he has been only a few days in my
service."

As the unpolished diamond entered at this moment with a large plate of
buttered toast, Miss Lillycrop changed the subject abruptly by
expressing a hope that May Maylands had not to go on late duty that
evening.

"Oh, no; it's not my turn for a week yet," said May.

"It seems to me very hard that they should work you night and day," said
Phil, who had been quietly drinking in new ideas with his tea while his
cousin discoursed.

"But they don't work us night and day, Phil," returned May, "it is only
the telegraphs that do that. We of the female staff work in relays. If
we commence at 8 a.m. we work till 4 p.m. If we begin at nine we work
till five, and so on--eight p.m. being our latest hour. Night duty is
performed by men, who are divided into two sections, and it is so
arranged that each man has an alternate long and short duty--working
three hours one night and thirteen hours the next. We are allowed
half-an-hour for dinner, which we eat in a dining-hall in the place. Of
course we dine in relays also, as there are above twelve hundred of us,
male and female."

"How many?" asked George Aspel in surprise.

"Above twelve hundred."

"Why, that would make two pretty fair regiments of soldiers," said
Aspel.

"No, George," said Phil, "it's two regiments of pretty fair soldiers
that they'd make."

"Can't you hold your tongue, man, an' let May talk?" retorted Aspel.

"So, you see," continued May, "that amongst us we manage to have the
telegraphic communication of the kingdom well attended to."

"But tell me, May," said Phil, "do they really suck messages through
tubes two miles long?"

"Indeed they do, Phil. You see, the General Post-Office in London is in
direct communication with all the chief centres of the kingdom, such as
Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin, Cork,
etcetera, so that all messages sent from London must pass through the
great hall at St. Martin's-le-Grand. But there are many offices in
London for receiving telegrams besides the General Post-Office. Suppose
that one of these offices in the city receives numerous telegrams every
hour all day long,--instead of transmitting these by wire to the General
Post-Office, to be re-distributed to their various destinations, they
are collected and put bodily into cylindrical leather cases, which are
inserted into pneumatic metal tubes. These extend to our central
office, and t