APPENDIX. 61 



NOTE S, PAGE 43. 



Ingenious men for ages have amused themselves 

 in arranging a bi-signal alphabet to obtain the most 

 simple system. Bacon, in his great work, " On the 

 Dignity and Advancement of Learning,'' Vol. VI., 

 ch. 1, 1605, gives an alphabet of two signs, and 

 says of it : " This contrivance shows a method of 

 expressing and signifying one's mind to any dis- 

 tance, by objects that are either visible or audible, 

 provided the objects are capable of two differences, 

 as bells, speaking trumpets, fire-works and can- 

 non," &c. 



In Rees' Cyclopaedia (1802-19) are given various 

 illustrations of bi-signal and tri-signal alphabets. 



Gauss and Weber's alphabets in 1833, and Stein- 

 heil's in 1836, are very nearly as simple as possible. 

 They use, at most, only four movements, and the 

 most frequent letters are represented by only one. 

 Two and a-half movements to a letter are needed 

 in the best arranged bi-signal alphabet, and these 

 old ones probably would not require more. 



NOTE T, PAGE 43. 



Philosophical Magazine. March, 1832. Vol. XL, 

 p. 199. 



NOTE U, PAGE 45. 

 Smithsonian Report. 1857. Pp. 111-12. 



NOTE V, PAGE 45. 



Steinheil had his telegraph working at Munich, 

 in July, 1837, over twelve miles of line, with eight 



