Foot-prints of a letter carrier; or, a history of the world's correspondeceRees, James
History
Foot-prints of a letter carrier; or, a history of the world's correspondece
Rees, James
Postal service -- History; Postal service -- United States -- History
The second delivery, which commences about nine A.M., includes the
correspondence received by the night mails from Ireland and France, and
letters from the provinces and abroad which may arrive too late for the
first delivery, as well as those posted in the nearer suburbs by 6.30
A.M., as specified in the tables for each district.
The next nine deliveries are made hourly, and include all letters
reaching the general post-office or the district offices in time for
each despatch.
The last delivery commences about 7.45 P.M.
Each delivery within the town limits occupies about an hour from the
time of its commencement, which may be averaged at from forty-five
minutes to an hour from the time of despatch from the general
post-office, according to the distance from St. Martin’s-le-Grand and
the number of letters to be arranged by the letter-carriers for
distribution.
The provincial day mails are due at various times, and the letters are
included in the next delivery after their arrival in London. The day
mails from Ireland, France, and the continent generally, and the letters
received from Brighton and other towns which have a late afternoon
communication with London, are delivered the same evening in London and
the suburbs within the six-mile circle.
The suburban deliveries are regulated in a similar manner, with this
difference, however, that in some of the less-thickly inhabited portions
the deliveries are necessarily fewer.
_THE POSTE RESTANTE._
There is more attention paid in England to this letter or paper
inscription than there is with us. The “Poste Restante” being intended
solely for the accommodation of strangers and travellers who have no
permanent abode in London, letters for residence in London _must not be
addressed_ “Post-Office till called for.” Letters addressed to
“initials” or “fictitious names” cannot be received at the “Poste
Restante.” If so addressed, they are returned to the writers.
With us, little or no attention is paid to this important postal matter:
hence, a letter addressed simply to “John Smith, Philadelphia,” without
the word “Transient,” “or Poste Restante,” must necessarily take its
winding way through all the phases of postal travel until it reaches the
dead-letter office. We make another extract from the English “Postal
Guide:”—
“Letters for strangers are delivered from the Poste Restante for a
period of two months; after which period they must have them addressed
to their place of residence, in order that they may be sent by the
letter-carriers. Letters for known residents in London, addressed to the
‘Poste Restante,’ are retained for one week only.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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