| 释义 |
ˈmail-coach
[mail n.3 2.]
1. A stage-coach used primarily for the conveyance of the mail; subsequently spec. a coach employed by the Post Office for carrying parcels by road.
The mail-coach system was introduced by John Palmer in 1784, and was superseded by the railway.
1787H. More Let. Walpole July Mem. (1834) II. 77 Mail coaches, which come to others, come not to me. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) V. 86/2 Mail-coaches, are stage-coaches of a particular construction to prevent overturns; and for a certain consideration carry his majesty's mails. 1813Act 53 Geo. III, c. 68 §6 All letters and Packets which he shall convey, carry or send Post, in or by any Mail Coach or Carriage. 189642nd Rept. Postm.-General 5 There has been no extension this year of the system of night mail coaches for the conveyance of parcels. 1899Cassell's Mag. 404/2 The mail⁓coaches [for ‘road-borne’ parcels]..with their swiftly trotting teams and armed guards.
attrib.1813Byron Let. to Moore 22 Aug., In a ‘mail-coach copy’ of the Edinburgh, I perceive The Giaour is second article. The numbers are still in the Leith smack. 1815Ibid. 10 Jan., Scott's ‘Lord of the Isles’ is out—‘the mail⁓coach copy’ I have, by special licence, of Murray. 1822Acc. Establ. Gen. P.-O. Parl. Pap. XVIII. 175 To eight pair of best mail coach lamps {pstlg}12 12s. 1885J. W. Hyde Roy. Mail iii. (ed. 2) 65 Yet the mail-coach days had charms and attractions for travellers.
2. A railway carriage carrying the mail.
1838Act 1 & 2 Vict. c. 98 §12 If the Company..shall refuse to carry on their Railway any Mail Coaches [etc.]. 1890T. L. James in Railways Amer. 335 The fifth..car is the last mail coach on the train. |