord, whether he had seen a man pass that way on horseback,
leading another horse, which I described minutely. The anxious
audience at once jumped at the conclusion, as I had intended they
should, that I was in pursuit of a horse-thief, which impression I
took care to strengthen by sundry incidental remarks. It seemed
necessary by some such device to prevent all suspicion of my real
character and object, in order that if I failed in executing my design
this day, the case might stand as well as before.
By this time "Bob" had been saddled and bridled, and issued forth from
the stable, equipped for action, under the auspices of the hostler. He
(to wit, Bob,) was a stout Canadian pony, rejoicing in a peculiarly
shaggy mane, and a tail which was well calculated to add completeness
to my comet-like character. He was strong of limb, and evidently quite
as competent as any quadruped that could ordinarily be found, to carry
me to my destination within the required time.
As soon as I was fairly in the saddle, some one among the small crowd
assembled to witness my departure, gave a slight whistle and made a
sound something like "he up," whereat the treacherous Bob went through
a series of gymnastic performances highly gratifying to the select
audience in front of the tavern, and occasioning a display on my part,
of equestrian accomplishments which I was never before conscious of
possessing. The pony elevated himself upon his hind legs so as to
assume an almost perpendicular posture, giving me much the attitude of
Napoleon as he is represented in David's well-known picture, "only
more so." After standing thus for an instant, he commenced a rotary
movement, still upon two legs, and coming down, reared in the
opposite direction a few times, before he saw fit permanently to
resume the horizontal position, I, during this period of revolution,
hanging by his neck (my _main_ stay,) and losing off my hat in the
ardor of my embraces.
[Illustration]
While I was thus the sport of circumstances, the spectators indulged
in various jocose observations, which then seemed to me exceedingly
ill-timed and impertinent. One suggested that I was a Millerite, and
was endeavoring to "go up" on horseback, at the same time expressing a
desire to know what I would charge for an extra passenger; while
another inquired what direction I proposed to take in my pursuit of
the imaginary horse-thief; intimating a willingness to be in his
place, so far as concerned any danger of being overtaken by me.
"Well done!" exclaimed the jolly landlord, as Bob re-assumed his
quadrupedal character.
"No, no," replied I, "there's too much _rare_ meat in him for that."
Under cover of this sally, I made a triumphant retreat, the landlord
leading Bob for a little distance, lest he should be inclined to
repeat the entire programme. While thus engaged, Boniface explained
the conduct of the horse, by informing me that he formerly belonged to
a person who had taught him the trick, which he would always attempt
to go through with when instigated thereto by such a sound as I heard
when I mounted him. With many apologies for the occurrence, "mine
host" let go the bridle, and I proceeded to find out what Bob could do
with his whole force of legs. This performance was more satisfactory
to me than his former one, and as we flew along, his tail and my
coat-tails streaming in the air, I seemed to myself an embodiment of
the design upon the seal of my commission, and was inwardly amused to
think how soon the ideal post-rider and his steed had found their real
representatives in the persons of myself and Bob.
In this style we dashed onward, and as I reined in my panting charger
before the door of the hotel in G., the stage was just ready to start,
the driver being seated on his official throne, whip and reins in
hand, looking the picture of impatience. He would have been gone
before this, had not the District-Attorney interceded for a short
delay. This gentleman was standing in the door of the post-office,
appearing very much surprised at my want of punctuality. A hasty
explanation produced a smile, and the remark, that it was a "good
joke."
A doubt which I suggested, as to the safety of examining the mail in
the presence of the post master, was set at rest by my companion, who
assured me that he was certain of the integrity of this functionary,
and also informed me that he had been made acquainted with the object
of our call, before my arrival. The post master being a merchant,
there was, among the other miscellaneous articles which compose the
stock of a country store, a fair assortment of gentlemen of leisure,
sitting upon the counter, and reclining in graceful attitudes upon the
boxes and barrels. Our unusual movements inspired them with unwonted
vigor, and an ardent desire was manifested on their part to know what
hidden mystery lurked within the recesses of the mail-bag, which we
were about carrying to a room above, in order to be out of the way of
observation. Two of these gentlemen, thirsting for knowledge, hastily
formed themselves into a committee of investigation, and followed us
up stairs, until they were summarily relieved from the discharge of
their self-imposed duties by a peremptory intimation from Mr. Pierce,
that we wished to be alone for a short time.
