and published in successive
editions of the evening papers.

This feat attracted so much attention that Queen Victoria sought the
aid of the wireless for her own necessities. Her son, the Prince of
Wales, lay ill on his yacht, and the aged queen desired to keep
in constant communication with him. Marconi accordingly placed one
station on the prince's yacht and another at Osborne House, the
queen's residence. Communication was readily maintained, and one
hundred and fifty messages passed by wireless between the prince and
the royal mother.

While the electric waves bearing the messages were found to pass
through wood, stone, or earth, it was soon noticed in practical
operation that when many buildings, or a hill, or any other solid
object of size intervened between the stations the waves were
greatly retarded and the messages seriously interfered with. When the
apparatus was placed on board steel vessels it was found that any part
of the vessel coming between the stations checked the communication.
Marconi sought to avoid these difficulties by erecting high aerials at
every point, so that the waves might pass through the clear air over
solid obstructions.

Marconi's next effort was to connect France with England. He went to
France to demonstrate his apparatus to the French Government and set
up a station near Boulogne. The aerial was raised to a height of one
hundred and fifty feet. Another station was erected near Folkestone
on the English coast, across the Channel. A group of French officials
gathered in the little station near Folkestone for the test, which was
made on the 27th of March, 1899. Marconi sent the messages, which were
received by the station on the French shore without difficulty. Other
messages were received from France, and wireless communication between
the nations was an accomplished fact.

The use of the wireless for ships and lighthouses sprang into favor,
and wireless stations were established all around the British coasts
so that ships equipped with wireless might keep in communication
with the land. The British Admiralty quickly recognized the value
of wireless telegraphy to war vessels. While field telegraphs and
telephones had served the armies, the navies were still dependent upon
primitive signals, since a wire cannot be strung from ship to ship
nor from ship to shore. So the British battle-ships were equipped with
wireless apparatus and a thorough test was made. A sham battle
was held