Interceptions of the mail for the purpose of preventing the serving of writs by means of the post are not unknown in Ireland at the present time. In August 1883 a post-runner near Mallow was stopped by two men, dressed in women's clothes and with blackened faces, who seized his mail-bag, and made search for registered letters which it was supposed might have contained ejectment notices. None were found, however, and the men returned the other letters to the runner. A similar outrage was committed in the same neighbourhood in 1881.

The following exciting and unpleasant adventure happened to the pa.s.sengers by the Enniskillen mail-coach on its way to Dublin on the morning of the 4th January 1813. The coach had safely made its journey to a point within two miles of a place called Dunshaughlin, the time being about 3 A.M., when the mail-guard, watchful as his duty required, espied a number of men suspiciously lying on each side of the road in advance of him. The night must have been clear, and probably there was bright moonlight; as otherwise, at that early hour in the month of January, the men lying in wait could not have been observed. There being little doubt that an attack upon the mail was contemplated, the carriage was at once drawn up, and the alarm given. The drowsy or benumbed travellers, thus rudely aroused and brought to a sense of their danger, hastily jumped to the ground, and demanded the spare arms which were carried for use on like emergencies. These were immediately served out to the pa.s.sengers, who, if not animated by true Irish spirit at so early an hour, to fight for fighting's sake, were at any rate determined to defend their lives and property. At the head of the coach-party in this lonely and trying situation was a clergyman of the County Cavan named King, who, like Father Tom in the play, had not forgotten the accomplishments of his youth, and who was prepared to carry the message of peace and goodwill with the blunderbuss at the ready, this being the weapon with which he had armed himself. The robbers, perceiving that they were to encounter a determined opposition, thought it wise to retreat; and while the guards stood by their charge--the mail-coach--the men were pursued over a field by Mr King, on whom they fired, without, however, doing any damage. The parson, deeming a return necessary, replied with the gaping blunderbuss--and to some purpose it was thought, for three of the men were within twenty yards of him when he fired. The would-be robbers being now driven off, the pa.s.sengers had time to realise their fright; and gathering themselves again into the coach, the journey was continued, though it is hardly likely that sleep resumed its sway over the terrified pa.s.sengers for the remaining hours of that particular night.

These are but a few instances of the robberies against which the guards were constantly warned to be on the alert, and which they were enjoined to prevent. They were provided with a blunderbuss and a brace of pistols, to make a good defence in case of need; and it may be interesting to recall that the charge for the former was ten or twelve shot the size of a pea, and two-thirds of such charge for the latter--the quant.i.ty of lead mentioned being sufficient, one would suppose, if well directed, to give a hot welcome to any one attempting the mail.

But the guards were very often not so vigilant as they should have been, the ale-houses having then the attractions which to many they still have: sometimes they fell asleep on their boxes, and in other respects wofully infringed the regulations. The following official notice plainly shows this:--

"I am very sorry to be under the necessity of addressing the mail-guards on such a subject; but though every direction and inspection are given them, and they are fully informed of the punishments that must follow if they do not do their duty, yet, notwithstanding this, and every admonition given in every way that can be devised, four guards that were looked upon as very good ones, have in the course of last week been guilty of such misconduct as obliges their discharge--for the public, who trust their lives and property in the conduct of the office, can never be expected to suffer such neglect to pa.s.s unnoticed. The four guards discharged are John ----, for having his mail-box unlocked at Ferry-bridge while the mail was therein; Wm. ----, for going to the office at York drunk to fetch his mail, though barely able to stand; W.

----, for bringing the mail on the outside of the mail-box and on the roof, and converting the mail-box to another use; W. ----, for going from London to Newmarket without firearms."

On another occasion a guard was fined five guineas "for suffering a man to ride on the roof of the mail-coach," and at the same time he was told that if he had not owned the truth he would have been dismissed--this being followed by the quaint observation, looking like a grim official joke, "which he may be now, if he had rather than pay the fine to the fund"! One more notice as to the vice of taking drink on the part of the guards, and as showing the impressive and formal manner of carrying out a dismissal in the coaching days. The doc.u.ment is of the year 1803, and runs as follows, viz.:--

"I am very sorry to order in all the guards to witness the dismissal of one old in the service; but so imperious is the duty, that was he my brother he would be dismissed: indeed I do not think there is a guard who hears this but will say, a man who goes into an ale-house, stays to drink (and at Brentford) at the dusk of morning, leaving his mail-box unlocked, deserves to lose his situation; and he is dismissed accordingly. And I am sure I need not stimulate you to avoid fresh misconduct--to read your instructions, and to mind them. I am the more sorry for this, as guards who have been some time in the service are fit for no other duty."

