The Atlantic Telegraph Part 8

_Aug. 6th, Sunday._--It was very thick all through the night--fog, rain, drizzle alternately, and all together. When morning broke, the Terrible was visible for a moment in a lift of the veil of grey vapour which hung down from the sky on the face of the waters. The buoy was of course quite lost to view, nor did we see it all day. At 1045 a.m. Captain Anderson read prayers in the saloon. At noon it was quite hopeless to form a conjecture respecting the position of the sun or of the horizon, but Captain Moriarty and Captain Anderson were ready to pounce upon either, and as the least gleam of light came forth, s.e.xtants in hand, like the figures which indicate fine weather in the German hygrometers.

The sea was calm, rolling in lazy folds under the ship, which scarcely condescended to notice them. She is a wonder! In default of anything else, it was something to lie on a sofa in the ladies' saloon, and try to think you really were on the bosom of the Atlantic,--not a bulkhead creaking, not a lamp moving, not a gla.s.s jingling. Under the influence of an unknown current, the Great Eastern was drifting steadily against the wind. When the circ.u.mstance was noticed, it could only be referred to the "Gulf Stream," which is held answerable for a good many things all over the world. At 4 p.m. the buoy was supposed to be 15 miles N.W.

N. of us, the wind being E.S.E., but it was only out of many calculations Captain Moriarty and Captain Anderson created a hypothetical position. There had been no good observation for three days, and until we could determine the ship's position exactly, and get a good wind to drift down on the Cable, it would be quite useless to put down the grapnel.

The buoy was supposed to be some 12 miles distant from the end of the Cable, and not far from the slack made by the Great Eastern. If we got this slack, the Cable would come up more easily on the grapnel. Of course, if the buoy had been ready when the Cable broke, it would have been cast loose at the spot where the wire rope and grapnel sank. If the Cable could be caught, it was proposed either to place a breaking strain upon it, so as to get a loose end and a portion of slack, and then to grapple for it a second time within a mile or so of the end, or to try and take it inboard without breaking. Some suggested that the Great Eastern should steam at once to Trinity Bay, where the fleet was lying, and ask the admiral for a couple of men-of-war to help us in grappling; but those acquainted with our naval resources declared that it would be useless, as the ships would have no tackle aboard fit for the work, and could not get it even at Halifax. Others recommended an immediate return to England for a similar purpose, to get a complete outfit for grappling before the season was advanced, and to return to the end of the Cable, or to a spot 100 miles east of it, where the water is not so deep. What was positive was, that more than 1,100 miles of the most perfect Cable ever laid, as regards electrical conditions, was now lying three-quarters of the way across from Valentia to Newfoundland.

_Monday, Aug. 7th._--During the night it was raining, fogging, drizzling, clouding over and under, doing anything but blowing, and of course as we drifted hither and thither,--the largest float that currents and waves ever toyed with,--we had no notion of any particular value of our whereabouts. But at 4 a.m. a glimpse was caught of the Terrible lying-to about 6 miles distant, and we steered gently towards her and found that she was keeping watch over the buoy, which was floating apparently 2 miles away from her. Our course was W.N.W. till we came nearly abreast of the buoy shortly before 9 a.m., when it was altered to N.W. The wind was light and from the northward, and the Great Eastern steamed quietly onwards that she might heave over the grapnel and drift down on the line of the Cable when the fog cleared and the wind favoured.

The feat of seamanship which was accomplished, and the work so nearly consummated, was so marvellous as to render its abrupt and profitless termination all the more bitter. The remarkable difficulty of such a task as Staff-Commander Moriarty and Captain Anderson executed cannot be understood without some sort of appreciation of the obstacles before them. The Atlantic Cable, as we sadly remember, dropped into the unknown abyss on Aug. 2. We had no soundings. In the night the Great Eastern drifted and steamed 25 miles from the end of the Cable--then bore away with a grapnel overboard, and 2,500 fathoms of wire rope attached, and steered so as to come across the course of the Cable at the bottom. On the morning of Aug. 3rd, the increasing strain on the line which towed the grapnel gave rise to hope at first, and finally to the certainty, that the ship had caught the Cable. At 320 o'clock, p.m., Greenwich time, when about 900 fathoms of grapnel line had been hauled in, the head of a swivel pin broke, and 1,400 fathoms of line, with grapnels and Atlantic Cable, went down to the bottom. Then the Great Eastern drifted again in a fog whilst preparing for another trial to drag the Cable up from the sea, and on 4th August, with an apparatus devised on board, got doubtful soundings, from which it was estimated that the water was about 2 miles deep. A buoy placed on a raft, which sunk so deep that only a small flagstaff and black bulb were visible, was let go, with a mushroom anchor and 2 miles of Cable attached to it, into this profound; but as it was not ready when the Cable broke, the buoy was slipped over at the distance of some miles from the place where the fatal fracture took place, in the hope and belief that the anchor would come up somewhere near the slack caused by the picking-up operations.

Still in fog, which shut the Terrible out of sight, the Great Eastern prepared for another attempt. Next day (August 5), with the a.s.sistance of the Terrible, she came upon the buoy, and having steamed away to a favourable position, so as to come down on the course of the Cable again, remained drifting and steaming gently, on the look-out for the buoy, which it was very difficult to discover owing to the fog and to the current and winds acting on the ship. The weather did not permit any observations for longitude to be made during the whole of this period.

