It is indeed marvellous that so few failures take place; but this is an instance of how, by constant application and experience, things are accomplished which might at first sight be considered wellnigh impossible. When the exchange takes place, it is the work of a moment—"thud, thud." The arm which bore the bag springs, disengaged, to the side of the carriage; the operator takes the inwards bag from the net, draws the net close up to the side of the vehicle, and the whole thing is done, and we are ready for the next exchange.

The blow sustained by the pouch containing the mail-bag at the moment of delivery, on occasions when the train is running at a high speed, is exceedingly severe, and sometimes causes damage to the contents of the bags when of a fragile nature and these are not secured in strong covers. A bracelet sent by post was once damaged in this way, giving rise to the following humorous note:—

"Mr —— is sorry to return the bracelet to be repaired. It came this morning with the box smashed, the bracelet bent, and one of the cairngorms forced out. Among the modern improvements of the Post-office appears to be the introduction of sledge-hammers to stamp with. It would be advisable for Mr —— to remonstrate with the Postmaster-General," &c.

Delivery Arm, showing how the Pouch is suspended

The Travelling Post-office apparatus is said to have been originally suggested by Mr Ramsay of the General Post-office; but his machinery was not very satisfactory when brought into practice. The idea was, however, improved upon by Mr Dicker, who was able to bring it into working condition; and for his services in this matter he was awarded a sum of £500 by the Lords of the Treasury, and the Postmaster-General conferred upon him an appointment as Supervisor of mail-bag apparatus. Some further improvements were carried out by Mr Pearson Hill, as, for example, the double arm, so that two pouches might be discharged at once from the same carriage-door. The apparatus first came to be used about thirty years ago, and there are now in the United Kingdom some 250 points or stations at which this magical game of give and take is carried on daily, and in many cases several times a day. At certain places not merely one or two pouches are discharged at a time, but a running fire is sometimes kept up to the extent of nine discharges of pouches. By the limited mail proceeding to the North, nine pouches are discharged at Oxenholme from the three Post-office carriages, the method followed being this:—Two pouches are suspended from the arms at each carriage-door, and upon these being discharged, three of the arms are immediately reloaded, when the pouches are caught by a second set of roadside nets, distant only about 600 yards from the first. It is necessary that great care should be taken in adjusting the nets, arms, and roadside standards to their proper positions in relation to one another, for any departure from such adjustment sometimes leads to accident. The pouches occasionally are sent bounding over hedges, over the carriages, or under the carriage-wheels, where they and their contents get cut to pieces. Pouches have been found at the end of a journey on the carriage-roof, or hanging on to a buffer. In November last, a pouch containing several mail-bags was discharged from the Midland Travelling Post-office at Cudworth, near Barnsley; but something going wrong, the pouch got cut up, and the contents were strewn along the line as far as Normanton. Some of these were found to be cheques, a silver watch, a set of artificial teeth, &c.

The following is a list of the Travelling Post-offices in the United Kingdom, most of which travel by night, distributing their freight of intellectual produce through all parts of the country:—

North-Western and Caledonian.
Birmingham and Stafford.
London and Holyhead.
Bangor and Crewe, and Normanton and Stalybridge.
London and Exeter.
Bristol and Exeter.
York and Newcastle.
St Pancras and Derby.
Midland.
Bristol and Newton Abbot.
South-Western.
South-Eastern.
Great Northern.
London and Bristol.
London and Crewe.
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Dublin and Belfast.
Belfast and Northern Counties.
Ulster.
Midland (Ireland).
Great Southern and Western.
Dublin to Cork.

There are, besides, a great many other Travelling Post-offices of minor importance throughout the country, designated Sorting Tenders.