72 The Dumfries Post Office, 1642-1910. 



anxious to protect his father's property. The crowd opened and 

 recoiled so far, and the tremendous rush — the appalling waves 

 on waves of people — far exceeded in magnitude and intensity 

 anything we ever witnessed in Dumfries before. When near the 

 Post Otlice the coach was surrounded, the doors opened, and the 

 interior exposed; and though this proceeding served to allay 

 suspicion, the cry soon resounded far and wide that the mis- 

 creant, who was known to be a small man, had managed to 

 squeeze himself into the boot. We have said that the mob had 

 concocted a plan, and from all we can learn, their resolution was 

 to stop the mail at the middle of the bridge and precipitate Hare 

 over its goodly parapet into the river. Failing this, they had 

 fully determined to way-lay the coach at Cassylands toll-bar, and 

 subject him to some other species of punishment ; and in proof of 

 this we need only state that they had forcibly barricaded the gates. 

 But when it became obvious that Hare was neither in nor on the 

 mail, the guard and driver were allowed to proceed."' 



Hare was not allowed to go by the mail, and it was only bv 

 the strategy of the inmates of the King's Arms that he was enabled 

 to escape bv a back entrance and obtain a temporary shelter 

 within the walls of the old jail in Buccleuch Street. 



At the beginning of last century the conveyance of news was 

 an important feature of our coaching system, and the interesting 

 custom of discharging firearms, adopted by the guards of the 

 various mail coaches to announce the arrival of important news, 

 seems to have been observed in our district. 



" Thursday, 5th September, 1799. — This night t'ne mail 

 coach guard fired when the coach came in on account of the news 

 of taking the Dutch fleet. 



Sunday, 4th September, 1808. — This night the news of an 

 important victory having been gained by Sir A. Wellesley in 

 Portugal, the mail coach guarei fired in consequence when he 

 came in. 



Saturday, 17th September, 1808. — The news of the sur- 

 render of Junott and the Russian fleet arrived this night. The 

 guard of the mail coach fired. "^^ 



29. Diary of William Griersou, father of Dr T. B. Griersou 

 Thornhill. pp. 13 and 21. 



•I 



