Clouds of Witness ch 4 cont

“Things begin to look a bit more comfortable for old Jerry,” said Lord Peter. He leaned on the wall and began whistling softly, but with great accuracy, that elaborate passage of Bach which begins “Let Zion's children.”

"Singet Dem Herrn Ein Neues Lied"
Composed in Leipzig (1726-27)
Text:
[Ps. 149:1-3] (Chorus I, Chorus II)
"Sing ye the Lord a new refrain; the assembly of saints should be telling his praises. Israel joyful be in him who hath made him. Let Zion's children rejoice in him who is their mighty king; let them be praising his name's honor in dances; with timbrels and with psalt'ries unto him be playing".

“I wonder,” said the Hon. Freddy Arbuthnot, “what damn silly fool invented Sunday afternoon.”

For most Christians, Sunday is observed as a day for worship of God and rest, due to the belief that it is Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection.

Until recently - no work at all was allowed on Sundays afternoons - and no games either. People were to go to church, and then spend the rest of their time in doors.

In some countries, tourist spots like museums are closed on Sundays. In others - like the US, they are open on Sundays but closed on Mondays to make up for it.

Sunday is a day of rest in most Western countries, part of 'the weekend'. In most Muslim countries, and Israel, Sunday is a working day.

He shovelled coals on to the library fire with a vicious clatter, waking Colonel Marchbanks, who said, “Eh? Yes, quite right,” and fell asleep again instantly.

“Don't you grumble, Freddy,” said Lord Peter, who had been occupied for some time in opening and shutting all the drawers of the writing-table in a thoroughly irritating manner, and idly snapping to and fro the catch of the French window.

A French door is a door (installed singly or as one of a matching pair or series) consisting of a frame around one or more transparent and/or translucent panels (called lights or lites); it is also called a French window as it resembles a door-height casement window.

A pair of French doors does not generally include a central mullion (as do some casement window pairs), thus allowing a wider unobstructed opening. The frame typically requires a weather strip at floor level and where the doors meet to prevent water ingress. An espagnolette bolt allows the head and foot of each door to be secured in one movement. The slender window joinery maximizes light though into the room and minimizes the visual impact of the doorway joinery when considered externally.

“Think how dull old Jerry must feel. S'pose I'd better write him a line.”

He returned to the table and took a sheet of paper. “Do people use this room much to write letters in, do you know?”

“No idea,” said the Hon. Freddy. “Never write 'em myself. Where's the point of writin' when you can wire?

Telegraphs as such have existed in Europe from as early as prior to the Battle of Waterloo, then consisting as semaphores, or optical telegraphs that sent messages to a distant observer through line-of-sight signals. In 1837, American artist-turned inventor Samuel Morse conducted the first successful experiment with an electrical recording telegraph.

Terminology
A telegraph is a device for transmitting and receiving messages over long distances, i.e., for telegraphy. The word "telegraph" alone now generally refers to an electrical telegraph. Wireless telegraphy is also known as "CW", for continuous wave (a carrier modulated by on-off keying), as opposed to the earlier radio technique of using a spark gap.[citation needed]

A telegraph message sent by an electrical telegraph operator or telegrapher using Morse code (or a printing telegraph operator using plain text) was known as a telegram. A cablegram (see cablegram) was a message sent by a submarine telegraph cable, often shortened to a cable or a wire. Later, a Telex was a message sent by a Telex network, a switched network of teleprinters similar to a telephone network.

Before long distance telephone services were readily available or affordable, telegram services were very popular and the only way to convey information speedily over very long distances. Telegrams were often used to confirm business dealings and were commonly used to create binding legal documents for business dealings.

A wire picture or wire photo was a newspaper picture that was sent from a remote location by a facsimile telegraph. The teleostereograph machine, a forerunner to the modern electronic fax, was developed by AT&T's Bell Labs in the 1920s; however, the first commercial use of image facsimile telegraph devices date back to the 1800s. It was made by Samuel F. B. Morse (the coinventor of morse code).

A diplomatic telegram, also known as a diplomatic cable, is the term given to a confidential communication between a diplomatic mission and the foreign ministry of its parent country. These continue to be called telegrams or cables regardless of the method used for transmission.

And today, it’s what’s the point of writing when you can email?

Encourages people to write back, that's all. I think Denver writes here when he writes anywhere, and I saw the Colonel wrestlin' with pen and ink a day or two ago, didn't you, Colonel?” (The Colonel grunted, answering to his name like a dog that wags its tail in its sleep.) “What's the matter? Ain't there any ink?”

“I only wondered,” replied Peter placidly. He slipped a paper-knife under the top sheet of the blotting-pad and held it up to the light.

Until the advent of “biros” – people used fountain pens to write. The flow of ink in a fountain pen was uneven and would often deliver too much ink to the paper, so a piece of “blotting paper” was used to soak up the excess ink, so that it would not smear.

Because of this, words that one has written would often be visible - backwards - on the piece of blotting paper, and many's the detective who got a clue from reading it.

“Quite right, old man. Give you full marks for observation. Here's Jerry's signature, and the Colonel's, and a big, sprawly hand, which I should judge to be feminine.” He looked at the sheet again, shook his head, folded it up, and placed it in his pocket-book. “Doesn't seem to be anything there,” he commented, “but you never know. 'Five something of fine something'—grouse, probably! 'oe—is fou'—is found, I suppose. Well, it can't do any harm to keep it.”

He spread out his paper and began:

“Dear Jerry,—Here I am, the family sleuth on the trail, and it's damned exciting——”

The Colonel snored.