THE FIRST EXPEDITION OF 1858.
The expedition of 1857 was little more than an experiment on a grand
scale. As such it had its use; but its abrupt ending within three
hundred miles of the Irish coast was a severe shock to public
confidence. Up to that time the enterprise had been accepted by the
people of England and of America, almost without considering its
magnitude and difficulty. They had taken it for granted as a thing which
must some day be accomplished by human skill and perseverance. But now
it had been tried and failed. This first expedition opened their eyes to
the vastness of the undertaking, and led many to doubt who did not doubt
before. Some even began to look upon it as a romantic adventure of the
sea, rather than a serious undertaking. This decline of popular faith
was felt as soon as there was a call for more money. Men reasoned that
if the former attempt was but an experiment, it was rather a costly one.
The loss of three hundred and thirty-five miles of cable, with the
postponement of the expedition to another year, was equivalent to a loss
of a hundred thousand pounds. To make this good, the Directors had to
enlarge the capital of the Company. This new capital was not so readily
obtained. Those who had subscribed before, thought they had lost enough;
and the public stood aloof till they could see the result of the next
experiment. The projectors found that it was easy to go with the current
of popular enthusiasm, but very hard to stem a growing popular distrust.
They found how great an element of success in all public enterprises is
public confidence.
But against this very revulsion of feeling they had been already warned.
The Earl of Carlisle the year before had cautioned them against being
too sanguine of immediate results, and reminded them that "preliminary
failure was even the law and condition of ultimate success." There were
many who now remembered his words, and on whom the lesson was not lost.
But whatever the depression at the failure of the first attempt to lay a
telegraph across the ocean, and at the thick-coming disasters on land
and sea, it did not interfere with renewed and vigorous efforts to
prepare for a second expedition. The Directors gave orders for the
manufacture of seven hundred miles of new cable, to make up for the loss
of the previous year, and to provide a surplus against all
contingencies. And the Government promised again its powerful aid.
In America, Mr. Field went to Washington to ask a second time the use of
the ships, which had already represented the country so well. He made
also a special request for the services of Mr. William E. Everett. This
gentleman had been the chief-engineer of the Niagara the year before. He
had watched closely the paying-out machine, as it was put together on
the deck, and as it worked on the voyage, and with the eye of a
practised mechanic, he saw that it required great alterations. It was
too cumbrous, had too many wheels, and especially its brakes shut down
with a gripe that would snap the strongest chain cable.[A] Mr. Field saw
that this was the man to remedy the defects of the old machine, and to
make one that would work more smoothly. He therefore applied especially
for his services. To the credit of the administration, it granted both
requests in the most handsome manner. "There," said the Secretary of the
Navy, handing Mr. Field the official letter, "I have given you all you
asked."
After such an answer he did not wait long. The letter is dated the
thirtieth of December, and in just one week, on the sixth of January, he
sailed in the Persia for England with Mr. Everett. Scarcely had he
arrived in London before he was made the General Manager of the Company,
with control of the entire staff, including electricians and engineers.
The following extract from the minutes of the Board of Directors, dated
January 27, 1858, explains the new position to which he was invited:
"The Directors having for several months felt that it would
greatly advance the interests of this enterprise, if Mr. Cyrus
W. Field, of New York, could be induced to come over to
England, for the purpose of undertaking the general management
and supervision of all the various arrangements that would be
required to be carried out before the sailing of the next
expedition; application was made to Mr. Field, with the view of
securing his consent to the proposal, and he arrived in this
country on the sixteenth instant, when it was ascertained that
he would be willing, if unanimously desired by the Directors,
to act in behalf of the Company as proposed; and Mr. Field
having retired, it was unanimously resolved to tender him, in
respect to such services, the sum of L1000 over and above his
travelling and other expenses, as remuneration."
This resolution was at once communicated to Mr. Field, who replied that
he would undertake the duties of General Manager, but declined the offer
of L1000, preferring to give his services to the Company without
compensation. Whereupon the Directors immediately passed another
resolution:
"That Mr. Field's kind and generous offer be accepted by this
Board; and that their best thanks are hereby tendered to him
for his devotion to the interests of the undertaking."
The following, passed a few weeks later, March 26, was designed to
emphasize the authority given over all the employes of the Company:
"_Resolved_, That Mr. Cyrus W. Field, General Manager of the
Company, is hereby authorized and empowered to give such
directions and orders to the officers composing the staff of
the Company, as he may from time to time deem necessary and
expedient with regard to all matters connected with the
business proceedings of the Company, subject to the control of
the Directors.
"_Resolved_, That the staff of the Company be notified hereof,
and required to observe and follow such directions as may be
issued by the General Manager."
