The “Old Exeter” Mail, continued on to Falmouth, kept consistently to the main Exeter Road, through Salisbury, Dorchester and Bridport. Before 1837 it had performed the journey to Exeter in 20 hours and to Falmouth in 34¾ hours, but was then accelerated one hour as between London and Exeter, and although slightly decelerated onwards, the gain on the whole distance was 49 minutes. Five minutes in advance of this ran the “Quicksilver” Devonport Mail, as far as Salisbury, where, until 1837, it branched off, going by Shaftesbury, Sherborne and Yeovil, a route 5¾ miles shorter than the other. It was 1¾ hours quicker than the “Old Exeter” as far as that city. Here is the time-table of the “Quicksilver” at that period, to Exeter:-- LEAVING GENERAL POST OFFICE AT 8 P.M. +--------+-------------+------------+ | Miles. | Places. | Due. | +--------+-------------+------------+ | 12 | Hounslow | 9.12 p.m. | | 19 | Staines | 9.56 ” | | 29 | Bagshot | 11.0 ” | | 67 | Andover | 2.42 a.m. | | 84 | Salisbury | 4.27 ” | | 105 | Shaftesbury | 6.41 ” | | 126 | Yeovil | 8.56 ” | | 135 | Crewkerne | 10.12 ” | | 143 | Chard | 11.0 ” | | 156 | Honiton | 12.31 p.m. | | 173 | Exeter | 2.14 ” | +--------+-------------+------------+ Thus 18 hours 14 minutes were allowed for the 173 miles. In 1837 the “Quicksilver” was put on the “upper road” by Amesbury and Ilminster, and her pace again accelerated; this time by 1 hour 38 minutes to Exeter and 4 hours 39 minutes to Falmouth. This then became the fastest long-distance mail in the kingdom, maintaining a speed, including stops, of nearly 10¼ miles an hour between London and Devonport. It should be remembered, when considering the subject of speed, that the mails had not only to change horses and stay for supper and breakfast, like the stage-coaches, but also had to call at the post offices to deliver and collect the mailbags, and all time so expended had to be made up. The “Quicksilver” must needs have gone some stages at 12 miles an hour. Time also had to be kept in all kinds of weather, and the guard--who was the servant of the Post Office, and not, as the coachman was, of the mail-contractors--was bound to see that time was kept, and had power, whenever it was being lost, to order out post-horses at the expense of the contractors. Six, and sometimes eight, horses were often thus attached to the mails. The route of the “Quicksilver” from 1837 was according to the following time-bill:-- LEAVING GENERAL POST OFFICE AT 8 P.M.