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First published in 1856, five years after the appearance of Moby Dick, The Piazza Tales comprises six of Herman Melville's finest short stories. Included are two sea tales that encompass the essence of Melville's art: 'Benito Cereno,' an exhilarating account of mutiny and rescue aboard a disabled slave ship, which is a parable of man's struggle against the forces of evil, and 'The Encantadas,' ten allegorical sketches of the Galapagos Islands, which reveal nature to be both enchanting and horrifying. Two pieces explore themes of isolation and defeat found in Melville's great novels: 'Bartleby, the Scrivener,' a prophetically modern story of alienation and loss on nineteenth-century Wall Street, and 'The Bell-Tower,' a Faustian tale about a Renaissance architect who brings about his own violent destruction. The other two works reveal Melville's mastery of very different writing styles: 'The Lightning-Rod Man,' a satire showcasing his talent for Dickensian comedy, and 'The Piazza,' the title story of the collection, which anticipates the author's later absorption with poetry.
The Postage Stamp with the Flag. - British Posts in the Crimea - The Abolition of the Capitulations - The British Fleet in the Baltic - Abyssinian Expedition - The First Army Postal Corps - Egypt - Dongola Expedition - South Africa - The British Army Post in France, 1914 - How to Address Soldier's Letters - The Postmarks from France - The Navy's Postmarks.
The Postage Stamp follows the Flag. The same small talisman which passes our letters across the seven seas to friends the world over maintains the lines of personal communication with our soldiers and sailors in time of war. Wherever the British Tommy goes he must have his letters from home; like the lines of communication, which are the life-line of the army, postal communication is the chief support of the courage and spirit of the individual soldier. His folk at home send him new vigour with every letter that tells of the persons, places and things that are nearest and most cherished in his memory.
In these days letter-sending and letter-getting are so common-place that few give any thought to the great organisation by which thousands of millions of postal packets are posted and delivered in this country every year. And now that most of us have friends at the Front, in France, in Belgium, or on the high seas, we are perhaps inclined to take it all just as a matter of course that letters pass and repass much in the ordinary humdrum way. This is plain to the conductors of our postal services when during war time they get numerous complaints from individuals of delay or even non-delivery, or any one of a number of other minor inconveniences which must often be unavoidable in the stirring times of war.
To-day many thousands of letters and postal packets are being sent to and received from the troops of the British Expeditionary Force in France, yet it is a simple fact that but a small percentage of the civilian population in this country knows anything of the existence, far less of the workings, of the Army Postal Service as an organisation separate and distinct from the postal department of the home Government. The Army Postal Service is administered under a Director of Postal Services, who is responsible to the Commander in Chief of the Army, and whose system is established with the co-operation of the Inspector-General of Communications.
The formation of a British Army Post Office Corps is of comparatively recent date. It was first suggested by Colonel du Plat Taylor in the seventies, as a means of using the services of the Post Office Rifle Volunteers in war time, but it was not until the Egyptian campaign in 1882 that the corps was formed.
Prior to this, however, bodies of servants of the Post Office had done duty with the army in organising and maintaining postal communication with the armies in the field and with the links connecting up with the home service. During the Crimean War extensive arrangements were made by the Post Office to maintain postal communication with the forces in Turkey, the Black Sea, and the Baltic. Prior to the war, the British Government did not maintain any postal packets between Mediterranean ports save some steam vessels for the transport of the Indian mails, and some of these were taken up by the military and naval authorities. Letters for Constantinople and the Levant ordinarily went through the French and Austrian administrations and were chargeable at the then high foreign rates of postage. With the assistance of the French Government, letters were sent via Marseilles to Constantinople (or vice-versa) at first at intervals of three times a month, but afterwards six times a month, and during the latter period of the war, twice a week.