On Aug. 7th we pa.s.sed the buoy and steered N.W., and at 1110 a.m., ship's time, 147 p.m., Greenwich time, another grapnel, with 2,500 fathoms of wire rope, was thrown over, and the Great Eastern, with a favourable wind, was let drift down on the course of the Cable, about half way between the buoy and the broken end. At 125 ship's time, the grapnel touched the bottom in 2,500 fathoms water, having sunk, owing to improved apparatus, in half the time consumed in the first operation. In six hours afterwards, the eyes which were watching every motion of the ship so anxiously, perceived the slightest possible indication that the grapnel was holding on at the bottom, and that the ship's head was coming up towards the northward. It is not possible to describe the joyous excitement which diffused itself over the Great Eastern as, with slowly-increasing cert.i.tude, she yielded to the strain from the grapnel and its prize, and in an hour and a-half canted her head from E. by S.

S., to E. North. The screw was used to bring up her bow to the strain, and the machinery of the picking-up apparatus, much improved and strengthened, was set in motion to draw in the grapnel by means of the capstan and its steam power. The strain shown by the indicator increased from 48 cwt. to 66 cwt. in a short time; but the engines did their work steadily till 810, when one of the wheels was broken by a jerk, which caused a slight delay. The grapnel-rope was, however, hauled in by the capstan at a uniform rate of 100 fathoms in 40 minutes; but the strain went on gradually increasing till it reached 70 cwt. to 75 cwt. At 1130 p.m., ship's time, or 25 a.m., Greenwich, 300 fathoms were aboard, and at midnight all those who were not engaged on duty connected with the operation retired to rest, thankful and encouraged. In the words of our signal to the Terrible, all was going on "hopefully." Throughout our slumbers the clank of the machinery, the shrill whistles to go on ahead, or turn astern, sounded till morning came, and when one by one the citizens of our little world turned up on deck, each felt, as he saw the wheels revolving and the wire rope uncoiling from the drums, that he was a.s.sisting at an attempt of singular audacity and success. A moonlight of great brightness, a night of quiet loveliness had favoured the enterprise, and the links of rope had come in one after another at a speed which furnished grounds for hope that if the end of the day witnessed similar progress, the Cable would be at the surface before nightfall.

[Ill.u.s.tration: G. McCulloch, lith from a drawing by R. Dudley London, Day & Sons, Limited, Lith.

INTERIOR OF ONE OF THE TANKS ON BOARD THE GREAT EASTERN. CABLE Pa.s.sING OUT.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: E. Walker, lith from a drawing by R. Dudley

London, Day & Sons, Limited, Lith.

LAUNCHING BUOY ON AUGUST 8TH IN LAT 51 25' 30'' LONG. 38 56' (MARKING SPOT WHERE CABLE HAD BEEN GRAPPLED).]

_August 8th._--This morning, about 730, one mile--one thousand fathoms--had been recovered, and was coiled on deck. The Cable, however, put out a little more vigour in its resistance, and the strain went up to 80 cwt., having touched 90 cwt. once or twice previously. No matter what happened, the perseverance of the engineers and seamen had been so far rewarded by a very extraordinary result. They had caught up a thin Cable from a depth of 2,500 fathoms, and had hauled it up through a mile of water. They were hauling at it still, and all might be recovered. But it was not so to be. Our speculations were summarily disposed of--our hopes sent to rest in the Atlantic. Shortly before 8 o'clock, an iron shackle and swivel at the end of a length of wire rope came over the bow, pa.s.sed over the drums, and had been wound three times round the capstan, when the head of the swivel bolt "drew," exactly as the swivel before it had done, and the rope, parting at once, flew round the capstan, over the drums, through the stops, with the irresistible force on it of a strain, indicated at the time or a little previously, of 90 cwt. It is wonderful no one was hurt. The end of the rope flourished its iron fist in the air, and struck out with it right and left, as though it were animated by a desire to destroy those who might arrest its progress. It pa.s.sed through the line of cablemen with an impatient sweep, dashed at one man's head, was only balked by his sudden stoop, and menacing from side to side the men at the bow, who fortunately were few in number, and were warned of the danger of their position, splashed overboard. All had been done that the means at the disposal of engineers and officers allowed. The machinery had been altered, improved, tested--every shackle and swivel had been separately examined, and several which looked faulty had been knocked off and replaced, but in every instance the metal was found to be of superior quality. It was 743 a.m., ship's time, exactly, when the rope parted. The sad news was signalled to the Terrible, which had been following our progress anxiously and hopefully during the night. Her flags in return soon said, "Very sorry," and she steamed towards the Great Eastern immediately. Mr.

Canning and Mr. Gooch, and others, consulted what was best to be done, and meantime the buoy and raft which had been prepared in antic.i.p.ation of such a catastrophe as had occurred, were lowered over the bows with a mooring rope of 2,500 fathoms long, attached to a broken spur-wheel. The buoy was surmounted by a rod with a black ball at the top over a flag red, white, and red, in three alternate horizontal stripes, and on it were the words and letters:--"Telegraph, No. 3." It floated rather low on a strong raft of timber, with corks lashed at the corners, and by observation and reckoning it was lowered in Lat. 51 25' 30'', Long. 38 56'. The old buoy at the time it was slipped bore S.E. by E. 13 miles from the Great Eastern. As there were still nearly 1,900 fathoms of wire rope on board, and some 500 fathoms of Manilla hawser, Mr. Canning resolved to make a third and last attempt ere he returned to Sheerness.

Captain Anderson warned Mr. Canning that from the indications of the weather, it was not likely he could renew his search for two or three days, but that was of the less consequence, inasmuch as it needed nearly that time for Mr. Canning's men to secure the shackles and prepare the apparatus for the third trial.

