■THE POST OFFICE. 245 



" Then I will see you again in half an hour." I went 

 back to the inn, for I had a person to see there. 

 He said : " I will tell you what, Mr. Akers, it is not 

 any use humbugging you " — that was the very term 

 he used — "we do not mean to sign any contract 

 at all." I thanked him for his candid answer, and 

 went and called on the other person, and he said he 

 had not quite made up his mind as to distance. If 

 Mr. Hall of Ely did not choose to give him a quarter 

 of a mile in the earnings more than the distance, he 

 could not think of joining. They put us off in that 

 way.' 



Such is a sample of the obstacles Mr. Akers used 

 to meet with in the course of his official duties. 



The proprietors' objection to sign any contract 

 might have arisen from the formidable appearance of 

 one of the contract forms in use by the Postmaster- 

 General, if they had chanced to see one. 



They were printed on strong sheets of paper, no 

 less than a yard long — or to be accurate to an inch, 

 two feet nine inches long, by one foot ten inches 

 broad ; and being all exactly the same, when required 

 for use the Post-Office official had merely to fill in the 

 places between which the mail ran, and the rate of 

 payment. All the other particulars were specified in 

 the time-bills which were annexed,' and were in the 

 form set out elsewhere. 