But the French mail packets went no further than Constantinople, so the British Postmaster-General sent out an experienced officer, Mr. E. J. Smith, of the London General Post Office, to Turkey as Postmaster of His Majesty's Forces; and three Assistant Postmasters, together with seven Letter Sorters. As the facilities for land transport accorded the Postmaster proved insufficient he was furnished with eighteen horses and mules for the exclusive use of his office. The Postmaster was supplied with the postage stamps of the home country, then (so far as the penny and twopence denominations were concerned) in the early and beautifully engraved design of William Wyon's "Queen's Head." This was the first use of British postage stamps on foreign territory, or indeed anywhere beyond the limits of the British Isles, and stamp collectors take a considerable interest in the English stamps which survive with the various Crimean postmarks specially supplied to the Postmaster of His Majesty's Forces in the East. Stamps used on letters from the forces may be recognised by either the Crown and Stars or Cypher and Stars or the circular dated postmarks (Figs. 1-4). A range of the early penny red stamps, from the imperforate red-brown stamp of 1841 to the Die II. large Crown perforated 14 stamp may be found, as well as the twopence blues of the same period, and the 4d. rose (1857), 6d. violet (1854), and 1s. green (1847) (see Figs. 5-10). There are possibly others not yet known to collectors.
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Figs. 1-4. Crimean Postmarks.
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Figs. 5-10. British stamps found with Crimean postmarks.
The correspondence dealt with by this small staff was considerable, averaging 45,250 letters despatched to and 43,125 received from the seat of war in each month. In one year 543,000 letters were despatched to and 517,500 received from the forces in the Crimea.
The chief officer in charge at the British post offices in Turkey and the Crimea during the war, Mr. E. J. Smith, is specially mentioned in the Postmaster-General's report for 1857 as having discharged his duties in a very creditable manner. In that year his services were offered to and accepted by the Turkish Government with a view to establishing an improved postal service in the Sultan's dominions. Since this date British post offices have been maintained (in common with post offices of other Powers) in various parts of the Turkish dominions, using British stamps with or without a special overprint. These offices were closed in October, 1914, as a result of Turkey's declaration of the "abolition of the Capitulations," just prior to Turkey's open acts of war against the allied forces of Great Britain, France, and Russia in the present war.
Ordinary British stamps used at the British post-offices in the Ottoman Empire may be distinguished by postmarks (Figs. 11-17).
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(Constantinople)
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(Smyrna) ? ? (Beyrout)
Postmarks of British Post Offices in Turkish Empire.
The first three are from Constantinople, the fourth and fifth from Smyrna, and the last two Beyrout. There are also "S" Stamboul, "B01" Alexandria, "B02" Suez, as well as ordinary date stamps of all these places.
The following are illustrations of samples of the stamps which were in use at the British post-offices in Turkey at the time of the abolition of the Capitulations. (Figs. 18, 19).
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Mardi: and A Voyage Thither, Vol. I (of 2) by Herman Melville
Herman Melville was one of the greatest writers during the American Renaissance. Melville's unique style helped produce classics in many different genres. This edition of Omoo: Adventures in the South Seas includes a table of contents.
They don't know I'm a girl. They all look at me and see a boy. A prince. Their kind purchase humans like me for their lustful desires. And, when they stormed into our kingdom to buy my sister, I intervened to protect her. I made them take me too. The plan was to escape with my sister whenever we found a chance. How was I to know our prison would be the most fortified place in their kingdom? I was supposed to be on the sidelines. The one they had no real use for. The one they never meant to buy. But then, the most important person in their savage land-their ruthless beast king-took an interest in the "pretty little prince." How do we survive in this brutal kingdom, where everyone hates our kind and shows us no mercy? And how does someone, with a secret like mine, become a lust slave? . AUTHOR'S NOTE. This is a dark romance-dark, mature content. Highly rated 18+ Expect triggers, expect hardcore. If you're a seasoned reader of this genre, looking for something different, prepared to go in blindly not knowing what to expect at every turn, but eager to know more anyway, then dive in! . From the author of the international bestselling book: "The Alpha King's Hated Slave."
