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The Royal Mail: Its Curiosities and Romance
·
James Wilson Hyde
59
The
two
leading
horses
were
killed
outright
by
the
fall,
while
one
of
the
wheelers
was
killed
by
a
heavy
stone
descending
upon
it
from
the
still
impending
portions
of
the
wrecked
structure.
The
coach
and
harness
also
were
utterly
destroyed.
But,
worse
still,
two
outside
passengers,
one
a
Mr
Lund,
a
partner
in
a
London
house,
and
the
other
named
Brand,
a
merchant
in
Ecclefechan,
were
killed
on
the
spot,
while
a
lady
and
three
gentlemen
who
were
inside
passengers
miraculously
escaped
with
their
lives,
though
they
were
severely
bruised.
The
lady,
who
had
scrambled
out
of
the
vehicle,
sought
refuge
on
a
rock
in
mid-stream,
there
remaining
prisoner
for
a
time;
and
by
her
means
a
second
catastrophe
of
a
similar
kind
was
happily
averted.
The
mail
from
Carlisle
for
Glasgow
usually
exchanged
"Good-night"
with
the
south-going
coach,
when
they
were
running
to
time,
just
about
the
scene
of
the
accident.
Fortunately
the
coach
from
Carlisle
was
rather
late;
but
when
it
did
arrive,
the
lady
on
the
rock,
seeing
the
lights
approach,
screamed
aloud,
and
thus
warned
the
driver
to
draw
up
in
time.
Succour
was
now
at
hand.
Something
ludicrous
generally
finds
itself
in
company
with
whatever
is
of
a
tragic
nature.
The
guard
of
the
Carlisle
coach
was
let
down
to
the
place
where
the
lady
was,
by
means
of
the
reins
taken
from
the
horses.
Hughie
Campbell--that
was
the
guard's
name--when
deliberating
upon
the
plan
of
rescue,
had
some
delicacy
as
to
how
he
should
affix
the
reins
to
the
person
of
the
lady,
and
called
up
to
those
above,
"Where
will
I
grip
her?"
But
before
he
could
be
otherwise
advised,
the
lady,
long
enough
already
on
the
rock,
broke
in,
"Grip
me
where
you
like,
but
grip
me
firm,"
which
observation
at
once
removed
Hughie's
difficulty,
and
set
his
scruples
at
ease.
The
driver
of
the
wrecked
coach,
Alexander
Cooper,
was
at
first
thought
to
have
been
carried
away;
but
he
was
afterwards
found
caught
between
two
stones
in
the
river.
He
survived
the
accident
only
a
few
weeks--serious
injuries
to
his
back
proving
fatal.
As
for
the
guard,
Thomas
Kinghorn,
he
was
severely
cut
about
the
head,
but
eventually
recovered.
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