Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/213



E have it on the authority of Mr E. V. Lucas that the first letter known to history is that sent by King David, conveying his request that Uriah the Hittite might be set in the forefront of the battle. It is a far cry from Judea to Mount Pleasant, and it would need a more ingenious pen than mine to trace the evolution of the modern post office from its Hebraic origin. However, I give an interesting extract from "Stuart Life and Manners" by P. F. W. Ryan:

"In England the first post office was established in 1635. It was the official recognition of a system which had been growing up for generations, a system in which the common carrier was the first, the most primitive link, a system in which he was long to continue an indispensable auxiliary. A horse-post and foot-post were now, however, organized with the object of providing regular and speedy means of communication between all quarters of the kingdom. 171