As soon as we had secured ourselves from intrusion, the bag was
hastily unlocked, and its contents turned upon the floor. Each package
was taken up, separately and carefully examined, but the all-important
one, whose absence would indicate unerringly the guilt of the
suspected individual, was not there! This was the most trying and
responsible moment of all, as it is always found to be in such
investigations--the moment when it is discovered that the trap has
been sprung, and the rogue is almost within your grasp. For experience
has shown, that missing a "decoy-letter," and establishing in a legal
manner the guilt of the individual who is known to have intercepted
it, are two very different things. Much caution is requisite in the
management of these cases, in order to leave no loop-hole of retreat
to the culprit. Too hasty movements might spoil all, by alarming him
before he had put it out of his power to account plausibly for the
detention of the letter; while a too long delay might enable him to
increase materially the difficulty of obtaining direct evidence, by
affording him an opportunity of disposing of the necessary proof,--the
letter itself, and the contained money.
In the present instance, it was considered that a too speedy return to
search for the absent package, might result in finding it in a perfect
state, allowing of the explanation by the post master, that it had
been left over by mistake in overhauling the mail, which would have
put the case in a capital shape for a tolerably sharp lawyer to
defend. We therefore concluded to allow several hours to elapse before
making a descent upon the premises, the time being mainly occupied in
drawing up the requisite papers, and procuring the attendance of a
proper officer to serve them.
All things having been prepared, we started, at about nine o'clock in
the evening, for the post-office in question. The office itself was in
a small building, some twenty rods from the post master's house, and
as we approached the premises, no light was visible, excepting in one
of the chambers of the dwelling. There, accordingly, we directed our
steps, and a few raps upon the door brought down the post master,
light in hand, who at once recognised "Squire Paarce," as he called
the District-Attorney. This gentleman politely requested him to step
over to the office, to transact some business, the nature of which he
did not then explain. The post master expressed his readiness to
accompany Mr. Pierce, remarking that he must first leave him a moment,
in order to go to another part of the house for a lantern. Some such
manoeuvre on his part had been anticipated, and he was closely
watched--in fact, Mr. Pierce went with him--while absent on his
errand, to deprive him of an opportunity of secreting any money that
he might have on his person.
On reaching the post-office, he was introduced to the Agent, whose
first object was, to get an admission from him, that he was present
when the mail arrived from Boston that day, that he overhauled it
alone, and that he had at this time no packages on hand to go by the
mail Northward the day following. These points having been
ascertained, the subject of the numerous losses on that route was
broached, and the fact plainly stated, that they had been traced to
that office; which piece of information was received by the post
master with the utmost apparent self-possession. Indeed, he seemed
exceedingly surprised to hear of the various frauds which I
enumerated, and professed entire ignorance that anything of the kind
had occurred, assuring me that if such things had been done, my
suspicions as to his office were utterly groundless.
"Do you receive much money in the course of your business, Mr. F.?" I
asked.
"Some," was the laconic reply.
"Have you much on hand now, and is it here, or at the house, or where
is it?"
"I don't know that my duty to the Post-office Department compels me to
answer such questions--to strangers, anyhow," replied he, with an air
of defiance.
"Then," said I, "_my_ duty to the Department will require me to
dispense with further interrogatories, and proceed to satisfy myself
as to the present state of your finances in some other, and more
direct way."
"Well, Squire," said he, turning to Mr. Pierce, "I want to know if you
have brought this man here to bully me, on my own premises, and accuse
me of doing things that I never thought of, to say nothing of his
impertinence in inquiring into my private business affairs. Let him
find out what he can about them. I sha'n't help him."