At 940 a.m., just as the buoy had gone over, a boat came alongside from the Terrible, and Mr. Prowse, the First Lieutenant, boarded us to know what we were going to do, to compare lat.i.tude and longitude, and to report to Captain Napier the decision arrived at by the gentlemen connected with the management of the Expedition. The Great Eastern had still about 3,500 tons of coal remaining, and the Terrible could wait three days more, and still keep coal enough to enable her to reach St.

John's. At 1130 the Great Eastern stood down to the second buoy, for the purpose of fixing its exact locality by observation. Soon afterwards the weather grew threatening, and at 2 p.m. we were obliged to put her head to the sea, which gradually increased till the Great Eastern began for the first time to give signs and tokens that she was not a fixture.

The Terrible stood on ahead on our port side, and for some time we kept the buoy equi-distant between us. At night, the wind increased to half a gale, and it was agreed on all sides that though the Great Eastern could have paid out the Cable with the utmost ease, she could not have picked up, and certainly could not have kept the grapnel line and Cable under her bows in such weather. But the steadiness of the vessel was the constant theme of praise. During the night she just kept her head to the sea. The Terrible, which got on our port and then on our starboard bow, signalled to us not to come too close, and before midnight her lights were invisible on our port quarter--one funnel down.

_Aug. 9th._--Our course was W.N.W. during the night; weather thick and rainy--strong southerly wind; sea running moderately high. At 6 a.m., having run by reckoning 35 miles from the buoy, our course was altered to E.S.E., so as to bring us back to it. The state of the weather delayed the artificers in their work. It rained heavily, the deck was by no means a horizontal plane, and it was doubtful if Mr. Canning and Mr.

Clifford, using all possible diligence, could get tackle and machinery in order before the following forenoon, so that it was not necessary to make any great speed. The reputation of the ship was enhanced in the eyes and feelings of her pa.s.sengers by the manner in which she had behaved in the undoubtedly high breeze and heavy sea. The former was admitted by sailors to be a "gale," though they seemed to think the force of the wind was affected by the addition of the prefix "summer,"

as if it mattered much at what time of the year a gale blows. The latter, when we turned tail and went before it, soon developed a latent tendency in the Great Eastern to obey the rules governing bodies floating on liquids under the action of summer gales. She rolled with a gravity and grandeur becoming so large a ship once in every 11 or 12 seconds; but on descending from the high decks to the saloon, one found no difficulty in walking along from end to end of it without gratuitous balancings or unpremeditated halts and progresses. It was a grey, gloomy, cloudy sea and sky--not a sail or a bird visible. In the forenoon the Terrible came in sight, lying-to with her topsail set, and it was hoped she was somewhere near the buoy. At noon our position was ascertained by observation to be Lat. 51 29' 30', Long. 39 6' 0''.

Great Eastern, as soon as she was near enough, asked the Terrible, "Do you see the buoy?" After a time, the answer flew out, "No." Then she added that she was "waiting for her position," and that she "believes the buoy to be S.S.E." of us. Our course was altered S. by E. E, and the look-out men in the top swept the sea on all sides. The Terrible also started on the search. At 320 p.m. the two ships were within signalling distance again--sea decreasing, wind falling fast. The Terrible asked, "Did you see buoy?" which was answered in negative, and then inquired if the Great Eastern was going to grapple again, which was replied to in the affirmative--Captain Anderson busy in one cabin and Staff-Commander Moriarty busy in another, working diagrams and calculations, and coming nearer and nearer to the little speck which fancies it is hidden in the ocean: with very good reason, too, for the search after such an object on such a field as the Atlantic, ruffled by a gale of wind, might well be esteemed of very doubtful success. But the merchant captain and the naval staff-commander were not men to be beaten, and in keen friendly compet.i.tion ran a race with pencils and charts to see who could determine the ship's position with the greatest accuracy, being rarely a mile apart from each other in the result. The only dubious point related to the buoy itself, for it might have drifted in the gale, it might have gone down at its moorings, or the Cable might have parted. There were strong currents, as well as winds and waves. The moment the weather moderated in the forenoon, the whole body of smiths and carpenters, and workers in iron, metal, and wood, were set to work at the alterations in the machinery for letting out the grapnel and taking it in again. A little army of skilled mechanics were exercising on deck; workshops and forges were established, and some of the many chimneys which rise above the bulwarks of the Great Eastern, and put one in mind of the roofs of the streets seen from the railway approaches to London, began to smoke. The smiths forged new pins for the swivels, and made new shackles and swivels; the carpenters made casings for capstan; ropemakers examined and secured the lengths of wire rope, and a new hawser was bent on to make up for the deficiency of buoy rope. At last, the much-sought-for object was discovered--the buoy was visible some 2 miles distant. The Great Eastern made haste to announce the news to the Terrible, and just as her flags were going aloft, a fluttering of bunting was visible in the rigging of the Terrible, and the signalman read her brief statement that the buoy was where we saw it was, thus proving that both vessels dropped on it at the same time. The finding of the little black point on the face of the Atlantic was a feat of navigation which gave great satisfaction to the worthy performers and the spectators. A little before 5 o'clock the Great Eastern was abreast of the buoy. The Terrible came up on the other side of it, and the Great Eastern and the man-of-war lay-to watching the tiny black ball, which bobbed up and down on the Atlantic swell, intending to stay by it as closely as possible till morning. By dint of energetic exertion, Mr.

