therefore completed by a contrivance which may be represented by the semicircular piece of metal, K. In practice the two plates or springs, which, when not in use, are always pressed against the connector, K, which is a cross-piece on the top of the handle, keeping the London needle in circuit with the York battery, and _vice versâ_. As soon as London uses his handle, it presses the spring-plate, and puts his needle out of the York circuit, the current he sets up sending York needle to the right or left, as the case maybe. The second wire connecting the left York plate with the right London plate is, it will be seen, not carried along like the first wire. Use is made in this case of the conducting power of the earth itself, plates from the wires being buried many feet below the surface at London and York. When London wishes to speak to York, he first signifies his intention of so doing by ringing York’s alarum. This he effects by sending a current through an electro-magnet placed above York’s instrument. The armature is attracted, and frees the detent of the alarum, setting it ringing until York signals ready. London then stops the bell, and commences his message. By following the direction of the current, when the handle is turned to the left, as in fig. 4 [within fig. 253], it will be readily seen how this is effected: commencing with London’s copper, LC, it passes up before and down behind London’s needle, flowing along the wire between the two cities to York’s needle, up before and down behind which it travels, sending it also to the left. It then passes to York’s right plate, through the connector to the left plate, and so on to earth at York, coming to the surface again at London, passing through London’s right plate and through the lower part of the handle to the zinc of the battery. The reverse current may be easily followed. Any number of instruments with similar needles may be interposed along the course of the wire. When the operator wishes to speak to any particular one, he rings all the bells for attention, and then signals Derby or Nottingham, as the case may be. They all then throw their instruments out of current except the one required. The mode by which the needle movements are converted into language is simple. A is signalled by causing the needle to vibrate once to the right, B once right and once left, C once right and twice left; and so on, as arranged. The following is the alphabet (with numbers) once in use on the South-Eastern Railway for the double-needle instrument. The table is taken from Mr. Walker’s translation of De la Rive’s work on Electricity and Magnetism.