The Dead-letter Office

Wliat specially intereated me here was the overwhclminsf evidences of the ig-norance and carelessness that must pervadc our country. Leavim out dry figures and details, it is (01 sliould be) enough to state that soine ninety-odd clerks, of both sexes, are eiriployed to do what the writcrs of letters pretend to do, and shoald do. Daily tnousanda of letters pour into this ofïioe, whieh ia about the size of the Sub-TrcNisury HaU in Boston, and ero many days have passod a graat part of these letters aro put into the hands of thosa lor whoiu they werc ibtended. ilundrods of letters are without stampa many of them fronst business flnni of high Standing. Ntimberlesi postal cnrds vrith uo aiklress, but seldom AVith the address nnd else. It was once suggestcd to a inembe oí' the Kchool Coinmittee of Boston that on tlie last Satur.tay of cach nionth, flfteen minutes should be given to instructing the scholars in the A B C of correa poudence. That upoa the blackboard a few simplu ruics fiiiould be Wl'ittOU, such as; 1. Date j'uur letter, i. e., write placo aml State, day of nionth and year. ü. Name and address to wlioin letter is 10 be writ ten. ü. Uso Governnicnt sizod envclope. letter is placed in envelope, giving town or city, State, county and uuuiber of street, if knovvn. 5. Espcuially ifany valuablo is inclosed, ïnilieaie on envelope where letter suould be rutunied il uot delivered. 6. Sc.il an;1 stamp the envelope. 7. VVhcn a parce! is %o be uiailed, otlicr than lener, ask at the Fost OJiico the amount ot' postage required. Can any oue ilouot tlie good tliftt woald resul t trom this simple plan of the people? And wouldiiot the revenuo of the I'ost Uilice btj largely increased eacli year by such acourse on the part oi those in charge of public schools throughout the country ? A íhoroogh examination of t.ho eyes of uil the school ohildren of ,Philadelpliia is being made. iíhnust oue half of the oyes tlim lar tosted wcre found in cunditions other than porfectly normal, aud ínany were so diseased as to make rest iinperatively nooessary. The acuteness oí' visión is ascertained by ineans oí the ordiiiary carda used by ophthalmio surgcous lipón whioh are pi-inted letters of different sizc9. Other points of iuquiry are the perception of color, the ranga of visión, and the fleld of visión - that is, the extent of the distance around tho head coverod by the sight of the eye. So me persons, while lookiug straight ahead, can easüy sce motion, foi'in, und color at tho sido. _ Rnssian studenta aro iioit forbldden to marry, and those who viólate this rulo vill be OJcpellcd from tüu f.nÍTOi'biiy.