Towards the drivers also of the mail-coaches severe measures were taken when they got drunk; and the penalty sometimes took a peculiar form, as witness the following public act of submission and contrition:--

"Whereas I, John ----, being driver of the mail-coach, on my way from Congleton to Coleshill on Monday, December 25, 1809" (some excuse, perhaps, on account of its being Christmas-day), "did stop at several places on the road to drink, and thereby got intoxicated,--from which misconduct, driving furiously, and being from my coach on its returning, suffered the horses to set off and run through the town of Coleshill, at the risk of overturning the carriage, and thereby endangering the lives of the pa.s.sengers, and other misfortunes which might otherwise have occurred: for which misdeeds the Postmasters-General were determined to punish me with the utmost rigour, and if it had been prosecuted, would have made me liable to the penalty incurred by the said offence of _imprisonment for six months_, _and not less than three_; but from my general good character, and having a large family, have generously forgiven me on my showing contrition for the past offence, as a caution to all mail and other coachmen, and making this public acknowledgment."

In another case a mail-coach driver was summoned before a magistrate for intoxication and impertinence to pa.s.sengers, and was thereupon mulcted in a penalty of 10, with costs.

The accidents that befell the coaches were sometimes of a really serious character, and of very frequent occurrence--some of them, or perhaps many of them, being due wholly to carelessness. A person writing in 1822 remarks as follows:--"It is really heartrending to hear of the dreadful accidents that befall his Majesty's subjects now on their travels through the country. In my younger days, when I was on the eve of setting out on a journey, my wife was in the habit of giving me her parting blessing, concluding with the words, 'G.o.d bless you, my dear; I hope you will not be robbed.' But it is now changed to 'G.o.d bless you, my dear; I hope you will not get your neck broke, and that you will bring all your legs safe home again.'" Sometimes the drivers, if it fell in their way to overtake or be overtaken by an opposition coach, would go in for proving who had the best team, and an exciting race would result. Sometimes a horse would fall, and bring the coach to grief; and in the night-time the horses would occasionally tumble over obstacles maliciously placed on the road to bring this about. Whether this was always done to facilitate robbery, or out of sheer wantonness, is not quite clear, but instances of such acts of wickedness were frequent. On the night of the 5th June 1804, some evil-disposed persons placed a gate in the middle of the turnpike road near Welwyn Green, and set up two other gates at the entrance of Welwyn Lane, also across the road, with the view of obstructing the mail-coach and injuring the persons of the pa.s.sengers. Early on the morning of the 14th April 1806, the mail-coach was obstructed, in coming out of Dumfries, by some evil-disposed persons placing boughs or branches of trees across the turnpike road, by which the lives of the pa.s.sengers were put in peril and the mail much delayed.

A similar outrage was committed on the night of the 27th August 1809, when a large gate was placed in the middle of the road on Ewenny Bridge, near Bridgend, in Glamorganshire. In this instance the horses of the mail-coach took fright, imperilling the lives of all upon the coach; for it is very likely that they narrowly escaped being thrown over the bridge. Again, on the night of the 30th April 1812, some persons placed eleven gates at different points across the road two or three miles out of Lancaster, on the way to Burton-in-Kendal, whereby destruction was nearly brought upon the mail-coach and its human freight. Between Northwich and Warrington, early on the morning of the 19th November 1815, eight or ten gates and a door were placed in the way of the mail-coach, and further on a broad-wheeled cart, with the view of wrecking the mail. On Sunday, the 15th June 1817, the horses of the mail-coach were thrown down near Newmarket, and much injured, by stumbling over a plough and harrow, wickedly placed in their way by some evil-doers. These are but a few of the cases of such malicious acts, with respect to which rewards were offered by the Postmaster-General at the time, for the discovery of the offenders.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Notice of Offer of Reward.]

But there were other ways in which the mail was placed in jeopardy--namely, by waggoners with teams getting in the middle of the highway, and not clearing out smartly to let the mails go by, or by otherwise so driving their horses as to foul with the mail-coach. And it is curious to observe how such cases were dealt with by the Post-office.