As Mr. Field was thus invested with the entire charge of the
preparations for the next expedition, he was made responsible for it,
and felt it due alike to himself and to the Company to omit no means to
insure success. It was therefore his duty to examine into every detail.
The manufacture of the new cable was already under way, and there was no
opportunity to make any change in its construction, even if any had been
desired. But there was another matter which was quite as important to
success--the construction of the paying-out machines. This had been the
great defect of the previous year, and, while it continued, would render
success almost impossible. No matter how many hundreds or thousands of
miles of cable might be made, if the machinery was not fitted to pay it
out into the sea, it would be constantly broken. To remedy these defects
was an object of anxious solicitude, and to this the new manager gave
his first attention. Hardly was he in London before Mr. Everett was
installed at the large machine works of Easton and Amos, in Southwark,
where, surrounded by plans and models, he devoted himself for three
months to studying out a better invention for this most important work.
At the end of that time he had a model complete, and invited a number of
the most eminent engineers of London to witness its operation. Among
these were Mr. Brunel, and Messrs. Lloyd, Penn, and Field, who had given
the enterprise the benefit of their counsel for months, refusing all
compensation; Mr. Charles T. Bright, the engineer of the Company, and
his two assistants, Mr. Canning and Mr. Clifford, and Mr. Follansbee,
the chief-engineer of the Niagara, in the place Mr. Everett had occupied
the year before. The machine was set in motion, and all saw its
operation, while Mr. Everett explained its parts, and the difficulties
which he had tried to overcome. It was obvious at a glance that it was a
great improvement on that of the former year. It was much smaller and
lighter. It would take up only about one-third of the room on the deck,
and had only one-fourth the weight of the old machine. Its construction
was much more simple. Instead of four heavy wheels, it had but two, and
these were made to revolve with ease, and without danger of sudden
check, by the application of what were known as self-releasing brakes.
These were the invention of Mr. Appold, of London, a gentleman of
fortune, but with a strong taste for mechanics, which led him to spend
his time and wealth in exercising his mechanical ingenuity. These brakes
were so adjusted as to bear only a certain strain, when they released
themselves. This ingenious contrivance was applied by Mr. Everett to the
paying-out machinery. The strength of the cable was such that it would
not break except under a tension of a little over three tons. The
machinery was so adjusted that not more than half that strain could
possibly come upon the cable, when the brakes would relax their grasp,
the wheels revolve easily, and the cable run out into the sea without a
jar. The paying-out machine, therefore, we are far from claiming as
wholly an American invention. This part of the mechanism was English.
The merit of Mr. Everett lay in the skill with which he adapted it to
the laying of the Atlantic cable, and in his improvements of other parts
of the machinery. The whole construction, as it afterwards stood upon
the decks of the Niagara and the Agamemnon, was the product of English
and American invention combined. The engineers, who now saw it for the
first time, were delighted. It seemed to have the intelligence of a
human being, to know when to hold on, and when to let go. All felt that
the great difficulty in laying the cable was removed, and that under
this gentle manipulation it would glide easily and smoothly from the
ship into the sea.
While these preparations were going on in London, the Niagara, which did
not leave New York till the ninth of March, arrived at Plymouth, under
command of Captain Hudson, to take on board her share of the cable. Both
ships had discharged their burden at Keyham Docks, where the precious
freight was passed through a composition of tar and pitch and
linseed-oil and beeswax, to preserve it from injury, and had been coiled
under cover to be kept safely through the winter. The Agamemnon was
already at Plymouth, having been designated by the Admiralty again to
take part in the work, though under a new commander, Captain George W.
Preedy, an excellent officer. The place of the Leopard was taken by the
Gorgon, under command of Captain Dayman, who had made the deep-sea
soundings in the Cyclops the year before.
While the English Government was thus prompt in furnishing its ships,
news arrived from America that the Company could not have again the
assistance of the Susquehanna, which had accompanied the Niagara on the
preceding expedition. She was in the West-Indies, and the yellow fever
had broken out on board. What should be done? It was late to apply again
to the American Government, and it was doubtful what would be the
result of the application. This threatened some embarrassment. Mr. Field
resolved the difficulty in a way which showed his confidence in the
great and generous Government on the other side of the water, with which
he had occasion so often to deal. Without waiting for the action of the
Company, he called a cab, and drove straight to the Admiralty, and sent
in his card to Sir John Pakington, then First Lord of the Admiralty.
