The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1879-10-04
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The Writing Telegraph.

Cowper's writing telegraph has been
placed on the London and Southwestern
Railway, and it works most successfully,
says the Engineer, from Woking to
Waterloo, distance of 261f miles, writ
ing off the messages in ink, one after
the other, in perfectly legible manner,
whether regular line messages or mes
sages made up in order to give the in
strument more work to do. On some
days more resistance coils of wire have
been introduced into the two line wires,
in order to represent greater distances,
and thus 6211s miles and 921a miles have
been worked through in most satisfac-
tory manner, and it only being necessary
in such eases to add few more cells to
the battery, which in no case was as pow
erful as is very often used on the same
line. The effect of the currents through
the multiplicity of other line wires, in
close proximity to the two in use for the
writing telegraph, was closely observed,
and the effect of induction was so ex-
ceedinglysmall as only to produce occa
sionally slight roughness in straight
line when the operators pencil was quite
stationary. but such effect was hardly
ever perceptible in the writing itself,
and never to affect its legibility The
fact of this Instrument requiring no
clerk to receive the message, translate it,
and write it down, seems to be much APP
preciated, as half dozen such instru-
ments may be telegraphing their Yards of
messages into one office, without the
least assistance from the clerk, who may,
from time to time, cut off and send out
the ready written messages; SO that not
only is the time of "calling" las with or
dinary Instruments saved, but the time
of waiting till the clerk can attend at the
other end of the line to receive signals,
which very often amounts to amuch long
er than is required for the whole mes
sage to be transmitted, especially in of
fees fitted with many instruments
in having an absolute record of
graph at the transmitting station An
other very important feature is the faci1-
ity with which all that is necessary to
learn to use the instrument may be found
out in five minutes. Every operation is
exceedingly simple, and there are prac
tically no fine adjustments anywhere.
Variation in the power of the battery is
of no Importance, as its effect may be
overcome by simply pushing the levers
carrying the springs against which the
needles pull a little further in or ont, as
may be necessary. The pen, which is
very small glass capillary siphon tube,
is, though of glass, very strong-it may
fall several feet on to bare floor without
breaking, and is very easily adjusted.
EXPERT CRITICISM You are fond of
Il - .afI A,,,.a1inr, Ga11oII
other day, as he saw the coachman he
had just engaged stow away a formida-
BILE volume of romance beneath the seat.
eyes, sir; have read great many nov
els, and am disguised to observe the
uniform ignorance of their authors as to
the eommonest affairs of everyday life
For instance, here is one story in which
I read: The Prince appeared agitated
on hearing these words, and hailing
carriage flung himself into it, cast his
purse to the driver and cried, Drive me
to the Faubnrg st. Honore ~ Then
few lines further on l see this: 'Valen-
tine resolved once for all to solve the
mystery, and hurrying to the stand
sprang into the first vehicle that pre-
sented itself, and finging her pocket
book to the coachman said, Follow yon
carriage. - Now, sir, / have been driv-
ing hack in Paris for forty years, and
I've driven thousands of people-all sorts
of people under every imaginable con-
dition, eloping lovers, jealous wives,
levanting cashiers, and so on-and, so
help me, st. Flacrel never in the course
of my long professional career has fare
thrown me his or her purse or pocket
book. No, sir; they have Just given me
thirty-five sous-semetimes it was the
round two francs, but very rarely"
,
The SCANDALS OF ONE TITLED FAM
ILY.-The Earl of Fife, whose death is
noticed by the latest London papers,
owned 252, 900 acres, with rental of
e72 900 year, in Scotland. His family
had been remarkable for its preeminence
One of his daughters is the Marehioness
eloped to Paris with an uncle of Lord
Baths, old enough to be her father.
They we're pursued by her brother, the
present Lord Fife, to Paris, and Lord
Townshend condoned the irregularity.
Her sister, Lady Ida, married Adrian
Hope, of the famous Anglo-Amsterdam
family, but tiring of him, took mp with
an Austrian attaehe, and was divorced.
Then the youngest daughter married
Lord nupplin. eldest son of the Earl of
kinnoali, but before two years Were over
she. too, found that she liked some one
else better, and was consequently
divorced for adultery with Herbert
Flower, whom she has since married