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HER MAJESTY'S MAILS:
An Historical and Descriptive Account of the British Post-Office.
Together with an Appendix.
by
WILLIAM LEWINS.
"OUR ENGLISH POST-OFFICE IS A SPLENDID TRIUMPH
OF CIVILIZATION."--_Lord Macaulay._
London:
Sampson Low, Son, and Marston,
14, Ludgate Hill.
1864.
London:
R. Clay, Son, and Taylor, Printers,
Bread Street Hill.
PREFACE.
This volume is the first of a contemplated series designed to furnish
some account of the history and ordinary working of the revenue
departments of the country--to do for the great _Governmental_
industries what Mr. Smiles has so ably done (to compare his great things
with our small) for the profession of civil engineering and several
_national_ industries. Few attempts have ever been made to trace the
rise and progress of the invaluable institution of the Post-Office. We
have more than once seen the question asked in _Notes and Queries_--that
_sine quâ non_ of the curious and the learned--where a continuous
account might be found of English postal history. In each case, the
inquirer has been referred to a short summary of the history of the
Post-Office, prefixed to the Postmaster-General's _First Report_. Since
that, the Messrs. Black, in the eighth edition of the _Encyclopædia
Britannica_, have supplied an excellent and more extended notice. Still
more recently, however, in an admirable paper on the Post-Office in
_Fraser's Magazine_, Mr. Matthew D. Hill has expressed his astonishment
that so little study has been given to the subject--that it "has
attracted the attention of so small a number of students, and of each,
as it would appear, for so short a time." "I have not been able to
find," adds Mr. Hill, "that even Germany has produced a single work
which affects to furnish more than a sketch or outline of postal
history." The first part of the following pages is offered as a
_contribution_ to the study of the subject, in the hope that it will be
allowed to fill the vacant place, at any rate, until the work is done
more worthily. With regard to that most interesting episode in the
history of the Post-Office which resulted in the penny-post reform, the
materials for our work--scanty though they undoubtedly are in the
earlier periods--are here sufficiently abundant. The scope, however,
of the present undertaking would not allow of much more than a
proportionate amount of space being devoted to that epoch. Besides, the
history of that eventful struggle can be properly told but by one hand,
and that hand, if spared, intends, we believe, to tell his own story.
Mr. Torrens MacCullagh, in his _Life of Sir James Graham_, has thrown
much new light on the letter-opening transactions of 1844, and we have
been led, on inquiry, to concur in many of his views on the subject.
The greater portion of the second division of this volume, as well as a
portion of the first part, appeared originally in the pages of several
popular serial publications--principally _Chambers's Journal_ and Mr.
Chambers's _Book of Days_; the whole, however, has been thoroughly
revised, where it has not been re-written, and otherwise adapted to the
purposes of the present work. We are indebted to Mr. Robert Chambers,
LL.D., not only for permitting the republication of these papers in this
form, but also for kindly indicating to us sources of information from
the rich storehouse of his experience, which we have found very useful.
On collateral subjects, such as roads and conveyances, besides having,
in common with other readers, the benefit of Mr. Smiles's valuable
researches in his _Lives of the Engineers_, we are personally indebted
to him for kindly advice. We have only to add that, while in no sense an
authorized publication, personal acquaintance has been brought to bear
on the treatment of different parts of it, and that we have received, in
describing the various branches of the Post-Office, much valuable
information from Mr. J. Bowker and several gentlemen connected with the
London Establishment. It is hoped that the information, now for
the first time brought together, may prove interesting to many
letter-writers who are ignorant, though not willingly so, of the
channels through which their correspondence flows. If our readers think
that the Wise Man was right when he likened the receipt of pleasant
intelligence from a far country to cold water given to a thirsty soul,
surely they will also admit that the _agency_ employed to compass this
good service, which has made its influence felt in every social circle,
and which has brought manifold blessings in its train, deserves some
passing thought and attention.
The Appendix is designed to afford a source of general reference on many
important matters relating to the Post-Office, some parts of it having
been carefully collated from Parliamentary documents not easily
accessible to the public.
_April 16, 1864._
CONTENTS.
