Many a match has probably been due to stamp collecting. Not long ago
we were told of a young lady who wrote to an official in a distant
colony for a few of the current stamps issued from his office. The
stamps were forwarded and a correspondence ensued. There was
eventually an exchange of photographs, and finally the official
applied for leave, returned home, and married his stamp collecting
correspondent.

Truly the scope of the stamp collector for pleasure, for profit, and
for romance is as wide as the most imaginative could desire.




[Illustration:]

X.

Philatelic Societies and their Work.


Most of the great cities of Europe, the British Colonies, and the
United States have their Philatelic Societies. They are associations
of stamp collectors for the study of postage stamps, their history,
engraving, and printing; the detection and prevention of forgeries and
frauds; the preparation and publication of papers and works bearing
upon postal issues; the display and exhibition of stamps, and the
exchange of duplicates.

The premier society is the Philatelic Society of London, which was