NAVIGATION. 129 



when the sound is barely audible. Two fog-horns 

 or two steam whistles, tuned to two different notes, 

 or when the distance is not too great, two notes 

 of a bugle or cornet may be used to telegraph 

 words and sentences with admirable smartness and 

 sureness. Five words a minute are easily attain- 

 able. Let any reader take the trouble to commit 

 to memory the annexed Morse alphabet. He will 

 know it all by heart in a day, and then w r ith a little 

 practice, he w r ill soon be able to speak by two 

 notes of a pianoforte, or -two notes of his voice 

 or by whistling two notes with his lips, at the rate 

 of eight or ten w r ords per minute. This method 

 has the great advantage that, if the sounds can be 

 heard at all, the distinction between the higher 

 and the lower, or as we may say for brevity, 

 " acute " and " grave," is unmistakable : whereas 

 the distinction between long and short blasts is 

 lost, or becomes uncertain, long before the sound is 

 inaudible. 



VOL. III. K - 