Canning hoped to have his grapnel and tackle quite ready the moment the ship was in position on the morrow. It was a sight to behold the deck at night--bare-armed Vulcans wielding the sledge--Brontes, Steropes, and Pyracmon at bellows, forge, and anvil--fires blazing--hailing sparks flashing along the decks--incandescent ma.s.ses of iron growing into shape under the fierce blows--amateurs and artists admiring--the sea keeping watch and ward outside, and the hum of voices from its myriad of sentry waves rising above the clank of hammers which were closing the rivets up of the mail in which we were to do battle with old ocean for the captive he holds in his dismal dungeons below. Will he yield up his prisoner?

_Aug. 10th._ A more lovely morning could not be desired--sea, wind, position--all were auspicious for the renewed attempt, which must also be the last if our tackle break. A light breeze from the west succeeded to the gale, and a strong current setting to the eastward prevailed over it, and carried the Great Eastern nearly 7 miles dead against the wind from 9 p.m. last night till 4 a.m. this morning, thus taking her away from the buoy. The swell subsided, and such wind as there was favoured the plan to drift across the course of the Cable about a mile to westward of the place where the last grapnel was lost. Without much trouble the Great Eastern, having come upon the first buoy, caught the second buoy, and both were in sight at the same moment. Authorities differed concerning their distance. One maintained they were 7 miles, the other that they were 10 miles apart. At 1030, Greenwich time, when we were between 1 and 1 mile distant from the course of the Cable, the buoy bearing S.S.E., the grapnel was thrown over, and 2,460 fathoms of wire rope and hawser were paid out in 48 minutes.

As there was a current still setting against the easterly wind, which had increased in strength, Captain Anderson at first got all fore-and-aft canvas on the ship, to which were added afterwards her fore and maintopsails; her course was set N.W. by N., but she made little headway, and drifted to S.W. At 1110 a.m., ship's time, an increased strain on the grapnel line was shown by the dynamometer, and at the same time the head of the Great Eastern began to turn slowly northwards from her true course.

The square-sails were at once taken in. Great animation prevailed at the prospect of a third grapple with the Cable. But in a few moments the hope proved delusive, and the ship continued to drift to S. and W., the buoy bearing S.E. The bow swept round, varying from W. and by N. to N.

W. and by N. At noon the Great Eastern, if all reckonings were right, was but half a mile from the Cable, and the officers hoped she would come across it about half a mile west of the spot where she last hooked it. But at 330 p.m. the last hope vanished. The ship must by that time have long pa.s.sed the course of the Cable. Captain Anderson had an idea that we grappled it for a moment soon after noon, when the ship's head came 3 points to the N., and the strain increased for a moment to 60 cwt. The buoy was now 2 to 3 miles E.--ship's head being W.N.W. All that could be done was to take up grapnel, and make another cast for the Cable. The wind increased from eastward. At 415 p.m. ship's head was set N. by E. by screw, in order to enable the grapnel line to be taken in, and the capstan was set to haul up the grapnel. The wire rope came over the bows unstranded, and in very bad condition. Much controversy arose respecting the cause of this mischief. Some, the practical men, maintaining it was because there were not swivels enough on it; others, the theoretical men, demonstrating that the swivels had nothing to do with the torsion or detorsion; and both arguing as keenly with respect to what was happening 2 miles below them in the sea as if they were on the spot. The process of pulling up such a length of wire is tedious, and although no one had expressed much confidence in the experiment, every one was chagrined at the aspect of the tortured wire as it came curling and twisting inboard from its abortive mission. At midnight 1000 fathoms had been hauled in.

_August 11th._--Nothing to record of the night and early morning, save that both were fine, and that the capstan took in the iron fishing-line easily till 520 a.m., ship's time, when the grapnel came up to the bows. The cause of the failure was at once explained: the grapnel could not have caught the Cable, because in going down, or in dragging at the bottom, the chain of the shank had caught round one of the flukes. From the condition of the rope it was calculated that we were in only 1,950 fathoms of water, for nearly 500 fathoms of it were covered with the grey ooze of the bottom. The collectors sc.r.a.ped away at the precious gathering all the morning, and for a time forgot their sorrows.

It was now a dead calm, and Mr. Canning mustered his forces for another attempt for the Cable! He overhauled the wire rope, and exorcised hawsers out of crypts all over the ship.

"Hope lives eternal in the human breast."

[Ill.u.s.tration: E. Walker, lith from a drawing by R. Dudley

London, Day & Sons, Limited, Lith.

FORWARD DECK CLEARED FOR THE FINAL ATTEMPT AT GRAPPLING. AUGUST 11TH.]

Although the previous trials, with better gear, had proved unsuccessful; although the tackle now used was a thing of shreds and patches; although Mr. Canning and others said, "We are going to make this attempt because it is our duty to exhaust every means in our power," and thereby implied they had little or no confidence of success; there was scarcely a man in the ship who did not think "there is just a chance," and who would not have made the endeavour had the matter been left to his own decision. It was some encouragement to ascertain that there were only 1,950 fathoms of water below us. It was argued that, if the Cable could be broken at the bight, another drift about a mile from the loose end would be certain to succeed, as the loose end would twist round the eastward portion of the Cable, and come up at a diminished strain to the surface.

A grapnel with a shorter shank was selected for the next trial. The cablemen were set to work to coil down the new rope and hawsers between a circular enclosure, formed by uprights on the deck behind the capstan.

Ropemakers and artificers examined the rope which had been already used.

