The romance of the British Post Office : its inception and wondrous development . OUTSIDE THE GENERAL POST OFFICE AT SIX OCLOCK. to over-reach the receiving basket on the other side inthe vain hope of thereby evading the extra postage. With the restoration of normal tranquility outside,commences the real rush of business inside. Throughsorts of funnels the letters, etc., come tumbling intothe baskets provided for their reception on the innerside of the letter-flaps, and as soon as they are filled, AT SAINT martins LE GRAND. 71 which is in almost less than no time, they are removedand replaced
The romance of the British Post Office : its inception and wondrous development . OUTSIDE THE GENERAL POST OFFICE AT SIX OCLOCK. to over-reach the receiving basket on the other side inthe vain hope of thereby evading the extra postage. With the restoration of normal tranquility outside,commences the real rush of business inside. Throughsorts of funnels the letters, etc., come tumbling intothe baskets provided for their reception on the innerside of the letter-flaps, and as soon as they are filled, AT SAINT martins LE GRAND. 71 which is in almost less than no time, they are removedand replaced by others, when the missives and packetscome once more leaping and dancing in. As may beimagined, the boys who have to attend to the clearingof the baskets are well employed until the posting-hour is past. Taking a birds-eye view from one ofthe galleries of the great sorting hall at St. Martins. bKHIND IHL RKCEI\ KR Al 1 HE GENERAL POb 1 OtHCEAT SIX oclock. le Grand, which is now provided with electric light,the scene presented to the eye is one huge, confusedmass of letters, bags, baskets, etc. Wherever thegaze turns it is met by mountains of letters andpackages, and immersed in them appear the darkforms of hundreds of human beings apparentlystruggling frantically to overcome these untold legions. 72 THE BRITISH POST OFFICE. But chaotic as the scene would seem to be, thebusiness of the evening is being pushed rapidly onwith systematic routine and precision, as we shall seeon descending to the floor of the house. Directly the baskets full of correspondence broughtfrom the letter boxes are emptied, the letters, etc.,are seized upon by eager hands for the purposeof being faced, that is, put into order right way upto receive the impression of the date stamp, whichcancels the postage stamps affixed. At the same timethose letters on which insufficient postage has beenpaid are dete
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1897
