"Admiral. That part of a warship which does the talking while the figurehead does the thinking"

This quote by Ambrose Bierce is an amusing method of explaining the functions of the admiral and the figurehead on a warship. The admiral is the leader of the ship, and is responsible for making choices and offering orders. The figurehead, on the other hand, is a decorative sculpting on the front of the ship, and does not have any real power or authority. Bierce is suggesting that the admiral is the one who does the talking, while the token does the thinking. This suggests that the admiral is the one who decides, while the token is simply a symbol of the ship's power and authority.

The quote also indicates that the admiral is the one who supervises and has the power to make choices, while the token is simply a representation of the ship's power and authority. This is a humorous way of explaining the roles of the admiral and the figurehead, and suggests that the admiral is the one who supervises and has the power to make choices, while the figurehead is simply a symbol of the ship's power and authority.