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the establishment of posts fell into decay, and appears to have wholly merged with other social institutions in the gloom of those darker ages.

We cannot discover any mention of posts as a regular or public system in the chronicles of modern history before 1464, when we find them regenerating in France under the direction of that crafty and restless monarch, Louis XI. whose anxiety to possess himself of the sentiments as well as the proceedings of his subjects induced him to establish about two hundred and thirty couriers, who traversed the kingdom, delivering their letters and dispatches at appointed stations. This was still merely an institution for the purposes of government, only partially open to the nobility of France. Posts in which the public participated are said to have first emanated from the University of Paris, to which students flocked from all parts of Europe in such numbers as to render the establishment of messengers for the conveyance of clothes, books, papers, and letters, almost necessary; and these carriers very soon became so regular as to afford great convenience to the public, who were allowed, upon easy terms, to avail themselves of their services. From their great speed, as Rollin tells us, they were termed in the university registers "nuntii voluntes." The university, encouraged by the protection of the government