TELEGRAPHS ON THE TRACK 285 



signalled it to the transmitting office, and told the 

 sender that it had gone. 'Gone!' said he; 'nay, 

 it's there still. Put it in the machine, and send it 

 off properly, man !' ' Oh, very well,' I replied ; ' if 

 you prefer it that way, here goes !' Then, I am 

 ashamed to own, lending myself to deceit, I un- 

 fastened the back of the instrument, thrust in the 

 paper, shut up the apparatus, rang the bell vigor- 

 ously, and nodded to my client. He went away with 

 a smile upon his face and a satisfied expression at 

 having brought the youngster to book and compelled 

 him to telegraph properly. 



But one was hardly prepared for credulity of the 

 same sort forty years later. Yet when new wires were 

 erected north of Banbury, in 1890, an old woman in 

 one of the villages through which they passed asked 

 what the wires were for, and received a proper reply. 

 ' Ah, well,' was the rejoinder, ' I expect I should 

 have to watch them a long time before I saw a tele- 

 graph-message going along. My eyesight is getting 

 so bad !' 



An anecdote of the same sort which reached me 

 from a town in Norfolk fits in very well with my own 

 experience : 



The heroine came to the post-office to send a six- 

 penny telegram, but found that her draft ran to 

 twenty-three words, costing elevenpence halfpenny. 

 So being, like Mrs. Gilpin, of frugal mind, she sacri- 

 ficed many of the official forms in preparing fresh 

 drafts, until at length the words were reduced to 



