An anecdote will suffice to illustrate the advantages of the electric over the visual variety of telegraph—the one being only workable in certain states of the weather; the other available in all states. Upon one occasion, when the British army were fighting in Spain, intelligence was every day feverishly expected from Wellington through the medium of the semaphore at the Admiralty. Long delayed, it came at last, and was apparently of a fearful character. It ran thus: "Wellington defeated." Parliament and the people were stunned for a time, and rumours flew about like wildfire to this effect. It turned out, however, that just as the word "defeated" was deciphered, a fog intervened, and cut off the rest of the communication. When the dark pall disappeared, the bright sky disclosed to a jubilant people, not "Wellington defeated," but "Wellington defeated—the French!"