ROBBERY AND ADVENTURE 149 



reward offered the liege-subjects of the king for 

 arresting an ordinary liighAvayman was raised 

 to £200 in the case of an attack on the mail, 

 further augmented hy another £100 if within five 

 miles of London. Mail-coaches, by consequence, 

 were left severely alone hy the Turpins, Aber- 

 shaws, and others of their kind ; and it has been 

 said that a mail-coach, unlike the old postboys 

 carrying the mail-bags, was never attacked. 



Although this is very likely true, it must not 

 be supposed that the mails were never robbed. 

 The distinction drawn is clear. Violence was not 

 shown, but robberies were frequent, often on a 

 sensational scale. One February night in 1810, 

 some unknown persons wrenched oft' the lock of 

 the hind-boot on one of the mails and made away 

 with no fewer than sixteen North-Country bags. 

 "Where was the guard ? Probably kissing the 

 pretty barmaid. Again, on November 9th, in that 

 same year, nine bags Avere stolen from a mail at 

 Bedford ; and so frequent grew robberies of all 

 sorts that in January 1S13 the Superintendent 

 of Mails was constrained to issue a warning notice 

 to his officials : — " The innards are desired bv 

 Mr. Hasker to be particularly attentive to their 

 mail-box. Depredations are committed every 

 night on some stage-coaches by stealing parcels. 

 I shall relate a few, which I trust will make 

 you circum.spect. The Bristol mail-coach has 

 been robbed within a week of the bankers' parcel, 

 value £1000 or upwards. The Bristol mail-coach 

 Avas robbed of money the 3rd instant to a large 



