s decided upon, and with replenished
stores the _Agamemnon_ and _Niagara_ once again proceeded to the
rendezvous.

The fourth start was made on the 29th of July. On several occasions as
the work progressed communication failed, and Professor Thomson on
the _Agamemnon_ and the other electricians on the _Niagara_ spent many
anxious moments fearing that the line had again been severed. On each
occasion, however, the current resumed. It was afterward determined
that the difficulties were because of faulty batteries rather than
leaks in the cable. On both ships bad spots were found in the cable
as it was uncoiled and some quick work was necessary to repair them
before they dropped into the sea, since it was practically impossible
to stop the flow of the cable without breaking it. The _Niagara_
had some narrow escapes from icebergs, and the _Agamemnon_ had
difficulties with ships which passed too close and a whale which swam
close to the ship and grazed the precious cable. But this time there
was no break and the ships approached their respective destinations
with the cable still carrying messages between them. The _Niagara_
reached the Newfoundland coast on August 4th, and early the next
morning landed the cable in the cable-house at Trinity Bay. The
_Agamemnon_ reached the Irish coast but a few hours later, and her end
of the cable was landed on the afternoon of the same day.

The public, because of the repeated failures, had come to look upon
the cable project as a sort of gigantic wild-goose chase. The news
that a cable had at last been laid across the ocean was received with
incredulity. Becoming convinced at last, there was great rejoicing
in England and America. Queen Victoria sent to President Buchanan
a congratulatory message in which she expressed the hope "that the
electric cable which now connects Great Britain with the United
States will prove an additional link between the two nations, whose
friendship is founded upon their mutual interest and reciprocal
esteem." The President responded in similar vein, and expressed the
hope that the neutrality of the cable might be established.

Honors were showered upon the leaders in the enterprise. Charles
Bright, the chief engineer, was knighted, though he was then but
twenty-six years of age. Banquet after banquet was held in England at
which Bright and Thomson were the guests of honor. New York celebrated
in similar fashion. A grand salute of one hundred guns was fire