1 84 PIGEON-POST. 



forty miles asunder, provided with pigeons, and sentinels 

 stood there constantly on the watch, to secure the intelli- 

 gence communicated by the birds as they arrived, and to 

 pass it on by means of others. The note was written on 

 a thin slip of paper, enclosed in a very small gold box, 

 almost as thin as the paper itself, suspended to the neck 

 of the bird ; the hour of arrival and departure were 

 marked at each successive tower, and for greater security 

 a duplicate was always despatched two hours after the 

 first. The despatches were, however, not always enclosed 

 in gold, but merely in paper, in which case, to prevent the 

 letters being defaced by damp, the legs of the pigeon 

 were first bathed in vinegar, with a view to keep them 

 cool, so that they might not settle to drink, or wash 

 themselves on the way, which in that hot climate they 

 were often doing.'' 



The modern mode of transmitting messages by pigeon- 

 post is much more ingenious, and less irksome to the 

 bird. The slip of paper is rolled up very tightly, and 

 inserted in a small quill, which is stitched to one of the 

 tail-feathers. 



Formerly it was not an uncommon thing to send a pair 

 of doves or pigeons as a present — 



" I have brought you a letter and a couple of pigeons 

 here." — Titus Aiidronicus, Act iv. Sc. 4. 



The constancy evinced by pigeons towards each other, 



