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318
The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
57
Far
otherwise
was
the
case
in
the
days
of
coaching.
The
passengers,
as
well
as
the
drivers
and
guards,
were
not
only
exposed
to
the
drenchings
from
long-continued
rain,
the
terrible
exposure
to
the
cold
night-air
in
winter
travelling,
and
the
danger
of
attack
from
highwaymen,
but
they
ran
the
risks
of
all
the
accidents
of
the
road,
many
of
which
they
could
see
to
be
inevitable
before
they
happened.
There
were
occasions
when
passengers
were
frozen
to
death
on
the
coaches,
and
others
when
they
fell
off
benumbed
with
cold.
It
is
said
sometimes
that
first
impressions
are
often
correct;
but
there
are,
of
course,
erroneous
first
impressions
as
well.
A
story
is
told
of
a
mail-guard
in
Scotland
who
had
the
misfortune
to
be
on
a
coach
which
upset,
and
from
which
all
the
outside
people
were
thrown
to
the
ground.
The
guard
came
down
upon
his
head
on
the
top
of
a
stiff
hedge,
and
from
this
temporary
situation
rolled
into
a
ditch,
where
for
a
moment
he
lay.
Coming
to
himself
from
a
partial
stupor,
he
imagined
there
was
something
wrong
with
the
top
of
his
head,
and
putting
up
his
hand,
he
felt
a
flat
surface,
which
to
his
dawning
perception
appeared
to
be
a
section
of
his
neck,
his
impression
being
that
his
head
had
been
cut
off.
This
was,
however,
nothing
but
the
crown
of
his
hat,
which,
being
forced
down
over
his
head
and
face,
had
probably
saved
him
from
more
serious
damage.
Broken
limbs
were
accidents
of
common
occurrence;
but
affairs
of
much
more
serious
import
occasionally
took
place,
of
which
the
following
is
a
notable
example:--
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
