being thereof
convicted, shall be deemed guilty of felony and shall suffer death as a
felon, without benefit of clergy.' Also if any person or persons
whatsoever shall rob any mail or mails, in which letters are sent or
conveyed by post, although it shall not prove to be highway robbery or
robbery committed in a dwelling-house, yet such offender or offenders
shall be 'deemed guilty of felony, and shall suffer death as a felon,
without benefit of clergy.'" In 1781 there was another robbery of the
Bristol mail. The occurrence was set forth in detail in the following
notice, which was issued on January 29th in that year:--

"General Post Office, Jan. 29, 1781.

"The Postboy bringing the Bristol Mail this morning from Maidenhead
was stop't between two and three o'clock by a single Highwayman with
a crape over his face, between the 11th and 12th milestones, near
the Cranford Bridge, who presented a pistol to him, and after making
him alight, drove away the Horse and Cart, which were found about 7
o'clock this morning in a meadow field near Farmer Lott's at
Twyford, when it appears that the greatest part of the letters were
taken out of the Bath and Bristol Bags, and that the following bags
were entirely taken away:--Pewsey, Ramsbury, Bradford, Henley,
Cirencester, Gloucester, Ross, Presteign, Fairford, Aberystwith,
Carmarthen, Pembroke, Calne, Trowbridge, Wallingford, Reading,
Stroud, Ledbury, Hereford, Northleach, Lechlade, Lampeter, Tenby,
Abergavenny, Newbury, Melksham, Maidenhead, Wantage,
Wotton-under-Edge, Tewkesbury, Leominster, Cheltenham, Hay,
Cardigan, Haverfordwest.

"The person who committed this robbery is supposed to have had an
accomplice, as two persons passed the Postboy on Cranford Bridge on
Horseback, prior to the Robbery, one of whom he thinks was the
robber; but it being so extremely dark, he is not able to give any
description of their persons.

"Whoever shall apprehend and convict, or cause to be apprehended and
convicted, the person who committed this Robbery, will be entitled
to a reward of Two Hundred Pounds, over and above the Reward given
by Act of Parliament for apprehending Highwaymen; or if any person,
whether an Accomplice in the Robbery or knoweth thereof, shall make
Discovery whereby the Person who committed the same may be
apprehended and brought to Justice, such Discoverer w