BOUND FOR THE BORDER 237 



when their prayers were granted, write letters of 

 grateful appreciation in their name. He, as nearly 

 as might be, solved the insoluble; he learned to 

 serve two masters. 



Bannatyne, too, was able, because of his previous 

 experience as a merchant, to do the department good 

 service in buying coal for the mail-packets at Milford, 

 Howth, and elsewhere. Between 1821 and 1831 he 

 bought and shipped more than fifty thousand tons. 



Despite civilities, the Chamber were not to be caught 

 napping. They feared that the Post-Office, lulled into 

 a sense of security by their compliments of 1819, might 

 be inclined, in 1825, to do the inexcusable thing 

 of favouring Edinburgh and forgetting Glasgow. 

 Accordingly, a committee of merchants was chosen to 

 watch the Post-Office arrangements for the accelera- 

 tion of mail-coaches, and take care that Glasgow got 

 its due. That there must be as early an arrival of 

 the letters at Glasgow as at Edinburgh went without 

 saying. 



This ' was the most unkindest cut of all.' The 

 Post-Ofifice — which was straining every nerve to do its 

 best for everyone — was to be watched as though it 

 could not be trusted ! It had benefited Edinburgh 

 willingly enough, no doubt, but still in a way perforce, 

 i.e., the London mails being due at Aberdeen too late 

 to be useful, a quickened service to the Granite City 

 had become indispensable, and such meant necessarily 

 an earlier arrival in the Scottish metropolis as well as 

 at Aberdeen. 