PART I.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE POST-OFFICE.
CHAPTER I.
PAGE
INTRODUCTORY 1
CHAPTER II.
THE RISE OF THE GENERAL POST-OFFICE 15
CHAPTER III.
ON OLD ROADS AND SLOW COACHES 37
CHAPTER IV.
THE SETTLEMENT OF THE POST-OFFICE 47
CHAPTER V.
PALMER AND THE MAIL-COACH ERA 73
CHAPTER VI.
THE TRANSITION PERIOD AT THE POST-OFFICE 94
CHAPTER VII.
SIR ROWLAND HILL AND PENNY POSTAGE 108
CHAPTER VIII.
EARLY RESULTS OF THE PENNY-POSTAGE SCHEME 132
CHAPTER IX.
THE POST-OFFICE AND LETTER-OPENING 150
CHAPTER X.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE POST-OFFICE 165
PART II.
DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE POST-OFFICE.
PREFATORY 186
CHAPTER I.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE POST-OFFICE 187
CHAPTER II.
ON THE CIRCULATION OF LETTERS 199
CHAPTER III.
THE MAIL-PACKET SERVICE 245
CHAPTER IV.
ON POSTAGE-STAMPS 255
CHAPTER V.
POST-OFFICE SAVINGS' BANKS 268
CHAPTER VI.
BEING MISCELLANEOUS AND SUGGESTIVE 279
CHAPTER VII.
CONCERNING SOME OF THE POPULAR MISCONCEPTIONS
AND MISREPRESENTATIONS TO WHICH THE POST-OFFICE
IS LIABLE 291
APPENDIX (A).
CHIEF OFFICERS OF THE POST-OFFICE 308
APPENDIX (B).
ABSTRACT OF THE PRINCIPAL REGULATIONS 309
APPENDIX (C).
INFORMATION RELATIVE TO THE APPOINTMENTS IN
THE POST-OFFICE SERVICE 330
APPENDIX (D).
APPOINTMENTS IN THE CHIEF OFFICE IN LONDON 333
PRINCIPAL APPOINTMENTS IN THE CHIEF OFFICES OF
DUBLIN AND EDINBURGH 336
APPOINTMENTS, WITH SALARIES, OF THE FIVE PRINCIPAL
PROVINCIAL ESTABLISHMENTS IN ENGLAND
AND SCOTLAND 337
INFORMATION RESPECTING OTHER PRINCIPAL PROVINCIAL
POST-OFFICES 340
APPENDIX (E).
SALE OF POSTAGE-STAMPS 341
APPENDIX (F).
CONVEYANCE OF MAILS BY RAILWAY 342
APPENDIX (G).
MANUFACTURE OF POSTAGE-LABELS AND ENVELOPES 344
APPENDIX (H).
RESULTS OF POSTAL REFORM 345
PART I.
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE POST-OFFICE.
HER MAJESTY'S MAILS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Circular letters, and a kind of post for conveying them, are frequently
mentioned both in sacred and profane history. Queen Jezebel is
remarkable as being the first letter-writer on record, though it is not
surprising to find that she used her pen for purposes of deception.
According to the sacred chronicler, she "wrote letters in Ahab's name,
and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and
to the nobles in the city." From the Book of Esther we learn that
Ahasuerus, king of Persia, being displeased at the disobedience of his
wife, Vashti, sent letters into every province of his vast empire,
informing his subjects that it was his imperial will that "every man
should bear rule in his own house." The first recorded _riding post_ was
established in the Persian empire by Cyrus, who, when engaged in his
Scythian expedition, in order to have news brought expeditiously,
"caused it to be tried how far a horse could go in a day without
baiting, and, at that distance, appointed stages and men whose business
it was to have horses always in readiness."[1] Another authority[2]
tells us that there were one hundred and eleven postal stages, a day's
journey distant from one another, between Susa and the Ægean Sea, and
that at each stage a large and beautiful structure was erected, with
every convenience for the purpose designed.
