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 thrice a week« So late as 1829, and perhaps later, voyages to the undermentioned places and home again—'For ever running an enchanted round'—were estimated to take—

Here are a few records and comparisons of the time taken by mail steamers:

It may surprise some readers to be reminded that in 1889 for the first time letters from New York were delivered in London within a week of despatch.

As early as 1816 two steamships, about 65 feet long, and of 20 h.p., were constructed for the Dublin-Holyhead line. In 1818 the Rising Sun, a steamship built by Lord Cochrane, crossed the Atlantic. In 1819 the Savannah steamship reached this country from New York in twenty-five days. It was in 1821 that the Post-Office first arranged for the conveyance of the mails by steamship. As with sailing packets, the first steam-packets were built by the Government, six