ets, and then turned to his guest.

"I'll tell you what it is, ma'am, that causes this--it's forgetfulness,
or rather, what we call absence of mind. It's my solemn belief, ma'am,
that if our heads warn't screwed on pretty tight you'd see some hundreds
of people walkin' about London of a mornin' with nothin' whatever on
their shoulders. Why, there was one man actually posted a cheque for 9
pounds, 15 shillings loose, in a pillar letter-box in Liverpool, without
even an envelope on it. The owner was easily traced through the bank,
but was unable to explain how the cheque got out of his possession or
into the pillar.--Just listen to this, ma'am," he added, rising and
taking down a pamphlet from a bookshelf, "this is last year's Report.
Hear what it says:--

"`Nearly 28,500 letters were posted this year without addresses. 757 of
these letters were found to contain, in the aggregate, about 214 pounds
in cash and bank-notes, and about 9088 pounds in bills of exchange,
cheques, etcetera.'--Of course," said the letter-carrier, refreshing
himself with a mouthful of tea, "the money and bills were returned to
the senders, but it warn't possible to do the same with 52,856
postage-stamps which were found knocking about loose in the bottom of
the mail-bags."

"How many?" cried Miss Lillycrop, in amazement.

"Fifty-two thousand eight hundred and fifty-six," repeated Solomon with
deliberation. "No doubt," he continued, "some of these stamps had bin
carelessly stuck on the envelopes, and some of 'em p'r'aps had come out
of busted letters which contained stamps sent in payment of small
accounts. You've no idea, ma'am, what a lot o' queer things get mixed
up in the mail-bags out of bust letters and packages--all along of
people puttin' things into flimsy covers not fit to hold 'em. Last year
no fewer than 12,525 miscellaneous articles reached the Returned Letter
Office (we used to call it the Dead Letter Office) without covers or
addresses, and the number of inquiries dealt with in regard to these
things and missing letters by that Office was over 91,000.

"We're very partickler, Miss Lillycrop, in regard to these things,"
continued Solomon, with a touch of pride. "We keep books in which every
stray article, unaddressed, is entered and described minutely, so that
when people come howlin' at us for our carelessness in non-delivery, we
ask 'em to describe their missing property, and in hundreds of cases
prove to them their own c