They served the injured strands with yarn, renewed portions chafed to death, tested bolts and shackles and swivels, and bent on new lengths of rope and hawser, whilst the ship was proceeding to take up her position for another demonstration against the Cable. The line now employed, the last left in the ship, was a thing of shreds and patches. It consisted of 1,600 fathoms of wire rope, 220 fathoms of hemp, and 510 fathoms of Manilla hawser, of which 1,760 fathoms could be depended upon, the rest being "suspicious." The morning was not very fine; but the wind was light, and on the whole favourable, and the only circ.u.mstance to cause doubt or uneasiness was the current, the influence of which could not be determined. The observations of the officers rendered it doubtful whether the buoy No. 2 had drifted, and it was rather believed that in the interval between the breaking of the grapnel and the letting-go of the buoy, the Great Eastern herself had drifted from the place, and thus caused the apparent discrepancy in position. At 745 a.m. the ship was alongside buoy No. 2 once more, and thence proceeded to an advantageous bearing for drifting down on the Cable with her grapnel.

The Terrible kept about two miles away, regarding our operations with a melancholy interest. At 1130 a.m., ship's time, the Great Eastern signalled "We are going to make a final effort," and soon afterwards, "We are sorry you have had such uncomfortable waiting." At 156 p.m., Greenwich time, when buoy No. 2 was bearing E. by N. about two miles, the ship's head being W. and by S., the grapnel was let go, and soon reached the bottom, as the improvements in the machinery and capstan enabled the men to pay it out at the rate of fifty fathoms a minute. The fore-and-aft canvas was set, to counteract the force of the current, and the Great Eastern drifted to N.E, right across the Cable, before a light breeze from S.W. At first there was only a strain of 42 cwt. shown, and the ship went quite steadily and slowly towards the Cable. At 330 p.m.

the strain increased, and then the Great Eastern gave some little sign of feeling a restraint on her actions from below, her head describing unsteady lines from W.N.W. to W. by S. The screw engines were gently brought into play to keep her head to the wind. The machinery and capstan, which had been put in motion some time previously to haul in the grapnel cable, now took it in easily and regularly, except when a shackle or swivel jarred it for a moment. Every movement of the ship was most keenly watched, till the increasing strain on the dynamometer showed that the same grip on the bottom which had twice turned the head of the Great Eastern, was again placed on the grapnel she was dragging along the bottom of the Atlantic. The index of the dynamometer rose: it marked 60 cwt., then it jerked up to 65 cwt., then it reached 70 cwt., then 75 cwt.: at last its iron finger pointed to 80 cwt. It was too much to stand by and witness the terrible struggle between the crisping, yielding hawser, which was coming in fast, the relentless iron-clad capstan, and the fierce resolute power in the black sea, which seemed endued with demoniacal energy as it tugged and swerved to and fro on the iron hook. But it was beyond peradventure that the Atlantic Cable had been hooked and struck, and was coming up from its oozy bed. What alternations of hope and fear--what doubts, what sanguine dreams, dispelled by a moment's thought, only to revive again! What need to say how men were agitated on board the ship? There was in their b.r.e.a.s.t.s, those who felt at all, that intense quiet excitement with which we all attend the utterance of a supreme decree, final and irrevocable. Some remained below in the saloons--fastened their eyes on unread pages of books, or gave expression to their feelings in fitful notes from piano or violin. Others went aft to the great Sahara of deck where all was lifeless now, and whence the iron oasis had vanished. Some walked to and fro in the saloon; others paced the deck amidships. None liked to go forward, where every jar of the machinery, every shackle that pa.s.sed the drum, every clank, made their hearts leap into their mouths. Captain Anderson, Mr. Canning, Mr. Clifford, and the officers and men engaged in working the ship and taking in the grapnel, were in the bows of course, and shared in the common anxiety. At dinner-time 500 fathoms of grapnel rope had been taken in, and the strain was mounting beyond 82 cwt.

Nothing else could be talked of. The boldest ventured to utter the words "Heart's Content" and "Newfoundland" once more. All through the unquiet meal we could hear the shrill whistle through the acoustic tube from the bow to the bridge, which warned the quartermasters to stop, reverse, or turn ahead the screw engines to meet the exigencies of the strain on the grapnel rope. The evening was darkling and raw. At 630 I left the saloon, and walked up and down the deck, under the shelter of the paddle-box, glancing forward now and then to the bow, to look at the busy crowd of engineers, sailors, and cablemen gathered round the rope coming in over the drum, which just rose clear of one of the foremasts, and listening to the warning shouts as the shackles came inboard, and hurtled through the machinery till they floundered on the hurricane deck.

About 20 minutes had elapsed when I heard the whistle sound on the bridge, and at the same time saw one of the men running aft anxiously.

"There's a heavy strain on now, sir," he said. I was going forward, when the whistle blew again, and I heard cries of "Stop it!" or "Stop her!"

in the bows, shouts of "Look out!" and agitated exclamations. Then there was silence. I knew at once all was over. The machinery stood still in the bows, and for a moment every man was fixed, as if turned to stone.