This gentleman, like his predecessor, Sir Charles Wood, had shown the
most friendly interest in the Atlantic Telegraph, and given it his
warmest support. Mr. Field was received at once, and began with true
American eagerness: "I am ashamed to come to you, after what the English
Government has done for us. But here is our case. We are disappointed in
the Susquehanna. She is in the West-Indies, with the yellow fever on
board. She cannot come to England to take part in the expedition. Can
you do anything for us?" Sir John replied that the Government had not
ships enough for its own use; that it was at that very moment chartering
vessels to take troops to Malta--"but he would see what he could do." In
an hour or two he sent word to the office of the Company, that Her
Majesty's ship Valorous--commanded by Captain W. C. Aldham, an officer
of great experience--had been ordered to take the place of the
Susquehanna in the next expedition. We mention this little incident,
not so much to illustrate Mr. Field's prompt and quick manner of
deciding and acting, as to show the noble and generous spirit in which
the English Government responded to every appeal.
The reshipping of the cable at Plymouth occupied the whole month of
April and part of May. Some changes were made in the mode adopted, it
being coiled around large cones. The work was done as before, by a
hundred and sixty men detailed for the purpose, of whom one fourth were
the workmen of the Company, and the rest sailors who had volunteered for
the duty. These were divided into gangs of forty, that relieved each
other, by which the work went on day and night. In this way they coiled
about thirty miles in the twenty-four hours. Owing to the increased
length of cable, and the greater care in coiling, it took a longer time
than the year before. The whole was completed about the middle of May.
There was then in all, on board the two ships, a little over three
thousand statute miles. This included, besides seven hundred miles of
new cable, thirty-nine miles of that lost the year before, which had
been recovered by the Company, and a few miles of condemned cable from
Greenwich, which was put on board for experiments. The shipment being
thus complete, and the paying-out machines in position, the ships were
ready to make a trial trip, preparatory to their final departure.
For this purpose the telegraphic squadron sailed from Plymouth on
Saturday, the twenty-ninth of May, and bore southward two or three
hundred miles, till the green color of the sea changing to a deep blue,
showed that they had reached the great depths of the ocean. They were
now in the waters of the Bay of Biscay, where the soundings were over
twenty-five hundred fathoms. Here the Niagara and the Agamemnon were
connected by a hawser, being about a quarter of a mile apart. The cable
was then passed from one to the other, and a series of experiments
begun, designed to test both the strength of the cable and the working
of the machinery. Two miles of the cable were paid out, when it parted.
This would have seemed a bad sign, had it been any other part of the
cable than that which was known to be imperfect and had long since been
condemned. The next day three miles were paid out. This, too, was
broken, but only when they tried to haul it in, and under a pressure of
several tons.
Other experiments were tried, such as splicing the cable, and lowering
it to the bottom of the sea--an operation which it was thought might be
critical in mid-ocean, but which was performed without difficulty--and
running out the cable at a rapid rate, when the speed of the ship was
increased to seven knots, without causing the cable to break, or even to
kink. On the whole, the result of the trip was satisfactory. The
paying-out machine of Mr. Everett worked well, and the electric
continuity through the whole cable was perfect. It was on this
expedition that was used for the first time the marine mirror
galvanometer of Professor Thomson, by whom it had been invented for
marine testing within the previous four weeks, and which afterwards
proved an instrument so important to the success of ocean telegraphy.
After these experiments the squadron returned to Plymouth.
As it happened, the present writer had just arrived in England, and
landing at Falmouth, hastened to Plymouth, where the ships were lying in
the Sound. It was Saturday, the fifth of June, and the next day, by
invitation of Captain Hudson, he conducted Divine service on the
Niagara, where an awning was spread over the quarter-deck, round which
were grouped the officers of the ship, behind whom were crowded four or
five hundred seamen. If it was a pleasure in such circumstances to speak
to one's countrymen, it was not less to be received with equal kindness
on board the Agamemnon. To see these two mighty ships of war, with their
consorts, lying side by side, not with guns run out, but engaged in a
mission of peace, seemed indeed an omen of the good time coming, when
nations shall learn war no more.
Among the matters of personal solicitude and anxiety at this time--next
to the success of the expedition--was Mr. Field himself. He was working
with an activity which was unnatural--which could only be kept up by
great excitement, and which involved the most serious danger. The strain
on the man was more than the strain on the cable, and we were in fear
that both would break together. Often he had no sleep, except such as he
caught flying on the railway. Indeed, when we remonstrated, he said he
could rest better there than anywhere else, for then he was not
tormented with the thought of any thing undone. For the time being he
could do no more; and putting his head in the cushioned corner of the
carriage, he got an hour or two of broken sleep.
Of this activity we had an instance while in Plymouth. The ships were
then lying in the Sound, only waiting orders from the Admiralty to go to
sea; but some business required one of the Directors to go to Paris, and
as usual, it fell upon Mr. Field. He left on Sunday night and went to
Bristol, and thence, by the first morning train, to London. Monday he
was busy all day, and that night went to Paris. Tuesday, another busy
day, and that night back to London. Wednesday, occupied every minute
till the departure of the Great Western train. That night back to
Plymouth. Thursday morning on board the Niagara, and immediately the
squadron sailed.
