COUPLING BOX

A strong iron cylinder, by which the shafts of machinery are connected. COURIERS- (Fr. courir, to run.) A name given in ordinary language to the bearers of public despatches or private intelligence by expre . The institution of persons to convey intelligence with celerity and regularity is coeval with the earliest history of civilized nations. By the Per and bys i ans the they wereRoman tyledcursoresayyapoi,; and by the the dutiesGreeksofrjp'epoSpopot,the ancient couriers seem to have been wholly analogous to those of the moderns, and were performed chiefly on horseback; though the original derivation of the name would lead loan opposite supposition. In the middle ages couriers were known by the appellation trottarii, or trotters; and hence perhaps originated the English term running footmen, of whom history makes mention in the 17th and 18th centuries. [s. 310]