It is certainly remarkable that neither in this nor in any other
recorded instance have the posts in ancient times developed into one for
the conveyance of private correspondence. It is certain that the Greeks
and Romans, even when at the height of their civilization, had no
regular public post. There are some traces of _statores_ and _stationes_
under the Roman Republic; and Augustus, we find, instituted posts on the
principal trunk-roads, for the use of the Imperial Government. He also
established a class of mounted messengers, called _tabellarii_, who went
in charge of the despatches. That these messengers should have been
strictly forbidden to convey letters for private persons, or that no
provision was subsequently made for that purpose, is the more wonderful,
when we consider the high character of the nations themselves, and the
fact, often pointed out, that the progress of civilization has always
been intimately and essentially connected with, and dependent upon,
facilities for intercommunication--keeping pace, in fact, with the means
which nations possessed for the interchange of person and property, and
with them of thought and knowledge. That those nations to which we are
so greatly indebted for so much that exalts the intellect and adorns
life, should not have left us an example of such a useful and
(considering the vast extent of their respective territories), we should
have thought, indispensable institution as that of a public letter-post,
is marvellous.
Marco Polo, the famous Venetian, who travelled in China in the
fourteenth century,[3] describes the government post as similar to that
in use in Persia under Cyrus. The posts had existed in China from the
earliest times. Every twenty-five miles there were posts, called
_jambs_, where the imperial envoy was received. There were frequently
as many as three or four hundred horses in waiting at one of these
places. Polo further states that there were ten thousand stations of
this kind in China, some of them affording sumptuous accommodation to
travellers. Two hundred thousand horses are said to have been engaged in
the service. The fact affords a curious commentary on the progress of
civilization in the Celestial Empire, that, though this gigantic and
elaborate establishment has been in existence so long and up to the
present century, it is only within the last few years that provision has
been made in China for public letter-posts.
The earliest date in modern history at which any postal service is
mentioned, is the year 807, when an organization was planned by the
Emperor Charlemagne. The service, however, did not survive him. The
first regular European letter-post was established in the Hanse Towns in
the early part of the thirteenth century. This federation of republics
required constant communication with each other; for, being largely
engaged in similar commercial pursuits, it became indispensable to their
existence that some system of letter-conveyance should be originated.
The next establishment was a line of letter-posts connecting Austria
with Lombardy, in the reign of the Emperor Maximilian, said to have been
organized by the princes of the house of Thurn and Taxis. The
representatives of the same house established another line of posts from
Vienna to Brussels, thus further connecting the most distant parts of
the vast dominions of the Spanish Emperor, Charles V. It may be
mentioned here, that the Counts of Thurn and Taxis have, in virtue of
their original establishment, which they controlled from the first,
always held peculiar rights and privileges in relation to the postal
systems of Germany; and up to this day the posts of the house of Thurn
and Taxis are entirely distinct from the existing Crown establishments,
and, in fact, are maintained in rivalry to those of some of the German
states. In France, in the fifteenth century, Louis XI. revived the
system of Charlemagne, organizing a body of 230 couriers for purposes
of state.
We may gather from the existing materials, scanty though they be,
something like a continuous account of the early history of the English
post-office, tracing, very clearly, its progress from the fifteenth
century to its present position.
While the _general post_ dates from the Stuarts, the establishment of a
regular _riding post_ in England owes its origin to Edward IV. The
English post seems from the first to have been fully commensurate with
the demands for its service, its growth depending on the gradual advance
which the country made in other measures of social progress. Four or
five centuries ago, few private persons could either read or write. On
the other hand, the business of the State demanded correspondence. The
king had his barons to summon, or his sheriffs to instruct, and letters
of writ were issued accordingly, a few Government messengers supplying
all the wants of the time. Now and then the nobles would require to
address each other, and sometimes to correspond with their dependents,
but, as a general rule, neither the serf nor his master had the power,
even if they had the will, to engage much in writing. As time wore on,
and we come nearer the age of the Tudors, the desire for learning
spread, though still the few who engaged in literary or scientific
pursuits were either attached to the Court or to the monastic
establishments. Even when the Tudor dynasty came in, trade with foreign
countries, and remote districts in our own country, was almost equally
unknown. Each district dwelt alone, supplied its own wants, and evinced
very little desire for any closer communication.
