Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
21
MATTH.
CANT.
"To
the
Rt.
Honble.
Sir
W.
CECIL."
Endorsed
by
successive
postmasters:--
"Received
at
Waltham
Cross,
the
23d
of
July,
about
9
at
night."
"Received
at
Ware,
the
23d
July,
at
12
o'clock
at
night."
"Received
at
Croxton,
the
24th
of
July,
between
7
and
8
of
the
clock
in
the
morning."
"So
that
his
Grace's
letter,
leaving
Croydon
at
4
in
the
afternoon
of
July
22d,
reached
Waltham
Cross,
a
distance
of
nearly
26
miles,
by
9
at
night
of
the
23d,
whence,
in
3
hours,
it
seems
to
have
advanced
8
miles
to
Ware;
and
within
8
hours
more
to
have
reached
Croxton,
a
further
distance
of
29
miles,
having
taken
nearly
40
hours
to
travel
about
63
miles."
In
1635
a
public
post
between
London
and
Edinburgh
was
established,
the
journey
being
limited
to
three
days.
This
mail
set
out
as
a
rule
but
twice
a-week,
and
sometimes
only
once
a-week.
An
express
messenger
conveying
news
of
the
death
of
Charles
II.,
who
died
on
the
6th
February
1685,
was
received
in
Edinburgh
at
one
o'clock
on
the
morning
of
the
10th
February;
and
it
may
also
be
mentioned
here--though
the
matter
hardly
reflects
upon
the
speed
of
postboys,
who
travel
by
land
and
not
by
water--that
in
1688
it
required
three
months
to
convey
the
tidings
of
the
abdication
of
James
II.
of
England
and
VII.
of
Scotland
to
the
Orkney
Islands.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