The District-Attorney assured him that all was correct; that his
rights should be protected; and that he had better furnish the
required information as to his means, and allow us to examine any
funds he might have on hand. This, the Attorney suggested, would be
the course which a regard for his own interests should lead him to
adopt.
After much grumbling, and giving vent to his dissatisfaction by the
remark, that "he didn't see why he should be picked out, and treated
in this way," he reluctantly complied with my somewhat urgent request
to be allowed to look at the money in his possession. Handing me his
wallet, he awaited the result of the examination with all the
composure he could command. He must have inferred, from what had been
said, that it was in my power to identify whatever money he had that
was unlawfully obtained, yet with the consciousness that he was thus
open to detection, he did not flinch, nor betray but in a small
degree, the heart-sinking that a knowledge of his perilous situation
could not fail to produce. These were my first thoughts, but I
afterwards had occasion to believe that he was not aware of the
overwhelming proof against himself which he supplied as he passed his
pocket-book into my hands. A hasty examination of its contents
revealed unmistakable evidence of his guilt, for on consulting the
description of the bills mailed that morning in Boston, to go some
twenty miles above this point, every one of them was at once
identified!
"Mr. F.," said I, "this money I saw placed in a letter in Boston, this
morning, to go some distance above you; how came it in your wallet?"
For some time the unfortunate man was speechless. He had continued so
long in his course of fraud, that the ground had begun to feel firm
beneath his feet, when all at once this gulf opened before him, about
to swallow up everything that man ought to hold most dear: character,
liberty, the love and respect of his fellow men, and even property--a
thing of comparatively little importance--for restitution would justly
be required.
The words in which one of Milton's fallen spirits addresses a brother
angel, might appropriately be applied to this victim of the lust of
gold.
"If thou be'st he;--but O, how fallen, how changed!"
Yes, indeed, how changed! He had occupied a high position in
community, enjoying the confidence of every one; and had been elected
to places of honor and trust by his fellow-citizens, before his
appointment to this office by the general Government. What was he now?
What would he be when it should be known everywhere that the exemplary
Mr. F. had been guilty of a felon's crimes, and was likely to meet
with a felon's doom? How could he ever face again his children,
already deprived of one parent by death, and about to lose another by
that which is worse than death? Ah! if crime presented the same aspect
before its perpetration that it does afterward, how vast would be the
diminution of human guilt!
The District-Attorney and Sheriff having purposely retired for a few
moments, I took occasion to represent to F., in as strong a light as
possible, the disappointments and distress which his unprincipled
course had occasioned among the pupils of the academy, at the same
time urging him, if he had not destroyed their letters, to produce
them at once, that they might be forwarded to their rightful owners.
He did not deny that he was the author of all the mischief; and stated
that the letters he had taken had been destroyed, but that the
money--several hundred dollars--was invested in real estate, and could
be restored.
After I had ascertained these important facts, I consigned the
criminal to the Sheriff's hands, in virtue of the warrant which had
before been made out, as I have already mentioned. The Sheriff
returned to the house with him, to allow him to make some preparation
for a night's ride, and as they issued from the dwelling, I noticed
that F. had on the identical Quaker coat, which had been to him what
the robe of Nessus was to Hercules,--a garment bringing unforeseen
destruction to its wearer.
The trial of the prisoner was held in due time, and its result
furnished no exception to the truth of the Scriptural declaration
respecting the way of transgressors.
Before closing this narrative, I should mention that measures were
taken to secure the restoration of their money to those who had been
defrauded by this man's dishonesty. It was, however, a slower process
to heal the wounded feelings, to re-establish the broken friendships,
and to reproduce the lost confidence, of which he had been the guilty
cause. Whether he ever regained his lost reputation, I am unable to
say.
A long course of upright conduct may and ought to obliterate the
memory of former crime, but the commission of such crimes ordinarily
raises additional barriers in the way of a virtuous life; and too
often it were as hopeful a task to collect the fragments of a diamond
which has just been dashed upon the pavement, and attempt to
reconstruct it in its original beauty, as to gather up the remains of
a ruined character, and endeavor to restore it to its former lustre.