the afternoon, would take the same road. But what
was the astonishment of the assembled population when the coach
appeared, within a few minutes of the usual time, at the further end of
the Bridge of Banff. The people who were standing there urged both the
guard and coachman not to attempt to pass where their danger was so
certain. On hearing this the passengers left the coach; but the guard
and coachman, scouting the idea of danger in the very streets of Banff,
disregarded the advice they received, and drove straight along the
bridge. As they turned the corner of the butcher-market, signals were
made, and loud cries were uttered from the nearest houses to warn them
of the danger of advancing; yet still they kept urging the horses
onwards. But no sooner had they reached the place where the wall had
burst, than coach and horses were at once borne away together by the
raging current, and the vehicle was dashed violently against the corner
of Gillan's Inn. The whole four horses immediately disappeared, but
rose and plunged again, and dashed and struggled hard for their lives.
Loud were the shrieks of those who witnessed this spectacle. A boat came
almost instantaneously to the spot, but as the rowers pushed up to try
to disengage the horses, the poor animals, as they alternately reached
the surface, made desperate exertions to get into the boat, so that
extreme caution was necessary in approaching them. They did succeed in
liberating one of them, which immediately swam along the streets, amidst
the cheering of the population; but the other three sank to rise no
more. By this time the coach, with the coachman and guard, had been
thrown on the pavement, where the depth of water was less; and there the
guard was seen clinging to the top, and the coachman hanging by his
hands to a lamp-post, with his toes occasionally touching the box. In
this perilous state they remained till another boat came and relieved
them, when the guard and the mails were landed in safety. Great
indignation was displayed against the obstinacy which had produced this
accident. But much is to be said in defence of the servants of the Royal
Mail, who are expected to persevere in their endeavours to forward the
public post in defiance of risk, though in this case their zeal was
unfortunately proved to have been mistaken."[3]

Although, as already stated, robberies were frequent from the
mail-coaches, and the guard carried formidable weapons of defence, it