The  King  signified,  at  parting,  a  great  satisfaction  in  what  had  been
done,  and  that  it  was  very  shortly  his  intention  to  call  another  Parlia-
ment.  This  dissolution  did  not  interrupt  Marvell's  correspondence
with  Hull,  neither  did  he  quit  London,  or  take  any  measures  to  secure
his  re-election,  which  doubtless  he  knew  to  be  sure  enough.  His
letters  during  the  intervals  of  Parliauicii^  ^  are  chiefly  taken  up  with
news,  among  which  the  movements  of  the  King  and  Royal  Family
occupy  a  conspicuous  place.  It  would  seem  that  the  Mayor  and
Corporation  of  Hull  did  not  take  in  a  newspaper,  though  several  had
been  issued  during  the  civil  war,  particularly  the  Mercurius  AuKcus,
or  Court  Journal,  and  the  Mercurius  Rusticus,  the  reporter  of  the
Republicans.  It  was,  moreover,  the  practice  of  the  Puritan  clergy,  in
their  prayers,  to  make  a  recapitulation  of  the  events  of  the  week,  under
the  form  of  thanksgiving,  or  reosonstrance.  The  pulpit,  in  its  bearings
upon  the  people,  then  exerted  the  power  which  now  belongs  to  the
periodical  press.
Marvell  complains  of  the  stoppage  of  letters,  and,  that  even  under
ordinary  circumstances,  the  several  porters  carried  them  about  in  their
walks,  and  that  so  muck  time  was  lost.  The  admirable  arrangement
and  dispatch,  with  the  general  sacredness  of  epistolatory  communica-
tion, is  one  of  the  highest  blessings  which  England  for  many  years  has
enjoyed.  It  is  true  that  the  commerce  of  the  heart  is  still  subject  to
heavy  duties^  which  we  would  gladly  see  diminished,  as  they  might  be
with  advantage  to  the  revenue.  Thousands  of  letters  are  unwritten
from  regard  to  the  expense  of  postage.