There, standing blank and mute, were the hardy constant toilers, whose toil was ended at last. Our last bolt was sped. Just at the moment the fracture took place, Staff-Commander Moriarty had come up from his cabin to announce that he was quite certain, from his calculations, that the vessel had dragged over the Cable in a most favourable spot. It was 940 p.m., Greenwich time, and 765 fathoms had been got in, leaving little more of the hempen tackle to be recovered, when a shackle came in and pa.s.sed through the machinery, and at the instant the hawser snapped as it was drawn to the capstan, and, whistling through the air like a round shot, would have carried death in its course through the crowded groups on the bows, but for the determination with which the men at the stoppers held on to them, and kept the murderous end straight in its career, as it sped back to the Atlantic. It was scarcely to be hoped that it had pa.s.sed harmlessly away. Mr. Canning and others rushed forward, exclaiming, "Is any one hurt?" ere the shout "It is gone!" had subsided. The battle was over! Then the first thought was for the wounded and the dead, and G.o.d be thanked for it, there were neither to add to the grief of defeat. Nigh two miles more of iron coils, and wire, and rope were added to the entanglement of the great labyrinth made by the Great Eastern in the bed of the ocean. In a few seconds every man knew the worst. The bow was deserted, and all came aft and set about their duties. Mr. Clifford, with the end of a hempen hawser in his hand, torn in twain as though it were a roll of brown paper--Mr. Canning already recovered from the shock, and giving orders to stow away what had come up from the sea--Captain Anderson directing the chief engineer to get up steam, and prepare for an immediate start.

The result was signalled to the Terrible, which came down to us, and as she was bound to St John's to take in coals to enable her to return to England, all who had business or friends in America prepared their dispatches for her boat. The wind and sea were rising, as if anxious to hurry us from the scene of the nine days' struggle. The Great Eastern's head was already turned westwards. All were prompt to leave the spot which soon would bear no mark of the night and day long labours--for the buoys which whirled up and down and round in the seaway would probably become waifs and strays on the ocean, and all that was left of the expedition for a time were the entries in log books--"Lat. 51 24' Long.

38 59'; end of Cable down N. 50 W. 1 mile"--and such memories as animate men who, having witnessed brave fights with adverse fortune, are encouraged thereby to persevere, in the sure conviction that the good work will in the end be accomplished. It was wild and dark when Lieutenant Prowse set off to regain his ship. The flash of a gun from the Terrible to recall her cutter lighted up the gloom, and the glare of an answering blue light, burned by the boat, revealed for an instant the hull of the man-of-war on the heaving waters. There was a profound silence on board the Big Ship. She struggled against the helm for a moment as though she still yearned to pursue her course to the west, then bowed her head to the angry sea in admission of defeat, and moved slowly to meet the rising sun. The signal lanterns flashed from the Terrible, "Farewell!" The lights from our paddle-box pierced the night, "Good-by! Thank you," in sad acknowledgment. Then each sped on her way in solitude and darkness.

The progress of the undertaking excited the utmost interest, not only in Great Britain, but over all the civilised world. Twice a day the telegraph at Foilhummerum spread to all parts of the earth a brief account of the doings of the Great Ship. Almost as soon as one of the unexpected impediments which marred the successful issue of the enterprise arose, the public were informed of it, and could mark on the map the spot where sailor, engineer, and electrician were engaged in their work on the bosom of the wide Atlantic ere their labours were over. The Great Eastern's position could be traced on the chart, and the course of the Cable, in its unseen resting-place, could be followed from day to day. The "faults" caused more surprise perhaps on sh.o.r.e than on board, because those engaged in paying-out the Cable were re-a.s.sured by the certainty with which the faults were detected, and the comparative facility with which the Cable was taken up from the sea. Although the various delays which occurred produced some discouragement and uneasiness among those who had worked so hard and embarked so much in the grand project, the ease with which communication was restored as often as it was injured or interrupted by faults and dead earth, inspired confidence in the eventual success of the attempt. But only those actually witnesses of the wonderful facility with which the Cable was paid out felt the conviction that the Cable could be laid. The public only knew the general results, and did not appreciate properly the nature of the difficulties to which the frustration of their hopes was due. When the last fault occurred, the electricians at Valentia were left without any precise indications of the nature of the obstruction, or of the proceedings of those on board; but they actually calculated within a few fathoms the exact locality of the injury; and when the end of the Cable sank into the depths of the ocean, the practical wizards of Foilhummerum could tell where it was to be found, though they could not see and could not hear. When all communication ceased with the Great Eastern no uneasiness was excited, because a similar event had occurred before for many hours, and the ship spoke after all. But hour after hour pa.s.sed away on leaden wings, and day followed day, and the needle was still, and the light moved not in the darkened chamber at Foilhummerum.

It may be conceived with what solicitude the men, in whose watchfulness all the sleeping and waking world were interested, looked out for some sign of the revival of the current in the dull veins of the subtle mechanism.

The directors and shareholders of the two companies represented something more than the enormous stake they had put in the undertaking.

Their feelings were shared by the ma.s.s of the people, and Her Majesty was animated by the same solicitude as her subjects. For there had been prophets of evil before the expedition sailed, and now their voices were raised again, and found credence among those who distrusted the magnificent ship which was then calmly breasting the billows of the Atlantic--the envy of her guardians--as well as among the cla.s.s whose normal condition is despair of every scheme, good, useful, novel, or great. The newspapers began to admit speculations and argumentative letters into their columns, and although the original articles did not indicate any apprehension of a catastrophe, it was evident the public mind was becoming uneasy. The feeling increased. The correspondence augmented in volume, and, let it be said, in wildness of conjecture and unsoundness of premises and conclusions. Those who were inclined to believe that the Great Eastern had gone to the bottom were comforted by the reflection that the two men-of-war would save those who were on board. Had they known that the Sphinx had disappeared, and that the Great Eastern was much better able to help the Terrible, in a time of watery trouble, than the Terrible would be to aid her, they would have despaired indeed.