"Love is blind!" Lucinda abandoned her beautiful and comfortable life because of a man. She married him and slaved off for him for three long years. One day, the scales finally fell off her eyes. She realized that all her efforts were in vain. Her husband, Nathaniel still treated her like shit. All he cared about was his lover. "Enough is enough! I quit wasting my years with an ungrateful man!" Lucinda's heart was shattered into many pieces, but she summoned up the courage to ask for a divorce. The news caused a stir online! A filthy rich young woman recently got divorced? She was a good catch! Countless CEOs and handsome young men immediately swarmed to her like bees to honey! Nathaniel couldn't take it anymore. He held a press conference and begged with teary eyes, "I love you, Lucinda. I can't live without you. Please come back to me." Would Lucinda give him a second chance? Read to find out!
P-please, I beg you. Come let's go tell Christian I had no hand in whatever happened, p-please." I clutched the lapel of his jacket desperately. "Let's go. You need to tell my husband you were paid." "Young lady, you're harassing me." His tone was cold and his stare granite. But I could care less. "You harassed me first! You had sex with me without my consent, my husband knows and now I'm pregnant with this child he doesn't want. You ruined my marriage! I-I hate you!" ************************************ Caught by her husband with another man on their matrimonial bed the morning after her birthday, Hailey Codza could not defend herself. As though it's not enough, she gets pregnant. Her enraged husband decides to pay her back for her infidelity by having an affair with his ex-girlfriend - Denise Kellers, the family Hailey never knew she had. Losing her family's wealth and company to her husband and his ex (now girlfriend), she is devastated, homeless and penniless as all her credit cards are blocked by her husband. She sees the man who is responsible for her pregnancy. The man she has no idea how he'd found his way to her matrimonial bed - Jared Johnson. Jared is annoyed when this strange woman disrupts his meeting and accuses him of ruining her life, marriage and impregnating her. It affects his business deals and having no choice, he marries her to calm the public whilst engaged to someone else. But he loathes her and allows his family treats her badly. Hailey who has fallen in love with Jared is broken when she can no longer take the humiliation. She signs the divorce papers and leaves, only to arrive six years later to the country as a self-made, secret billionaire and a mother of twins. Now her two ex-husbands are begging to have her back...
Blinded in a crash, Cary was rejected by every socialite—except Evelina, who married him without hesitation. Three years later, he regained his sight and ended their marriage. "We’ve already lost so many years. I won’t let her waste another one on me." Evelina signed the divorce papers without a word. Everyone mocked her fall—until they discovered that the miracle doctor, jewelry mogul, stock genius, top hacker, and the President's true daughter… were all her. When Cary came crawling back, a ruthless tycoon had him kicked out. "She's my wife now. Get lost."
Melanie married Ashton out of gratitude, but she quickly found herself entangled in a web of relentless challenges. Despite these struggles, she stayed true to her commitment to the marriage. In the hospital room, Ashton indifferently attempted to draw her blood, disregarding her discomfort. This callous act was a harsh revelation for Melanie, awakening her to the grim reality of their relationship. Resolved to prioritize her own welfare, she decided to sever ties. With newfound resolve, Melanie filed for divorce. In the process, she unveiled her concealed identities, leaving everyone in shock. Throughout these turbulent times, Melanie realized that Derek, Ashton’s uncle, had been discreetly protecting her all along.
“Do I want a taste?” his voice deeper than he had ever spoken. His eyes pinned on me like I was the only thing that fascinated him. “What do I do?” I thought to myself as he moved closer to me, I wanted to run away, to resist him but I was pinned to the wall by him. “Gosh I hate this man so much” his scent, his body, his beautiful green eyes, he was driving me crazy. I know this is wrong, he has a fiancee and all but that makes me want him even more. “Get on the bed and spread your legs” his cold voice woke me up and then I remembered I was just a maid to him. “Yes master”.