Note 30 — Chapter III · ON OLD ROADS AND SLOW COACHES.

There are few traces in this country, at any time, of public letter-writers. This is somewhat remarkable, inasmuch as then, and still in some of the southern states of Europe, the profession of public letter-writer has long been an institution. In England it has never flourished. Some years ago there might have been seen at Wapping, Shadwell, and other localities in London where sailors resorted, announcements in small shop-windows to the effect that letters were written there "to all parts of the world." In one shop a placard was exhibited intimating that a "large assortment of letters on all sorts of subjects" were kept on hand. There were never many, and now very few, traces of the custom.