In the earliest times in England, and prior to the first regular horse
posts, both public and private letters were sent by private messengers,
travelling when required. In the reign of Henry I. messengers were first
permanently employed by the king. So early as the reign of King John the
payments to _Nuncii_--as these messengers were now called--for the
conveyance of Government despatches, are to be found entered in the
_Close_ and _Misæ Rolls_, "and the entries of these payments may be
traced in an almost unbroken series through the records of many
subsequent reigns." Nuncii were also attached to the establishments of
the principal barons of the time, and communications passed between them
by means of those functionaries. In the reign of Henry III., the son and
successor of King John, these messengers began to wear the royal livery.
At first it was necessary for them to keep horses of their own, or use
those belonging to the royal or baronial mansion. In the reign of Edward
I. we find that fixed stations or _posts_ were established, at which
places horses were kept for hire, the _Nuncii_ ceasing to provide horses
of their own, or borrowing from private individuals. Several private
letters are in existence, dating as far back as the reign of Edward II.,
which bear the appearance of having been carried by the _Nuncii_ of that
period, with "Haste, post, haste!" written on the backs of them.
With the machinery thus ready to his hand, the improvements contrived by
Edward IV. were easily accomplished. In 1481 this monarch was engaged in
war with Scotland, when, in order to facilitate the transmission of news
from the English capital, he ordered a continuous system of posts,
consisting of _relays_ of horses and messengers every twenty miles. By
this arrangement, despatches were conveyed to him at the English camp
with marvellous expedition, his couriers riding at an average rate of
seventy miles a day. When peace was restored, the system of relays was
allowed to fall into disuse, only to be revived in cases of urgency.
Little improvement in communication could be expected under such a
course of procedure, and little was effected. Henry VIII. was the first
monarch who endeavoured to keep the posts in a state of efficiency, and
improve their organization, in peace as well as in war; though still it
is noticeable that the post stages are kept up purely and exclusively as
a convenience to the Government for the conveyance of its despatches.
Henry VIII. instituted the office of "Master of the Postes,"[4] with
entire control of the department. During the king's lifetime the office
was filled by one Brian Tuke, afterwards Sir Brian. We gain some insight
into the duties of the office, and also into the manner in which the
work is done, from the following letter (found in the voluminous
correspondence of Thomas Cromwell) from the "Master of the Postes," no
doubt in exculpation of himself and his arrangements, which seem to have
been in some way called in question by the Lord Privy Seal. "The Kinge's
Grace hath no moo ordinary postes, ne of many days hathe had, but
betwene London and Calais. For, sir, ye knowe well, that, except the
hackney horses betwene Gravesende and Dovour, there is no suche usual
conveyance in post for men in this realme as in the accustomed places of
France and other _parties_; _ne men can keepe horses in redynes without
som way to bere the charges_; but when placardes be sent for such cause,
(viz. to order the immediate forwarding of some state packet,) the
constables many tymes be fayne to take horses oute of plowes and cartes,
_wherein can be no extreme diligence_." The king's worthy secretary thus
charges the postmaster with remissness, and the mails with tardiness,
when the facts, as gathered from the above letter, show that the
Government had not gone to the trouble and expense of providing proper
auxiliaries, as in France; _ergo_, they could not expect the same
regularity and despatch. Master Tuke then defends the character of his
men. "As to the postes betwene London and the Courte, there be now but
2; whereof the _on_ is a good robust felowe, and wont to be diligent,
evil intreated meny times, he and other postes, by the herbigeours, for
lack of horse rome or horse mete, _withoute which diligence cannot be_.
The other hathe been a most payneful felowe in nyght and daye, that I
have knowen amongst the messengers. If he nowe _slak_ he shalbe changed
as reason is."
During the insurrection in the Northern Counties in the reign of Henry
VIII., the rebel leaders, in order to insure a rapid transmission of
orders, established regular posts from Hull to York, York to Durham, and
Durham to Newcastle.[5]
The council of Edward VI. finding that a great many irregularities
existed in the hire of post-horses, had an Act passed (2 & 3 Edward VI.
c. 3) fixing the charge at a penny per mile for all horses so impressed.