All the while those on board engaged in their work--grappling and lifting, drifting and sailing--were enjoying themselves as far as the uncertainty attendant on their work would allow them, and were in a state of repose barely disturbed, as the time wore on, by surmises that people at home might begin to entertain doubts as to what had become of the expedition. Even these speculations would have had no agitating influence had the electricians on board communicated with the sh.o.r.e before they cut the end of the Cable on the last occasion. It would have surprised and amused officers and crew if they could have known that the vessel, which they were never tired of praising and admiring, was p.r.o.nounced by eminent engineers to need strengthening; that she had sunk in the middle, or had f.a.gged; or if they could have read confident a.s.sertions that the grand fabric in which they were so comfortably lodged and entertained and borne was unsafe and radically faulty; that good authorities had declared she was hogged. Undoubtedly there were grounds of anxiety, but none for antic.i.p.ations and predictions of the worst. It would not be fair to omit to mention that in some instances the most correct and close conjectures were made concerning the position of the ship and the work in which she was engaged, as well as the causes of the long-continued silence. Several letters appeared, in which the writers tried, with singular justice of reasoning, to stem the current of alarm. The press generally abstained from any adverse speculations; but it was rather behind the public feeling in that respect. It cannot be denied that the news-agent who hailed the Great Eastern at Crookhaven with the words, "We did not know what to make of you. Many think you went down," expressed the conviction of a great number of persons all over the kingdom, on the 17th August.

Early on the morning of that day the Great Eastern came in sight of land, and soon after 7 o'clock a.m. steamed into Crookhaven, to land a few pa.s.sengers and to communicate with the telegraph station at that solitary and romantic spot. Ere noon the news of the safety of the ship relieved many an anxious thought, silenced many a tongue and pen, and dissipated many a gloomy apprehension. It may be said that the return of the Great Eastern was a subject of national rejoicing. Every newspaper in the kingdom contained articles on the topic. The narrative of the voyage, which was written on board, and sent to all the princ.i.p.al journals before the Great Eastern arrived at the Nore, so that the public were at once placed in possession of every fact connected with the proceedings, almost simultaneously, was read with the utmost avidity, and when the facts were known, all men concurred in the justice of the leading articles which, without exception of note, drew fresh hopes of success from the record of the causes which led to the interruption of the enterprise. The energy, skill, and resolution displayed in the attempt to recover the Cable were admitted and praised on all hands. But what most excited attention was the fact that the Cable had actually been hooked three times at a depth of two nautical miles, and carried up halfway to the top. The most sceptical were convinced when they became aware of the hard material evidence on that point. Next in point of interest perhaps was the conduct of the Great Eastern herself. A great revulsion of sentiment took place in favour of the vessel which had hitherto been unfortunate in her management, or in the conditions under which she had been tried.

Whilst the most profound ignorance respecting the fate of the Great Eastern prevailed, an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Atlantic Telegraph Company was held on 8th August, in pursuance of a notice issued on 24th July previous, to consider the expediency of converting into Consolidated Eight per Cent. Preferential Stock the Eight per Cent.

Preferential Capital of the Atlantic Telegraph Company, consisting of 120,000 shares of 5_l._ each, and of converting into Ordinary Consolidated Stock the whole of the Ordinary Share Capital, consisting of 350 shares of the par value of 1000_l._, and 5,463 shares of the par value of 20_l._, and to issue either in ordinary stock or in shares the sum of 137,140_l._ of ordinary capital, authorised at the Extraordinary General Meeting of March 31st, 1864, and agreed to be issued in instalments fully paid up, to the contractors from time to time after the successful completion of their contract.

The directors also gave notice that they intended to seek authority from the shareholders to issue such amounts of new capital as may be required for the construction and laying of a second Atlantic Telegraph Cable under powers of their Act of Parliament, and to attach to such capital such privileges and such advantages and conditions as might be determined. The Right Hon. J. S. Wortley, chairman, who has exhibited unshaken confidence and untiring energy in the post he occupies, had a difficult task before him, but even then he could exhort his hearers to courage and perseverance. As he well said, "But there are two things from which we may derive considerable consolation. This great enterprise has been the subject of discussion in every civilised nation in the world. The eyes of science have been fixed upon it; and the acuteness of criticism has been brought to bear on it. We have had our detractors, and there have been sceptics; and what are the two main points on which they have founded their scepticism? One is, that the great depth of nearly three miles must bring extraordinary pressure on the Cable, must injure it by perforating the covering, and must in fact destroy the insulation. The other point was the impossibility, as they contended, of communicating intelligible signals through so great a length, or 'leap'

as they term it, as 1,600 miles. But we had a scientific committee, who made experiments, and who a.s.sured themselves that there was nothing in either of those objections; and now we have in addition the much more practical and valuable proof of experience. What are the facts? Some days before the interruption of the messages the Great Eastern pa.s.sed over the deepest portion of the ocean (with one slight exception) which we have to traverse between Europe and America. She pa.s.sed safely over a depth of 2,400 fathoms, telegraphing perfect signals. This entirely disproves and refutes the first objection and doubt which existed in the minds of those sceptical gentlemen, because the Cable was laid in great depths, varying from 1,500 to 2000, fathoms, and even in 2,400 fathoms; and so far from the great pressure at that depth injuring the Cable, the Company's signals appear from their telegrams to have improved every yard they went; and the signals through 2,400 fathoms of water were as perfect as, if not more perfect than, those at a less depth. That is in confirmation of the old Cable having worked at those depths. Then I say that our scientific committee, and those who said that the pressure would not have an injurious effect, have been fully borne out; and that the result has proved that, so far from injuring it, pressure improves the Cable. In spite of these facts, I see here a communication from a gentleman to one of the public journals only yesterday, in which he says, that looking at the pressure of a column of water equal to so many atmospheres, it must destroy the Cable; and he adds with confidence, that the Cable must be at the present moment a perfect wreck! And then he says that the Company never made experiments to satisfy themselves what this number of atmospheres would do to the Cable. He writes in perfect ignorance, that the scientific committee has the means afforded them by this Company of applying a weight of 6000lb. to the square inch; but after having proceeded to a certain extent with that experiment, and tried a very large amount of pressure, and finding that the Cable, so far from deteriorating, was improved by the compression of its elements, they thought it unnecessary to carry the experiments further. And now we have the result to corroborate their views."