The following poster, issued publicly, will explain the matter:--

"CAUTION TO CARTERS.

"Whereas I, Edward Monk, servant to James Smith of Pendlebury, near Manchester, farmer, did, on Tuesday the 24th day of July last, misconduct myself in the driving of my master's cart on the Pendleton road, by not only riding furiously in the cart, but damaging the York and Liverpool mail-coach, and endangering the lives of the pa.s.sengers--for which the conductor of the mails has directed a prosecution against me; but on condition of this my public submission, and paying the expenses attending it, all proceedings have been discontinued. And I thank the conductor, and the gentlemen whose lives I endangered, for their very great lenity shown me; and I promise not to be guilty of such outrage in future. And I trust this will operate as a caution to all carters or persons who may have the care of carts and other carriages, to behave themselves peaceably and properly on the king's highway. Witness my hand, the 2d Aug. 1804."

Then there was the danger attending the running away of the horses with the coach, of which the following is an instance, the facts being succinctly set forth in a notice of 1810, of which the following is a copy:--

"Whereas Walter Price, the driver of the Chester and Manchester mail-coach, on Thursday night the 22d Nov. 1810, on arriving in Chester, incautiously left his horses without any person at their heads, to give out a pa.s.senger's luggage (while the guard was gone to the post-office with the mail-bags), when they ran off with the mail-coach through the city of Chester, taking the road to Holywell, but fortunately without doing any injury; in consequence of which neglect, the driver was, on the Sat.u.r.day following, brought before the magistrates, and fined in the full penalty of Five pounds, according to the late Act of Parliament."

And through the city of Chester, with its narrow streets! It seems a miracle how four runaway horses, with a coach at their heels, could have cleared the town without dire disaster.

Again, it would come to pa.s.s that in dark nights the horses would sometimes stumble over a stray donkey or other animal which had taken up its night-quarters in the middle of the road, and there made its bed.

Nor were these the only perils of the road, which were always increased when the nights were thick with fog. On the morning of the 30th December 1813, the mail from the South reached Berwick late owing to a fog, the horses being led by the driver, notwithstanding whose care the coach had been overturned twice. The drivers were called upon on occasions to make up their minds in a moment to choose one of two courses, when danger suddenly burst upon them and there was no escape from it. A good instance of such a case happened to the driver of the Edinburgh to Dumfries mail-coach, who proved that he could reason his case quickly and take his resolve. At one of the stages he had changed horses, and was proceeding on his way, the first portion of the road being down a steep hill with an abrupt turn at the foot. He had hardly got his coach fairly set in motion, when to his dismay he perceived that the wheelers, two new horses, had no notion of holding back. The animals became furious, while the pa.s.sengers became alarmed. It seemed a hopeless task to control the horses under the circ.u.mstances, and to attempt to take the turn at the foot of the hill would have a.s.sured the upsetting of the coach and all its belongings. At this juncture the pa.s.sengers observed a strange smile creep over the coachman's face, while he gathered up the reins in the best style of the profession, at the same time lashing his horses into a good gallop. Terror-struck, the pa.s.sengers saw nothing but destruction before them; yet they had no alternative but to await the issue. Opposite the foot of the hill was a stout gate leading into a field, and this was the goal the driver had in view. Steadying the coach by keeping its course straight, he gave his horses all the momentum they could gather, and shot them direct at the gate. The gate went into splinters, the horses and coach bounded into the field, and were there immediately drawn up, neither horses, coach, nor pa.s.sengers being seriously hurt by the adventure.

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOLYHEAD AND CHESTER MAILS SNOWED UP NEAR DUNSTABLE--26TH DEC. 1836. (_From an old Print._)]

Of all the interruptions to the mail-coach service, none were so serious as those which were occasioned by snowstorms, nor were the dangers attending them of a light nature to the drivers, guards, or pa.s.sengers.

The work achieved by man, either for good or evil, how insignificant does it not seem when contrasted with the phenomena of nature!

In the year 1799 a severe snowstorm occurred in the country, which very much deranged the mail-service, as may be gathered from the following circular issued by the London Post-office on the 27th April of that year:--

"Several mail-coaches being still missing that were obstructed in the snow since the 1st February last, this is to desire you will immediately represent to me an account of all spare patent mail-coaches that are in the stage where you travel over, whether they are regular stationed mail-coaches or extra spare coaches, and the exact place where they are, either in barn, field, yard, or coach-house, and the condition they are in, and if they have seats, rugs, and windows complete." So that here, after a lapse of about three months, the Post-office had not recovered the use of all its mail-coaches, and was beginning to hunt up the missing vehicles.

