Were one to collect despatches which pass over the telegraph line,
says a practical manager of a great telegraphic system, they would
make a curious volume of correspondence. The cost of the transmission
of a message depending upon the number of words it contains of course
renders its construction as brief as possible. Most despatches
contain less than a dozen words (together with an address and
signature), and it is marvellous how much matter this small number
of words often contains.
A lady, who wanted to ascertain when her husband would return home,
sent him a message making the enquiry. He replied that a serious
matter hindered him, and that he would not be able to return for some
days.
The lady immediately replied by sending another message in the
following laconic manner:--"Home. 12 September, 1903; To F.C.P.
Message received. Deuteronomy xxiv., 5."--Mary.
Having turned to the specified verse in the Word, the addressee read
the following long epistle:--
"When a man hath taken a new wife, he shall not go out to war,
neither shall he be charged with any business; but he shall be free
at home one year, and shall cheer up his wife which he hath taken."
A second specimen is a reply sent to a man who had committed an
offence against the law and had absconded. He wanted to find out
whether it would be prudent to return. He therefore telegraphed in
the following style:--
"1 October, 1903; To B.C.M. Is all O.K.?"--D.T.M.