On October 12, an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Atlantic Telegraph Company was held, at which the Chairman, the Right Hon. J. S.

Wortley, proposed a Resolution rescinding those pa.s.sed at the General Meeting in August. He reminded them the Capital was originally issued in 1000_l._ shares. After that an additional amount of capital was raised in 20_l._ shares; and after the first failure a further capital of 600,000_l._ in 5_l._ shares, and an 8 per cent. preference, was raised.

Under these circ.u.mstances they succeeded in raising the necessary sum enabling them to send out the last expedition, and they now proposed that notwithstanding that guarantee of 8 per cent. to issue a new preferential capital at the rate of 12 per cent. They had negotiated with the same contractors who had hitherto had charge of laying the Cable, and they were willing for the sum of 500,000_l._ to take out a sufficient quant.i.ty of Cable, together with that which was left in the ship amounting to about 1000 miles, and in the first place to go across and lay a new Cable, and then to come back and pick up the old one, splice it, and continue it to Newfoundland. He might say at once, that not only the contractors, but all who were engaged in the undertaking, were represented there that day, as well as the able staff of scientific men to whom they were so much indebted upon the last expedition, and he said in their presence that they all had extreme confidence that they would not only be able to lay the new Cable but to pick up the old one, mend it, and relay it. It was proposed that in addition to the 500,000_l._ there should, if the Cable was successfully laid, be a contingent profit to the contractor, which would be paid in money. It was apprehended that the additional 100,000_l._ asked for would be quite sufficient to meet any contingency that might arise. The formal Resolutions rescinding those pa.s.sed at the meeting in August last were carried unanimously; and it was Resolved, "That the Capital of the Company be increased to an amount not exceeding 2,000,000_l._, by the creation and issue of not exceeding 160,000 new shares of 5_l._ each, and that such new shares shall bear and be ent.i.tled to a preferential dividend at the rate of 12_l._ per cent. per annum on the amount for the time being paid up thereon, in priority to any dividend or on any other capital of the Company, and shall also, in proportion to the amount for the time being paid up thereon, be ent.i.tled to partic.i.p.ate equally with the other capital of the Company in any moneys applicable to dividend, which upon each declaration of dividend may remain after paying or providing for the said dividend of 12_l._ per cent. per annum, the preferential dividend of 8_l._ per cent. per annum payable on the consolidated 8 per cent. preferential stock of the Company, and a dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. per annum on the consolidated ordinary stock and ordinary shares of the Company."

In their Prospectus, the Directors stated that the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company, in consideration of the sum of 500,000_l._, which has been agreed on as the cost price of the Cable if paid for in cash, have already commenced the manufacture of the new Cable, to be laid down during 1866 between Ireland and Newfoundland. The contractors, if the said Cable be successful, but not otherwise, are to have in shares and cash a profit at the rate of 20 per cent. upon the cost. The contractors also undertake during 1866, without any further charge whatever, to go to sea with sufficient Cable, including that now left on board the Great Eastern, and all proper appliances and apparatus such as experience has shown to be necessary, and to use their best endeavours--in the success of which they express entire belief--to recover, repair, and complete in working order between Ireland and Newfoundland, the present broken Cable, which has been ascertained by recent careful electrical tests to be in perfect order throughout its entire length. It will be seen that circ.u.mstances have thus enabled the Board to effect a very considerable economy in the Company's present operations, for in the event of success the Company will be in possession of two efficient Cables for a considerably less amount than would have been expended if the Cable of this year had been successfully laid, and another had been purchased separately. Subscriptions were invited for the sum of 600,000_l._, in 120,000 shares of 5_l._ each.

This new capital will not only create fresh property, but probably resuscitate the old; and the experience of the present year shows that by these means the existing 8 per cent. Preference Stock will, in all probability, be again placed at par in the market before the sailing of the ship next year.

These new Shares will accordingly be ent.i.tled to take precedence as to dividend over all the other existing stock of the Company, and to partic.i.p.ate _pro rata_ in all subsequent dividends, bonuses, or benefits, after 8 per cent. shall have been paid upon the second preference stock and 4 per cent. upon the ordinary stock.

The profits to be expected on the completion of this work, if each of the two proposed Cables can be worked at the very low rate of only five words per minute upon each Cable for sixteen hours a day at five shillings per word, the traffic, after paying the dividend charges of 12, 8, and 4 per cent. respectively, amounting together to 144,000_l._ upon the capital comprised in those different stocks, and after paying the very large sum of 50,000_l._ a year for working expenses, would leave a very large balance for paying further dividends or bonuses on the Company's total capital, both ordinary and preferential, or for reserve funds if preferred.