other birds, and though the attempt did not altogether fail, yet it
was never carried into extensive practice, and in the progress of time
was totally disused. The first establishment of Posts can be traced to
the times of the ancient Persians. The honour of their invention is
ascribed to Cyrus. It appears that on his conception of his Scythian
expedition, he caused certain Post-houses to be erected on all the
principal roads. These houses were a day's journey from each other;
and Cyrus employed horsemen to convey the intelligence from the army
to the first Post-house, and so to the second and third, till the end
of the Post-houses, which was at Susa. The news of his victories was
thus conveyed to his people in an almost incredible space of time. The
Greeks were also in the possession of regular posts, but we have no
data from which we can judge of the manner in which they were
conducted, who founded them, or where they were first established.

At Rome, Posts and Post-houses were established, and designated
_statores_ and _stationes_; they were founded by the senate at a very
early period of the Republic. They were at first very ill managed, the
delivery of the post being extremely irregular, and confined to the
great roads; but Augustus extended them throughout all parts of his
mighty empire, and issued commands which appointed certain days for
the delivery of the posts. At their first establishment the Posts were
carried by young men on foot, who were met by others at the appointed
post stations, but horses and chariots were substituted in their stead
by Augustus.

The earliest institution of Posts in modern times was about the year
807. Charlemagne after he had subjugated to his power Germany, Italy,
and a large part of Spain, seeing the inconvenience which the
Government suffered from the non-delivery of important despatches from