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[[pre-printed form on yellow paper]]
CONDITIONS ON WHICH THIS MESSAGE IS ACCEPTED.
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It is received for transmission subject to all the
Rules of the INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH CONVENTION.
The accuracy of the message is not guaranteed, and the
Telegraph Department accepts no responsibility in
regard to it.
ANY UNDERCHARGE MADE IN ERROR IS RECOVERABLE FROM
SENDER.
REFUND of the whole cost will be given should the telegram suffer serious delay in transit or fail to reach its destination through the fault of the Telegraph Services, but the Sender accepts the consequences of insufficiency of address. Refund will also be given (if the message is a collated one) if, in consequence of mutilation it should be unable to fulfil its object. Claims to refund must be made by the Sender to the CHECK OFFICE, GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT CALCUTTA, within 6 months of the date of the message, and be supported in case of non-delivery by a certificate to that effect from the Terminal Station or Addressee, and in case of mutilation by the copy actually delivered by the Addressee, and by a certificate from him that in consequence of mutilation the telegram was unable to fulfil its object.
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Except in the case of messages for Great Britain or for America, &c., through Great Britain, where a special Tariff is in force, the minimum charge is for a message of 20 words. This charge is increased one half for every 10 words, or fraction of 10 words, above 20.
For a message to the United Kingdom or America through it the minimum charge is for 10 words. Each additional word is charged separately. The station FROM as also the date and time tendered for transmission are Telegraphed free.
The Sender of a message can PREPAY A REPLY by adding the words "reply paid" (which are counted and charged for) and depositing the cost of the reply, which is limited to 3 times the cost of the original message. The Delivering Station pays the amount to the addressee in Money, Stamps or a Cheque on the Office leaving it to him to send the reply at any time, by any route and to any address he pleases. The reply, if sent, is treated in every respect as a fresh message. If the original message cannot be delivered, or the addressee refuse the amount deposited, the Sender is informed of the fact by a telegram, which takes the place of the Reply.
Messages can be Collated. The Sender writes the word collationnée (which is charged for) as the first word of the message. The message is then repeated back from Station to Station to ensure correctness. The charge for collating is equal to half the charge for the message.
The Sender can prepay the charge for an Advice of Delivery of his message. If the message is delivered the exact time at which it reaches the Addressee is given. If the message canno be delivered the cause of non-delivery is stated. The cost of this message is that for a message of a single rate.
The Sender can prescribe the ROUTE he wishes his telegram to follow: no charge is made for this.
ALL ENQUIRIES respecting this message should be made to the CHECK OFFICE, GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPH DEPARTMENT, CALCUTTA within six months' of its date. No such enquiry can attended to without the production of this Receipt.
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[[circled number 13 in pencil at right side of page]]
MESSAGE,―― continued.
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[[handwritten message]]
Dear Mr. Hecker,
My Christmas is being charmingly spent in this wonderful old buried city. Once larger than London - now containing less than one dozen white people - all government officials and less than two thousand natives. I am the only visitor in The Rest House and ^[[probably]] the only one in the place -- or city, I suppose it should be called. Everything seems beautiful. The weather is like a perfect American July day. Thousands of birds and butterflies flitting about. Magnificent trees, shrubs and vines with superb foliage. Flowers of greater beauty than I dreamed of - and a fragrance in the air finer than words can describe. Over all the sky bluer than that of Italy. And for miles around ruins of wonderful proportions and temples famous to all followers of Buddha. Early this morning I visited [[underlined]] The Sacred Bo Tree. [[/underlined]] After my return to the Rest House a large number of the natives from children two years old to men nearly one hundred, all in various stages of nakedness, many very beautiful and intelligent - came bringing me flowers and danced and sang and played upon their weird musical instruments. For they knew is was my Christmas Day and they delighted to honour it. And I must say that pleasanter more polite and apparently more genuine Christmas expressions I have never heard uttered - and in perfect English too.
But it needed no demonstrations of any sort to remind me of those at home and I hope my affection and interest will not be measured by the few and meagre words of my cablegram. It will probably reach you late as it cannot be sent until four o'clock this afternoon, because of holiday observance. But I trust it will be in your hands before the sun has set upon your fifteenth year [[strikethrough]] [[old?]] [[/strikethrough]] of Christmas kindness in Detroit. My full team ^[[and guide]] are at the door and now I must be off to the jungle where I am to see some of the natives who live therein. Faithfully, CLF
[[written up along left margin and top of paper]] Stationery is mighty scarce in this country and I carry next to no luggage with me. The suit of clothes I have on were made by a native and cost me a little over two (2) dollars our money. [[/left margin note]]
[[/handwritten message]]
[[preprinted with bracket pointing to signed initials]] SENDER'S SIGNATURE
AND ADDRESS. (NOT SIGNALLED.)
[[/preprinted]]
[[initials with message]] CLF
Anuradhapura (about [[strikethrough]] 190 [[/strikethrough]] 180 miles from Colombo)
December 25, 1894
