TELEGRAPHS ON THE TRACK 295 



third traveller. He seemed to be a man of con- 

 siderable importance, and was well and fashionably 

 attired. 



The two friends, after the manner of Britons, 

 secretly resented the intrusion. One ' tapped' to the 

 other, as though drumming on his knee, ' What a 

 bore ! How well he's dressed ! I wish he'd go.' 

 'Thank you, gentlemen, for one compliment at any 

 rate,' promptly, in effect, said the stranger cheer- 

 fully. ' I am glad you like my coat ; I hope you will 

 let me stay.' He proved to be also an English tele- 

 graphist, and was taking a holiday, arrayed with 

 befitting splendour. 



Ingenious devices, especially in the case of long- 

 distance messages, are sometimes resorted to with a 

 view to economy. One firm, interested in the Austra- 

 lian trade, were in the habit of refusing certain 

 telegrams, which seemed to be beyond doubt intended 

 for them. Notice of this refusal, and consequent 

 non-delivery, was given by telegraph free of charge to 

 the colonial correspondent, and eventually it appeared 

 that the notice was used by the English firm as a 

 negative answer to the Australian offer, thus saving 

 the cost of a reply-telegram. 



Other devices have been long in use, such, for 

 example, as that of registering fifty or a hundred 

 titles for the same firm, the use of one of the titles 

 signifying not only the name of the firm, but also a 

 particular fact, such as the rise or fall of the market ; 

 another would indicate exceptional activity in one of 



