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by that wise and warlike prince to the purpose of maintaining a regular and frequent intercourse with the commanders of his armies and the governors of provinces: and for this purpose he built sumptuous post-houses, and appointed post-masters, with supplies of horses and couriers, who, travelling from stage to stage with extraordinary speed by night and day, secured an uninterrupted communication between the capital and the remotest dependencies of the Persian empire. Herodotus informs us, that between the shores of the Egean Sea and Susa one hundred and eleven of these stages, each a day's journey apart, were erected. The superintendence of these posts then became, as it is now considered, a trust of high consequence; nor will it derogate from the dignity of the noblemen who hold these appointments in the several countries of Europe, to remind them that the same office in the East was usually filled by individuals of the first rank, and, according to Plutarch, in one instance at least, namely, that of Darius, exercised by a mighty monarch before his accession to the throne. With the Persian empire the establishment of posts seems, however, to have declined; nor does the history of its successors in Europe or Asia afford any distinct account of their revival, at least in so systematic or perfect a form.

With respect to the correspondence of Greece,