] Ibid., p. 127.

[712] "Contrary to what was usually the case with the postal
arrangements in antiquity and the Middle Ages, the institution founded
by Francis von Taxis, though chiefly intended to serve the purposes of
the State, assumed from its very beginning a character of public utility
and political economy, for it was at the disposal of anybody wanting a
rapid, cheap, and safe means of conveyance for his letters."--Dr. Joseph
R[:u]bsam, ibid., p. 128.

[713] Ibid., p. 130.

[714] Von Beust, cited H. von Stephan, op. cit., p. 6.

[715] B. E. Crole, _Geschichte der deutschen Post_, Eisenach, 1889, p.
201; H. von Stephan, Geschichte der preussischen Post, Berlin, 1859, pp.
6-10.

[716] Proclamation of 6th November 1597; B. E. Crole, op. cit., p. 205.

[717] An account of the struggles between the Taxis family and the
princes is given in Crole's _Geschichte der deutschen Post_ (Part III,
chaps. iv. and v.).

[718] "Trotz der Ausdehnung der Taxis'schen Posten im 'Reich' h[:o]rte
das Botenwesen in den einzelnen L[:a]ndern und in den Reichsst[:a]dten
keineswegs auf sondern entwickelte sich fort und fort und hatte seine
Botenmeister, auch Postmeister und andere Bedienstete."--B. E. Crole,
op. cit., p. 213.

[719] Ibid., p. 231.

[720] E. Gallois, _La Poste et les Moyens de Communication des Peuples
[a'] travers les Si[e']cles_, Paris, 1894, p. 94.

[721] B. E. Crole, op. cit., p. 247.

[722] The territory of the Taxis posts shrank between the years 1790 and
1811 from 3,922 square (German) miles to 745 square (German) miles, and
a number of territorial posts took the place of the Imperial posts. In
1810 there were no less than 43 of these territorial posts.--_Die
Brieftaxe in Deutschland_, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1862, p. 4; C. F.
M[:u]ller, _Die F[:u]rstlich Thurn und Taxis'schen Poster und
Posttaxen_, Jena, 1845, p. 7.

[723] Oskar Grosse, _Die Beseitigung des Thurn und Taxis'schen
Postwesens in Deutschland_, Minden in Westf., 1898, p. 33.

[724] C. F. M[:u]ller, op. cit., p. 13.

[725] The rates for a letter weighing 1 loth (1/2 ounce) were:--

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Distance | |
(German | In W[:u]rtemberg | In Prussia
Miles). | (Taxis Posts). | (State Post).
---------+------------------------------+-----------------------------
1-3 | 2kr. = 6-6/7 pf. | 2-1/