Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/118

 The postmaster called on H. H. and offered to show him over the post office. In those days the employment of women as clerks was something of an innovation. The postmaster waxed eloquent on the subject of their superiority over men: they were more industrious and trustworthy, and as they neither drank nor gambled they had less temptation to dishonesty.

When H. H. and his conductor reached the post office, they were surprised to find no clerks behind the counter, while a long queue of customers were waiting with every visible sign of annoyance. The postmaster, followed by H. H., pushed his way to the back office and opened the door.

His horrified ears were greeted with cries of, "Ladies to the centre. Gentlemen give the right hand. Set to partners."

The immaculate young women of the post office were having a dance!

The mortification of the poor postmaster knew no bounds. Such a thing had never happened before, and was never likely to happen again, he assured H. H., who, needless to say, was highly diverted.

The postmaster's cup of humiliation was, however, not yet full. He took H. H. to see a wonderful machine for "postmarking" stamps. Up till then all stamps were cancelled by hand, a lengthy process requiring the services of several clerks. By means of this new invention several hundred stamps were done a minute, with the consequent saving of labour and money. H. H. picked up a handful of letters and examined the postmark with some care.

"I see they are all stamped with yesterday's date," he said.