Up to the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, no further improvements
seem to have been made, although her council took steps to make the
existing service as efficient as possible, by reforming some abuses
which had crept into it during Queen Mary's reign. Before Elizabeth's
death, the expenses of the post were reduced to rather less than
5,000_l._ per annum. Before the reduction, the sum charged for conveying
Her Majesty's despatches from stage to stage was enormous. Up to the
thirty-first year of her reign, a rate of 20_d._ a letter was levied by
the proprietors of the post-horses, for _every post travelled over_. The
council resolved to pay the proprietors 3_s._ a day for the service,
irrespective of the distance travelled. The payment was reduced to 2_s._
and ultimately to 18_d._ a day. Much information respecting the
service--the different stages, the routes taken at this early period,
&c. &c. has been found in old records of the "Master of the Postes,"
exhumed some twenty years ago from the vaults of Somerset House. This
functionary, it would appear, paid all current expenses appertaining to
his department, "the wages and entertainment of the ordinary posts," and
he was reimbursed in full under the grant "for conveyance of Her
Highness's letters and her Council's." The information respecting the
routes taken is especially interesting, because it serves to show
that even at this early period arrangements were made with great
circumspection, and that some of these early routes existed, with only
trifling modifications, down to the present century, and to the time of
railroads. The route from London to Berwick is shown by the lists of
posts (or stages) laid down between the two places in the fifteenth year
of Queen Elizabeth's reign. They run as follows:--1. London; 2. Waltham;
3. Ware; 4. Royston; 5. Caxton; 6. Huntingdon; 7. Stilton; 8. Stamford;
9. Grantham; 10. Newark; 11. Tookesford (Tuxford); 12. Foroby (Ferriby);
13. Doncaster; 14. Ferry Bridge; 15. Wetherby; 16. Bouroughbridge; 17.
Northallerton; 18. Derneton (Darlington); 19. Durham; 20. Newcastle; 21.
Morpeth; 22. Hexham; 23. Hawtwistle; 24. Carlisle; 25. Alnwick; 26.
Belford; 27. Berwick. For three centuries, therefore, the High North
Road took in all these posts with the exception of Tuxford. A
considerable diversion, it will be noticed, was made at Morpeth towards
the west, in order to take in the then important towns of Hexham and
Carlisle; but it is more probable that the direct post-road continued
north through Alnwick to Berwick, and that the west road was only a kind
of cross-post. There were no less than three post routes to Ireland in
this reign, and all of them were used more or less. The first and most
important, perhaps, left London and took the following towns in its way;
the distance between each town constituting a "stage;" viz. Dunstable,
Dayntry (Daventry), Collsill (Coleshill), Stone, Chester and Liverpool,
from which latter place a packet sailed. The remaining two mails took
slightly different routes to _Holyhead_, whence also a packet sailed for
Ireland. We find there were also _two_ posts between London and Bristol
and the west of England; the first going by way of Maidenhead, Newbury,
Marlborough and Chippenham; the other, by Hounslow, Maidenhead, Reading,
Marlborough, Maxfield to Bristol. To Dover there were also _two_ posts;
the one passing through Dartford, Gravesend, Rochester, Sittingbourne,
Canterbury, Margate and Sandwich; the other passing through Canterbury
direct, without calling at the two last-named places. The posts above
enumerated were called the "ordinary" posts, and may be supposed to have
been the permanent arrangements for the transmission of the Government
despatches. When these posts did not avail--and it must be understood
that they were never allowed to make a _détour_ into the cross-roads of
the country--"extraordinary posts" were established. Generally speaking,
these extra posts were put on for any service which required the
greatest possible haste. Here is an extract from the records of which we
have spoken, on this point. "Thomas Miller, gent. sent in haste by
special commandment of Sir Francis Walsingham, throughout all the postes
of Kent to warn and to order, both with the posts for an augmentation of
the ordinary number of horses for the packet, and with the countries
near them for a supply of twenty or thirty horses a-piece for the
'throughe posts,' during the service against the Spanish navy by sea,
and the continuance of the army by land." Again, in 31st Elizabeth,
special or "extraordinary" posts were laid between London and Rye, upon
unwelcome news arriving from France, "and for the more speedy
advertisement of the same." "Thomas Miller, gent. sent at Easter, 1597,
to lay the posts and _likest_ landing places either in Kent or Sussex,
upon intelligence given of some practices intended against the Queen's
person." Mr. Miller seems to have judged Rye to be the "likest landing
place" for the purpose, and, returning, "received seven pound for his
services." Other extraordinary posts were often laid down between
Hampton Court and Southampton and Portsmouth, for the "more speedy
advertisement" of occurrences from the ports of Normandy and Bretaigne.
