Gazette Of The United States And Daily Evening Advertiser

The Invention of the Telegraphe does not belong alone to the French. About ten years ago, count Poini, at Rome, invented a mode of getting intelligence from Naples, in the course of an hour. The lottery, at Rome, depends upon the drawing at Naples. It differs from our lottery materially, for there are but six prizes, and these are the first six numbers drawn, and the remainder are all blanks. The count, whose house is on an eminence near Rome, managed with his confederates, who were placed at a certain distance between Naples and his estate, to have sky rockets let off, by which they had previously fixed with each other, to ascertain by such signals any particular number or numbers drawn. The plan succeeded, as tickets continued to be sold at Rome, for several hours after the drawing commenced at Naples, the account of which was always brought by the ordinary courier. By this scheme the party got about 100,000 crowns, and the plot probably never would have been discovered, had not the count purchased the whole of the six prizes, which caused suspicion, and of course excited inquiry.