words in the print of a newspaper
were pricked with a pin, and thus conveyed a message to the person for
whom the newspaper was intended. Sometimes milk was used as an invisible
ink upon a newspaper, the receiver reading the message sent by holding
the paper to the fire. At other times soldiers took the letters of their
friends, and sent them under franks written by their officers. Letters
were conveyed by public carriers, against the statute, sometimes tied up
in brown paper, to disguise them as parcels. The carriers seem to have
been conspicuous offenders, for one of them was convicted at Warwick in
1794, when penalties amounting to L1500 were incurred, though only L10
and costs were actually exacted. The Post Office maintained a staff of
men called "Apprehenders of Letter Carriers," whose business it was to
hunt down persons illegally carrying letters.

Nor must we omit to mention how far short of perfection were the means
afforded for cross-post communication between one town and another.
While along the main lines of road radiating from London there might be
a fairly good service according to the ideas of the times, the
cross-country connections were bad and inadequate. Here are one or two
instances:--

In 1792 there was no direct post between Thrapstone and Wellingborough,
though they lay only nine miles apart. Letters could circulate between
these towns by way of Stilton, Newark, Nottingham, and Northampton,
performing a circuit of 148 miles, or they could be sent by way of
London, 74 up and 68 1/2 down,--in which latter case they reached their
destination one day sooner than by the northern route.

[Illustrations: Diagrams--ROUNDABOUT COMMUNICATIONS]

Again, from Ipswich to Bury St. Edmunds, two important towns of about
11,000 and 7000 inhabitants respectively, and distant from each other
only twenty-two miles, there was no direct post. Letters had to be
forwarded either through Norwich and Newmarket, or by way of London, the
distance to be covered in the one case being 105 miles, and in the other
143 1/2 miles. According to a time-table of the period, a letter posted at
Ipswich for Bury St. Edmunds on Monday would be despatched to Norwich at
5.30 A.M. on Tuesday. Reaching this place six hours thereafter, it would
be forwarded thence at 4 P.M. to Newmarket, where it was due at 11 P.M.
At Newmarket it would lie all night and the greater part of next day,
and would only arrive at Bury at 5.40 P.M. on Wednesday