_M. HALL STANTON, Esq. of Philadelphia_, as a memento of friendship and of the many happy hours that friendship has afforded. THE AUTHOR. PHILADELPHIA. CONTENTS. I. PAGE POSTS—POST-OFFICES, ANCIENT AND MODERN 13 II. NIHIL SUB SOLE NOVI 26 III. ORIGIN OF THE MATERIALS OF WRITING, TABLETS, ETC. 35 IV. MESSENGERS, CARRIERS, ETC. 49 V. POST-OFFICES—ENGLAND 57 VI. THE KAFFIR LETTER-CARRIER—AFRICAN POST 88 VII. POST-OFFICES—THE COLONIES 90 VIII. PENNSYLVANIA—THE OLDEN TIME 102 IX. PHILADELPHIA POST-OFFICE—POSTS, ETC. 110 X. REMINISCENCES 156 XI. POSTMASTERS 187 XII. PHILADELPHIA—1793 230 XIII. SPECIAL AGENTS 319 XIV. MISCELLANEOUS 365 XV. TALES OF THE POST-OFFICE 397 XVI. ADDENDA 410 FOOT-PRINTS OF A LETTER-CARRIER. I. Posts—Post-Offices, Ancient and Modern. “The Post-office is properly a mercantile project. The Government advances the expenses of establishing the different offices, and of buying or hiring the necessary horses or carriages, and is repaid with a large profit by the duties upon what is carried.”—SMITH’S WEALTH OF NATIONS. In the earlier periods of society, communication between the parts of a country was a rare and difficult undertaking. Individuals at a distance, having little inclination and less opportunity for such intercourse, were naturally satisfied with their limited means of communicating one with another. As civilization advanced and trade became a national feature, these communications became more important and, of course, more frequent. Our readers will observe, as we progress in this work, how it assumes at last one of the most important branches of a government. Indeed, this it was destined to become from the fact that it originated with the people, and their interest made it a part and portion of the great postal system. Posts and post-offices, as understood in modern parlance, are identified with trade and commerce, and in their connection with _letters_. The word post, however, was used long before post-offices were established, implying a public establishment of letters, newspapers, &c. In the Roman Empire, couriers, on swift horses, passed from hand to hand the imperial edicts to every province. Private letters were sent to their destination by slaves, or intrusted to casual opportunities.