18 Letter-Carrier. By Krausz, Sigmund

Have you ever conceived what an important part the letter-carrier plays in life and in the history of civilization?

Have you ever thought about the clever mechanism of the great machine - so perfect in every detail - of which he is the alpha and omega?


If you have done so, you will have found the secret of his popularity, for was there ever a type more welcome in hut or palace than the letter-carrier?

Ever since the time of Cadmus has he been the bearer of tidings joyful and sorrowful, and the maiden of to-day awaits the daintily enveloped missive of her admirer with the same anxiety as the virgin maiden of Rome or Athens awaited the waxen tablets on which the stylus of her lover had engraved his tender feelings.

But incomparably harder was the lot of the ancient messenger than that of his brother of to-day.

The distances he had to traverse were long, the roads - if any - bad, and great was the danger that frequently lurked in his path. . . .

Centuries have rolled down the abyss of time, and the lot of the modern letter-carrier has become comparatively easier.

Steamboats and railways have relieved him of the most arduous part of his duty, and the light and flimsy product of rags has taken the place of the cumbersome tablets of the ancients and the voluminous parchment rolls of medieval times; but still his task is not an enviable one, and trudging his monotonous daily rounds carrying in his bag unconsciously and unconcernedly Fortuna’s and Pandora’s gifts alike, the letter-carrier well deserves our sympathy.


Dieses Kapitel ist Teil des Buches STREET TYPES GREAT AMERICAN CITIES