oms up all glorious in that morning sky. They are
coming! Instantly all is wild excitement on shore. Boats put off to row
toward the fleet. The 'Albany' is the first to round the point and enter
the bay. The 'Terrible' is close behind; the 'Medway' stops an hour or
two to join on the heavy shore end, while the 'Great Eastern,' gliding
calmly in as if she had done nothing remarkable, drops her anchor in
front of the telegraph house, having trailed behind her a chain of two
thousand miles, to bind the old world to the new.
"Although the expedition reached Newfoundland on Friday, the 27th, yet,
as the cable across the Gulf of St. Lawrence was broken, the news was
not received in New York till the 29th. It was early Sunday morning,
before the Sabbath bells had rung their call to prayer, that the tidings
came. The first announcement was brief: 'Heart's Content, July 27th. We
arrived here at nine o'clock this morning. All well. Thank God, the
cable is laid, and is in perfect working order. Cyrus W. Field.'"
There was no failure in the communication this time. The electric
current has continued to flow strongly and uninterruptedly from that day
until the present, and experience has demonstrated for the wonderful
wire a capacity far beyond the hopes of its projectors.
Having laid the cable, the "Great Eastern" proceeded with surprising
accuracy to where the line had been lost the year before, and succeeded
in grappling and raising it to the surface. It was tested, and found to
be in perfect order, messages being sent with ease from the ship to
Valentia, and from that point back again. A splice was then made, and
the line was continued to Newfoundland. Both cables are still working,
and bid fair to be serviceable for many years to come.
Many persons had contributed to this great success, but to Cyrus W.
Field must be assigned the chief praise. His energy and perseverance
kept the subject constantly before the public. His courage inspired
others, and his faith in its ultimate success alone kept its best
friends from abandoning it in its darkest hours. In its behalf he spent
twelve years of constant toil, and made over fifty voyages, more than
thirty of which were across the Atlantic. He devoted his entire fortune
to the undertaking, of which he was the projector and cheerfully
incurred the risk of poverty rather than abandon it. Therefore, it is
but just that he, who was the chief instrument in obtaining for the
world this
|