Another snowstorm occurred in January 1814, evidence of which, from a pa.s.senger's point of view, is furnished by Macready in his 'Reminiscences.' He wrote as follows:--

"The snow was falling fast, and had already drifted so high between the Ross Inn and Berwick-on-Tweed that it had been necessary to cut a pa.s.sage for carriages for some miles. We did not reach Newcastle until nearly two hours after midnight: and fortunate was it for the theatre and ourselves that we had not delayed our journey, for the next day the mails were stopped; nor for more than six weeks was there any conveyance by carriage between Edinburgh and Newcastle. After some weeks a pa.s.sage was cut through the snow for the guards to carry the mails on horseback, but for a length of time the communications every way were very irregular."

But Christmas of 1836 must bear the palm for snowstorms which have succeeded in deranging the mail-service in England, and it may be well to quote here some accounts of the circ.u.mstances written at the time:--

"The guard of the Glasgow mail, which arrived on Sunday morning, said that the roads were in the northern parts heavy with snow, and that at one place the mail was two hours getting over four miles of road. Never before, within recollection, was the London mail stopped for a whole night at a few miles from London; and never before has the intercourse between the southern shires of England and the metropolis been interrupted for two whole days."

"Fourteen mail-coaches were abandoned on the various roads."

"The Brighton mail (from London) reached Crawley, but was compelled to return. The Dover mail also returned, not being able to proceed farther than Gravesend. The Hastings mail was also obliged to return. The Brighton up-mail of Sunday had travelled about eight miles from that town, when it fell into a drift of snow, from which it was impossible to extricate it without further a.s.sistance. The guard immediately set off to obtain all necessary aid; but when he returned, no trace whatever could be found either of the coach, coachman, or pa.s.sengers, three in number. After much difficulty the coach was found, but could not be extricated from the hollow into which it had got. The guard did not reach town until seven o'clock on Tuesday night, having been obliged to travel with the bags on horseback, and in many instances to leave the main road and proceed across fields, in order to avoid the deep drifts of snow."

"The Bath and Bristol mails, due on Tuesday morning, were abandoned eighty miles from London, and the mail-bags brought up in a postchaise-and-four by the two guards, who reached London at six o'clock on Wednesday morning. For seventeen miles of the distance they had to come across fields."

"The Manchester down-mail reached St Albans, and getting off the road into a hollow, was upset. The guard returned to London in a post-chaise and four horses with the bags and pa.s.sengers."

"About a mile from St Albans, on the London side, a chariot without horses was seen on Tuesday nearly buried in the snow. There were two ladies inside, who made an earnest appeal to the mail-guard, whose coach had got into a drift nearly at the same spot. The ladies said the postboy had left them to go to St Albans to get fresh cattle, and had been gone two hours. The guard was unable to a.s.sist them, and his mail being extracted, he pursued his journey for London, leaving the chariot and ladies in the situation where they were first seen."

"The Devonport mail arrived at half-past eleven o'clock. The guard, who had travelled with it from Ilminster, a distance of 140 miles, states that journey to have been a most trying one to both men and cattle. The storm commenced when they reached Wincanton, and never afterwards ceased. The wind blew fresh, and the snow and sleet in crossing Salisbury Plain were driving into their faces so as almost to blind them. Between Andover and Whitchurch the mail was stuck fast in a snowdrift, and the horses, in attempting to get out, were nearly buried.

The coachman got down, and almost disappeared in the drift upon which he alighted. Fortunately, at this juncture, a waggon with four horses came up, and by unyoking these from the waggon and attaching them to the mail, it was got out of the hollow in which it was sunk."

These are some of the reports, written at the time, of the disorganisation of the mail-service in consequence of the snowstorm.