In the early part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, disputes were frequent
with the foreign merchants resident in London with regard to the foreign
post, which, up to this reign they had been allowed to manage among
themselves. In 1558, the Queen's Council of State issued a proclamation
"for the redresse of disorders in postes which conveye and bring to and
out of the parts beyond the seas, pacquets of letters." It would seem
that soon after the arrival of the Flemings in this country, in the
previous century, they established a post-office of their own, between
London and the Continent, appointing one of themselves as postmaster, by
the sufferance and favour of the reigning sovereign. "Afterwards," says
Stowe,[6] "by long custom, they pretended a right to appoint a master of
the _Strangers' Post_, and that they were in possession of from the year
1514." This continued till 1558, in which year the foreign merchants
fell out among themselves over the question of appointing a postmaster.
The Flemings, aided by the Spanish ambassador, chose one Raphael Vanden
Putte; the Italians, by this time a considerable body of foreigners,
chose one of their number for the vacant place. Not being able to agree,
the disputants referred their case to the English Council, when, to the
surprise of the foreigners, their right to appoint at all was publicly
disputed. The English merchants took up the matter very warmly, and
addressed the Privy Council in two or three petitions. They took the
opportunity to complain that the authorities of the foreign post had
frequently acted unfairly to them, in keeping back their continental
letters, and so giving the foreigners the advantage of the markets. In
one of the petitions, they urged, "that it is one of the chief points of
the prerogative belonging to all princes, to place within their
dominions such officers as were most trusty of their own subjects; that
the postmaster's place was one of great trust and credit in every realm,
and therefore should be committed to the charge of the natural subjects
and not strangers, especially in such places as had daily passages into
foreign realms, and where was concourse of strangers." Further, "The
strangers were known to have been the occasion of many injuries in the
staying and keeping back of letters, and, in the meantime, an
extraordinary would be despatched to prevent the markets and _purpose_."
The English merchants urged that it would be doing the foreigners no
injustice to appoint an English postmaster; no new exactions need be
imposed upon them, "and such men might be placed in the office as could
talk with them in their own language, and that should make as good
promise, and as faithfully perform the same in all equity and upright
dealings, as any stranger had done." The result was, that it was finally
settled that the "Master of the Postes" should have the charge of both
the English and foreign offices, and that the title of this functionary
should be changed to "Chief Postmaster." Thomas Randolph was the first
"Chief Postmaster" of England.
Under the Tudor dynasty, marvellous strides were taken in the social
progress of the country. The habits of a great nation can, of course,
only change slowly; but, notwithstanding, the England of the
Plantagenets was a different country to the England which Elizabeth left
in 1603. The development of trade, which really commenced with the
Tudors, gave the first great impulse to a new social era. People began
to feel more interest in each other, and as this became manifest, the
demand for interchange of thought and news became more and more urgent.
