els
employed for conveyance of Foreign Mails, the letters were frequently
despatched by privately-owned ships. They were then impressed with a
post-mark "Ship Letter," with the name of the town included.

The Penny Post letters were such as had been posted in any one of the 63
Bristol Penny Post Sub-District Offices for delivery in the district of
posting, or in any of the 62 other Offices. Thus a letter posted in
Fylton for delivery in Fylton would be charged one penny upon being
handed in at that Post Office, and another penny would be obtained on
delivery to the addressee.

A letter posted at the Penny Post Office of Almondsbury for delivery in
the Penny Post District of Fylton would be charged a penny upon being
handed in at the Almondsbury Office and another penny would be charged
to the addressee on delivery. Thornbury being a 5th Clause Post would
have letters posted in its special "Open" box, delivered in the
Thornbury Postal area for the one penny, that charged on delivery.

A letter posted in the "Open" box at Thornbury (5th Clause Post) for
Bristol would likewise travel from Poster to addressee for the 1d.
delivery charge in Bristol, as bags would be exchanged between the two
places.

A single letter, _i.e._, a letter without an enclosure, coming from
Reading for Thornbury, would be charged a general post rate of 8d. to
Bristol, plus 1d. for delivery, which would be the same in the cases
of letters from Reading for Fylton or Almondsbury; but if a letter were
posted at Thornbury for Reading, there would be no charge from Thornbury
to Bristol, so that the addressee would only be called upon to pay the
general post rate of 8d., whereas, the postage on a letter from Fylton
or Almondsbury would be 8d., plus a penny charged for collection.

[Illustration: EARLY BRISTOL POST MARKS.]

The mail services in the rural districts are not free from danger. The
pitcher may have been carried to the fountain year after year without
mishap, but it not infrequently becomes broken at last. In like manner
the contractor for the Portishead, Clevedon, and Yatton mail cart
service, after having driven over this route with immunity from accident
for forty years, yet came to grief in the last week of his connection
with His Majesty's mails, January, 1902. The contractor's time table was
arranged thus:--Portishead, leave 9.15 p.m.; Clevedon, arrive 10.5 p.m.,
leave 10.50 p.m.; Yatton, arrive 11.28 p.m.; attend to apparatus and up