“With their muskets?”
“Yes, as easily as sailors with their flags. Then there are modes, both in the army and navy, of holding communication by the use of telegraphs of different descriptions. I have not the time to dwell on these now, but you shall see an alphabet, which has been invented for field-signals: vedettes, or signal-men, in different attitudes, stand for the letters. By this mode of signalizing, troops may communicate with each other across a river, or on other positions, very easily. When once you have an alphabet to work with, you may convey what message you like.”
“But, can men put themselves into the form of letters?”
“That is not necessary; for if a certain attitude is understood to stand for a certain letter, it amounts to the same thing. Here, then, you have the alphabet.”
“When there is a dot at the end of the arm it represents the cap of the signal-man. You see, then, that a man on one side a river might, by making one letter at a time, communicate what word he pleased to a man on the other side of the river, who might signalize it to another in the same way, and so on to any distance required. There might also be other signs, signifying words, or, indeed, sentences, such as ‘infantry,’ ‘cavalry,’ ‘advance,’—‘retreat,’ ‘enemy,’ ‘squadron,’ ‘battalion,’ ‘regiment.’”
“Famous! famous! With a little puzzling, we shall make it all out.”
“No doubt you will; patience and perseverance will work wonders. My conversations with you about soldiers and sailors bring back old scenes to my mind, that I had well nigh forgotten. If I should tell you the same things two or three times over, or not be quite correct in my narration, you must forgive me. True it is, that I have seen, heard, and read a great deal, but my memory is not what it once was.”
“No! Why, you seem to remember things as if they were but yesterday. Can you tell us something rather droll about sailors, just to finish up with?”
“There is a description, given by a well-known author, of a sailor when on shore, that will amuse you. It is drawn with much truth and ability.”