Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
183
On
Wednesday
the
23d
October
1816,
at
half-past
nine
in
the
evening,
the
postboy
carrying
the
mail-bags
from
Teignmouth
and
neighbouring
places
to
Exeter,
was
assaulted
"in
a
most
desperate
and
inhuman
manner"
near
the
village
of
Alphington,
and
plundered
of
the
Teignmouth
and
Exminster
bags.
The
poor
man
was
attacked
with
such
fury
that
he
was
felled
from
his
horse,
came
to
the
ground
on
his
head,
which
was
fractured
in
two
places,
and
in
consequence
of
his
injuries,
he
remained
insensible
for
some
time.
When
he
regained
consciousness
in
the
Exeter
Hospital,
whither
he
had
been
conveyed,
he
was
able
to
explain
that,
at
the
time
of
the
attack,
he
was
walking
his
horse
up
a
hill,
that
the
assailant
was
a
young
man,
and
that
he
was
mounted
on
a
grey
horse.
This
horse
was
supposed
afterwards
to
be
traced,
though
the
robber
failed
to
be
discovered,
notwithstanding
that
a
reward
of
L50
was
offered
for
his
discovery
and
conviction.
"A
horse
exactly
answering
the
description,"
says
an
official
record,
"was
taken
from
a
field
near
Dawlish
on
the
Wednesday
night,
and
turned
back
to
the
same
place
before
daybreak
on
Thursday,
having
evidently
been
rode
very
fast,
and
gored
very
much
in
the
sides."
The
owner
of
the
horse
could
give
no
assistance
in
the
matter,
nor
had
he
suspicions
against
any
one;
so
that
it
would
appear
the
robber
had
taken
the
horse
surreptitiously
for
his
purpose.
The
mail-bags
were
afterwards
recovered,
with
some
few
of
the
letters
opened:
but
it
did
not
appear
that
any
property
was
missing.
The
unfortunate
rider,
whose
name
was
"Caddy,"
remained
in
hospital
till
the
January
following,
when
he
was
discharged;
but
in
the
month
of
May
his
wounds
broke
out
afresh,
and
he
had
to
return
to
hospital,
being
now
become
subject
to
epileptic
fits
owing
to
his
injuries.
As
he
was
no
longer
able
for
service,
he
was
granted
a
gratuity
by
the
Post-office;
and
it
is
not
probable
that
he
survived
very
long
thereafter.
With
the
mere
expectation
of
getting
some
little
gain
from
the
robbery,
the
marauder
had
all
but
killed
the
poor
postboy,
who
had
a
wife
and
two
children
dependent
on
him;
and
he
has
in
his
evil-doing
given
a
good
example
of
what
Burns
calls
"man's
inhumanity
to
man,"
that
"makes
countless
thousands
mourn."
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