In the reign of Henry VIII. the English people began a considerable
trade with Flanders in wool. A commercial treaty subsequently gave free
ingress and egress to the ships of both nations. The change that this
new trade wrought was immediate and striking. English rural districts
which had before been self-supporting--growing their own corn and
feeding their own cattle--now turned their corn-land into pasture-land,
and sought grain among their neighbours. The dissolution of the
monasteries under the same monarch had the effect, among other results,
of scattering broadcast over the country those who had previously lived
together and enjoyed almost a monopoly of learning. The Reformation
civilized as well as christianized the people. Other causes were at work
which operated in opening out the country, and encouraging habits of
locomotion and the spread of intelligence generally. Amongst many such,
were changes, for instance, in the routine of law procedure, introduced
by Henry. Up to his time, courts of arbitration had sat from time
immemorial within the different baronies of England, where disputes,
especially those between landlord and tenant, were cheaply and equitably
adjusted. Now, such cases were ordered to be taken to London, and
country people found themselves compelled to take journeys to London and
sue or be sued at the new courts of Westminster.[7]
We could not well exaggerate the difficulties which encompassed
_travellers_ at this early period. As yet there were but one or two main
roads. Even in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, and certainly in all
the remote parts of the country, the roads were not unlike broad
ditches, much waterworn and strewn with loose stones. Travellers had no
choice but to ride on horseback or walk. Everybody who could afford it
rode. The sovereign and all gentlefolk rode. Judges rode the circuit in
jackboots. Ladies rode on pillions fixed on the horse, and generally
behind some relative or serving-man. In this way Queen Elizabeth, when
she rode into the city, placed herself behind her Lord Chancellor. The
wagon was an invention of the period. It was a rude contrivance;
nothing, in fact, but a cart without springs, the body of it resting
solidly upon the axles. The first conveyance of this sort was
constructed for the Queen's own use, and in it she journeyed to open
Parliament.[8] Elizabeth rode in it but on this one occasion, and has
left behind her a curious and most graphic account of her sufferings
during the journey, in a letter, written in the old French of that
period, to the French ambassador at her court, who seems to have
suggested the improvement to her. The wagon, which had been originally
contrived for ladies, now that the Queen discarded it, was not brought
into great use during her reign. It seems to have found its way into the
provinces, however, the gentry of that time being delighted with it. "On
a certaine day in 1583," according to Mr. Smiles, "that valyant knyght,
Sir Harry Sydney, entered Shrewsbury in his wagon, with his trompeter
blowynge, verey joyfull to behold and see." Under such circumstances,
it cannot be wondered at that general intelligence travelled slowly.
Among the common people, few ever saw a letter. Pilgrims, as they
travelled between the monasteries of the period, or who, after their
dissolution, visited their shrines, dispensed news to the poor, and
would occasionally carry letters for the rich.[9] Public and private
couriers riding post were sometimes surrounded, at the villages or towns
on their _route_, by crowds of people desirous of obtaining some
information of the world's doings. At times, they were not suffered to
pass without furnishing some kind of information. The letters of the
period, many of which survive, show that great care was taken to protect
them from the curiosity of the bearer; and precautionary measures were
resorted to to prevent delay. They were usually most carefully folded,
and fastened at the end by a sort of paper strap, upon which the seal
was affixed, whilst under the seal a piece of string or silk thread, or
even a straw, was frequently placed, running round the letter. The
following letter, still extant, will serve to give an insight into the
way letters were dealt with at this period, and the speed at which they
were forwarded.--(Vide _Postmaster-General's 2nd Report_, p. 38.)
ARCHBISHOP PARKER _to_ SIR W. CECIL.
SIR,
According to the Queen's Majesty's pleasure, and your advertisement,
you shall receive a form of prayer, which, after you have perused
and judged of it, shall be put in print and published immediately,
&c. &c.
From my house at Croyden, this 22d July, 1566, at four of the clock,
afternoon.
Your honour's alway,
MATTHEW CANT.
This letter is thus endorsed by successive postmasters, according to the
existing custom.
Received at Waltham Cross the 23d of July, at nine at night.
Received at Ware the 23d of July at 12 at night.
Received at Croxton the 24th of July, between 7 and 8 of the morning.
So that his Grace's letter, which would appear to have been so important
as that one or more messengers were required to travel night and day in
order to deliver it at the earliest possible moment, took 40 hours to
travel 63 miles.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Xenophon.
[2] Herodotus.
[3] Travels of Marco Polo, pp. 139, 140.
[4] Camden's Annals.
[5] Froude's History, Vol. III. p. 185.
[6] Surveye of London, Vol. II.
[7] Froude's History, Vol. III. p. 94.
[8] Smiles's Lives of the Engineers, Vol. I.
[9] Historian of Craven, speaking of the close of the sixteenth century.