Some Post-office Romances.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 32, 7 February 1891, Page 2 (Supplement)

Some Post-office Romances.

On the occasion of the wreck of tha European, in December, 1879, offUshanb, bhe mails from the Cape of Good Hope were recovered, bub nob without serious damag. through saturation with sea-water.

One of bhe regisbered letter-bags froro Cape Town, on being opened in London, was proved to contain several large packets of diamonds, the address of which had been destroyed through the action of bhe water, and about seven pounds weight of loose diamonds, which had evidently escaped from covers wholly or partially mutilated, 1 and found in pulp ab the bottom of tho bag. Every endeavour was used to discover the rightful owners of these packets, which were nearly intact, and with such success that they were all, with very little delay, duly delivered.

After very great troubhi and much correspondence, the whole of the persons for whom the loose were intended were, it is believed, ascertained. The diamonds were valued by an experienced broker, and sold, the amount realised being £19,000, and sufficient to satisfy the several claimants to such an extent thab not a single complaint was beard. Tho Norwegian Posb Office had nob acknowledged the receipb of a registered lebber which had been forwarded from England. Ib was assumed thab ib had been stolen. An inquiry was instituted, and the following letter was received from tha addressee, who had returned home while inquiry was being made: — ' Dear sir,—l am sorry you have had so much trouble respecting the registered letter supposed to have been lost in trans-, mission from my wife here to me i_ Bergen. ' Bub I assure you the lebter was mosb carefully and punctually delivered, and I think your case can hardly have referred bo me ab all.

' There was another Rev. John Dawson travelling in Norway at the same time, whose letters kept crossing my path every-j where ; and when I read them I was almosb in doubt whether I was myself or him, forj his wife had the same name as mine, and his baby the same name as mine, and jusb the same age ; bub who he can be I cannot make out, only ho is nob I. j, «Perhaps the registered letter which has, given you so much trouble may have been. for him. J 'lb may satisfy you, however, to know! that mine was all right.'