Friday, August 30, 2019

The Dead Letter


The Dead Letter (1866) by Metta Victoria Fuller Victor is the first full-length American work of crime fiction. You can read it online here, and listen to it here. It begins,
THE DEAD LETTER.

PART I.

CHAPTER I.

THE LETTER.

I paused suddenly in my work. Over a year’s experience in the Dead Letter office had given a mechanical rapidity to my movements in opening, noting and classifying the contents of the bundles before me; and, so far from there being any thing exciting to the curiosity, or interesting to the mind, in the employment, it was of the most monotonous character.

Young ladies whose love letters have gone astray, evil men whose plans have been confided in writing to their confederates, may feel but little apprehension of the prying eyes of the Department; nothing attracts it but objects of material value—sentiment is below par; it gives attention only to such tangible interests as are represented by bank-bills, gold-pieces, checks, jewelry, miniatures, et cetera. Occasionally a grave clerk smiles sardonically at the ridiculous character of some of the articles which come to light; sometimes, perhaps, looks thoughtfully at a withered rosebud, or bunch of pressed violets, a homely little pin-cushion, or a book-mark, wishing it had reached its proper destination. I can not answer for other employees, who may not have even this amount of heart and imagination to invest in the dull business of a Government office; but when I was in the Department I was guilty, at intervals, of such folly—yet I passed for the coldest, most cynical man of them all.

The letter which I held in my paralyzed fingers when they so abruptly ceased their dexterous movements, was contained in a closely-sealed envelope, yellowed by time, and directed in a peculiar hand to “John Owen, Peekskill, New York,” and the date on the stamp was “October 18th, 1857”—making the letter two years old. I know not what magnetism passed from it, putting me, as the spiritualists say, en rapport with it; I had not yet cut the lappet; and the only thing I could fix upon as the cause of my attraction was, that at the date indicated on the envelope, I had been a resident of Blankville, twenty miles from Peekskill—and something about that date!

Yet this was no excuse for my agitation; I was not of an inquisitive disposition; nor did “John Owen” belong to the circle of my acquaintance. I sat there with such a strange expression upon my face, that one of my fellows, remarking my mood, exclaimed jestingly:

“What is it, Redfield? A check for a hundred thousand?”

“I am sure I don’t know; I haven’t opened it,” I answered, at random; and with this I cut the wrapper, impelled by some strongly-defined, irresistible influence to read the time-stained sheet inclosed. It ran in this wise:

“Dear Sir—It’s too bad to disappoint you. Could not execute your order, as everybody concerned will discover. What a charming day!—good for taking a picture. That old friend I introduced you to won’t tell tales, and you had not better bother yourself to visit him. The next time you find yourself in his arms, don’t feel in his left-hand pocket for the broken tooth-pick which I lent him. He is welcome to it. If you’re at the place of payment, I shan’t be there, not having fulfilled the order, and having given up my emigration project, much against my will; so, govern yourself accordingly. Sorry your prospects are so poor, and believe me, with the greatest possible esteem,

“Your disappointed Negotiator.”
To explain why this brief epistle, neither lucid nor interesting in itself, should affect me as it did, I must go back to the time at which it was written.

16 comments:

  1. Ugh, that 19th c. flowery, we pay by the word prose. 😉

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    1. It's a style different from what we see published these days, that's for sure lol

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  2. This story is very intriguing. I've moved the link to the top of my list of stories to read!

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    1. I liked this one. I'm finding the old detective stories interesting in these days when Sherlock Holmes has had such a resurgence,

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  3. What an interesting place to leave off. I really MUST read this. I'm getting so far behind, I may never catch up, though.

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    1. I know what you mean. For every story/book I read and movie I watch several more get added to my bookmarks. I'll never run out, which is a comfort :)

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  4. Oh that is a tempting further read. What an interesting perspective to write about - the dead letter office. Oh the tales waiting to be told.

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    1. It was fascinating how that particular letter came to that particular hand.

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  5. Interesting, I love a good crime story! It's interesting how different the writing style is too 😁. Wishing you a Happy Friday and Weekend! Hugs, Jo x

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    1. It predates the Sherlock Holmes stories by some years, and I think of those as being old. The writing style was different then.

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  6. Not quite my thing today, but thanks for sharing. Valerie

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  7. I love mysteries so am going to check this out. I've heard of Deadletters, but am not sure exactly what they are. But the word makes a good thought for a crime story. Hope you are having a good weekend!

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    1. A read a really sad story once about an undelivered letter in the dead letter office and the effect the non-delivery had on lives. It was a tragic tale :(

      We're looking forward to Labor Day, planning a little cookout :)

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  8. I'm going to have to bookmark this one and get back to it when I have a good day and can focus. ;)

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    1. This is a more involved story than some I see. A mystery worth digging into, I thought :)

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