Some slight idea of the magnitude of the drifts may be obtained from one or two additional particulars. The mail proceeding from Exeter for London was five times buried in the snow, and had to be dug out. A mail-coach got off the road seven miles from Louth, and went over into a gravel-pit, one of the horses being killed and the guard severely bruised. So deeply was another coach buried on this line of road that it took 300 men, princ.i.p.ally sappers and miners, working several hours, to make a pa.s.sage to the coach and rescue the mails and pa.s.sengers. Near Chatham the snow lay to a depth of 30 or 40 feet, and the military were turned out to the number of 600 to clear the roads.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE DEVONPORT MAIL-COACH FORCING ITS WAY THROUGH A SNOWDRIFT NEAR AMESBURY--27TH DEC. 1836. (_From an old Print._)]

On the line of road from Chatham to Dover, a sum of 700 was spent by the road-trustees in opening up the road for the resumption of traffic, an official report stating that for 26 miles the road "was blocked up by an impenetrable ma.s.s of snow varying from 3 feet to 18 feet in depth."

Between Leicester and Northampton cuttings were made, just wide enough for a coach to pa.s.s, where the snow was heaped up to a height of 30, 40, and in some places 50 feet. About a stage from Coventry, near a place called Dunchurch, seventeen coaches were reported to be laid up in the snow; and in other parts of the country a similar wholesale derangement or stoppage of road-traffic took place.

On the 9th January 1837, an official report set forth that "the mail-coach road between Louth and Sheffield had on the 6th inst. been closed twelve days in consequence of the snow, and it is stated that it will be a week before the mail can run." An attempt was made to get the mail forward from Lewes to London by post-chaise and four horses; but after proceeding about a mile from the town, the chaise returned, the driver reporting that it was impossible to proceed, as the main road was quite blocked up with snow to a depth of 10 or 12 feet.

These were the good old times; and no doubt to us they have a romance, though to the people who lived in them they had a very practical aspect.

The general instructions to mail-guards in cases of breakdown were as follows:--

"When the coach is so broke down that it cannot proceed as it is on its way to London, if you have not above two pa.s.sengers, and you can procure a post-chaise without loss of time, get them and the mail forward in that way, with the horses that used to draw the mail-coach, that they may be in their places (till you come to where a coach is stationed); and if you have lost any time, you must endeavour to fetch it up, which may be easily done, as the chaise is lighter than the coach.

"If you cannot get a post-chaise, take off one of the coach-horses, and ride with your bags to the next stage; there take another horse,--and so on till you come to the end of your ground, when you must deliver the bags to the next guard, who must proceed in the same manner. If your mail is so large (as the York, Manchester, and two or three others are at some part of the road) that one horse cannot carry it, you may take two; tie the mail on one horse and ride the other. The person who horses the mail must order his horsekeeper at every stage to furnish you with horses in case of accidents. Change your horses at every post-town, and do all your office-duty the same as if the coach travelled.

"If in travelling from London an accident happens, use all possible expedition in repairing the coach to proceed; and if it cannot be repaired in an hour or two, take the mail forward by horse or chaise--if the latter, the pa.s.sengers will go with you."

In pursuance of these instructions, many instances of devotion to duty were given by the mail-guards, in labouring to get the mails forward in the midst of the snowstorm of 1836.

On the 26th of December the Birmingham mail-coach, proceeding to London, got rather beyond Aylesbury, where it broke down. Some things having been set right, another effort was made, and some little further way made; but the attempt to go on had to be given up, for the snow was getting deeper at every step. A hurricane was blowing, accompanied with a fall of fine snow, and the horses shook with extreme cold. In these circ.u.mstances, Price the mail-guard mounted one of the horses, tied his mail-bags on the back of another, and set out for London. He was joined farther on by two postboys on other horses with the bye-bags, and all three journeyed in company. The road-marks being frequently effaced, they were constantly deviating from their proper course, clearing gates, hedges, and ditches; but having a general knowledge of the lie of the country, and Price being possessed of good nerves, they succeeded in reaching the metropolis. The guard was in a distressing state of exhaustion when he reached his destination. This was only one instance of the way in which the guards acquitted themselves during this memorable storm, and for their great exertions they received the special thanks of the Postmaster-General.

At a place called Cavendish Bridge the mails were arrested by the storm, and the exertions of the coachman and guard were thus referred to by a private gentleman of the neighbourhood, who communicated with the Post-office on the subject: "I take leave to remark that the zeal and industry evinced by the guard and coachman, more especially the former (named Needle), upon the trying occasion to which your communication has reference, was well worthy of imitation, and formed a striking contrast to the reprehensible apathy of two gentlemen who were inside pa.s.sengers by the mail."