Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1872-11-08
LRTTEhE IJ'gsETI.vG .f.yD LRT-
TER C.ERRII.rCi ~ OLDE.r
TE.HRS.

In these days of threo-cent lightning
postage, when for trfle one can unbosom
himself TO a friend in a few hours time,
thousands Of miles away, we are not apt to
to think OF tho difficulties and vicisstudes
attending epislolary postage only few
years ago. Many of us can remember when
II cost moro to dispatch letter than 1t now
does to send a telegram. A writer in the
british Quarterly ReUie,o has collected
mass Of entertaining facts on the subject,
some Of which we reproduce.
The earliest letter of which we have any
record is that written by David to Joab,
directing him to place Urlah In the front of
the battle. There are several classical stor-
los that bear likeness TO this, of persons
who carried letters in which their own exc
cuiion was desired thus, Homer tells the
story Of Bellerophon, who himself bore the
sealed tablets that demanded his death. In
later jewish history we learn from the BIZ
~, th,d Queen Jezebel wrote letters in
Ahab's name, and sealed them with his
seal. and sent them to the elders and no.
bles. Cicero was one Of the earliest to
bring the art 10 perfection, and his letters
exhibit most of the graces of which it is
capable. Seneca and the younger Plny
also were among the masters in the art.
When we consider the inconvenient and
perishable medium that the Romans had
TO content themselves with, we cannot but
feel surprised at the number of letters that
were written, aud the large proportion that
have come down to us. Thin wooden tab
les, coated over with wax, were used and
fastened together with a ossed thread.
The kuoitcd ends were scaled with wax,
ana a the letters were usually written by
confidential slave Qhe HJrdrius,) the seal
was WAS the only guarantee ofgenuineness.
sometime ivory or parchment tablets
Wet e used, and an elevated border was pro-
badly added, il order to prevent rubbing.
The want Of Il system of posts was not felt
among the Romans, as most families pos
sessed tddcddl6, or special slaves, whose
duty il was TO convey letters TO their des-
tination.
The value of communication between
persons in distant places was appreciated in
very early times; and we find Job exclaim-
ing, Now my days are swilter than
post In the days OF Hezekiah 'the posts
went with the letters from the king and
his princes throughout all Israel and Ju-
dab :" and Ahasueras sent letters into
every province of his empire by ''the posts
that rode upon mules and camels," and
were 'hastened and pressed on by the
kings commandments" TO inform his sub
jects that it was his imperial will that
every man should bear rule in his own
house.
Various modes of communication other
than writing have at different time been in
use, such as numerically marked or notched
pieces of wood, and the many-colored cords
regularly knotted, which were called qui-
pus by the Peruvians. Herodttus tells us
ofa practice resorted to, in order to convey
49, telligence with safety. The head
Ay nlcsserger was shaved, and cdr-
tainf writings were impressed upon his
skull. After his hair had grown sufficient
ly long for the purposes of fconcealment, he
was sent on his mission, and on arriving
at his destination was again shaved, in or
der that the writing might be revealed.
When the Spaniards visited America, they
found the postal communication in Mexi-
co and parn to Ina corrjo, on, nj, a mas,
perfect system; and we learn that the cour-
iers of the Aztecs wore differently colored
dress, according as they brought good or
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