It was the tenth day of June that the expedition left England, with fair
skies and bright prospects. In truth, it was a gallant sight, as these
four ships stood out to sea together--those old companions, the Niagara
and the Agamemnon, leading the way, followed by their new attendants,
the Valorous and the Gorgon. Never did a voyage begin with better omens.
The day was one of the mildest of June, and the sea so still, that one
could scarcely perceive, by the motion of the ship, when they passed
beyond the breakwater off Plymouth harbor into the Channel, or into the
open sea. At night, it was almost a dead calm. The second day was like
the first. There was scarcely wind enough to swell the sails. The ships
were all in sight, and as they kept under easy steam, they seemed bound
on a voyage of pleasure, gliding over a summer sea to certain success.
It had been supposed that the expedition of this year would have a great
advantage over the last, from sailing two months earlier, at what was
considered a more favorable season. So said all the wise men of the sea.
They had given their opinion that June was the best month for crossing
the Atlantic. Then they were almost sure of fair weather. The first
three days of the voyage confirmed these predictions, and they who had
made them, being found true prophets, shook their heads with great
satisfaction.
But alas! for the vanity of human expectations, or for those who put
trust in the treacherous sea. On Sunday it began to blow. The barometer
fell, and all signs indicated to the eye of a seaman rough weather. From
this time they had a succession of gales for more than a week. From day
to day it blew fiercer than before, till Sunday, the twentieth, when the
gale was at its height, and the spirit of the storm was out on the
Atlantic. Up to this time the Niagara and the Agamemnon (though they had
long since parted from the Valorous and the Gorgon) had managed to keep
in sight of each other; and now from the deck of the former the latter
was seen a mile and a half distant, rolling heavily in the sea. The
signals which she made showed that she was struggling with the fury of
the gale. She was really in great danger of foundering. But this was
owing, not merely to the severity of the gale, but to the enormous
weight she carried, and to the way this huge bulk was stowed in the
ship. Only a few days before we had been on board of her, and Captain
Preedy showed us, in one coil, thirteen hundred miles of cable! This
made a dead weight of as many hundred tons, which rendered her in rough
weather almost unmanageable. To make the matter worse, she had another
coil of about two hundred and fifty tons on the forward deck, where it
made the head of the ship heavy. In her tremendous rolls, this coil
broke loose, and threatened at a time to dash like an avalanche through
the side of the ship. But at the most fearful moments the gallant seaman
in command never lost his presence of mind. He was always on deck,
watching with a vigilant eye the raging of the tempest, and issuing his
orders with coolness and prompt decision. To this admirable skill was
due the safety of the ship, and of all on board.[B]
But all things have an end; and this long gale at last blew itself out,
and the weary ocean rocked itself to rest. Toward the last of the week
the squadron got together at the appointed rendezvous in mid-ocean. As
the ships came in sight, the angry sea went down; and on Friday, June
twenty-fifth, just fifteen days from Plymouth, they were all together,
as tranquil in the middle of the Atlantic as if in Plymouth Sound. "This
evening the four vessels lay together, side by side, and there was such
a stillness in the sea and air, as would have seemed remarkable in an
inland lake; on the Atlantic, and after what we had all so lately
witnessed, it seemed almost unnatural." The boats were out, and the
officers were passing from ship to ship, telling their experiences of
the voyage, and forming their plans for the morrow. Captains Aldham and
Dayman said it was the worst weather they had ever experienced in the
North-Atlantic. But it was the Agamemnon that suffered most. The rough
sea had shaken not only the ship, but the cable in her. The upper part
of the main coil had shifted, and become so twisted and tangled, that a
hundred miles had to be got out and coiled in another part of the ship,
so that it was not till the afternoon of Saturday, the twenty-sixth,
that the splice was finally made, and the cable lowered to the bottom of
the sea. The ships were then got under way, but had not gone three
miles, before the cable broke, being caught in the machinery on board
the Niagara. It was fortunate they had gone no farther. Both ships at
once turned about and spliced again the same afternoon, and made a fresh
start. Now all went well. The paying-out machines worked smoothly, and
the cable ran off easily into the sea. Thus each ship had paid out about
forty miles when suddenly the current ceased!
Says the writer on the Agamemnon: "At half-past three o'clock [Sunday
morning] forty miles had gone, and nothing could be more perfect and
regular than the working of every thing, when suddenly Professor Thomson
came on deck, and reported a total break of continuity; that the cable
in fact had parted, and, as was believed at the time, from the Niagara.
In another instant a gun and a blue-light warned the Valorous of what
had happened, and roused all on board the Agamemnon to a knowledge that
the machinery was silent, and that the first part of the Atlantic Cable
had been laid and lost effectually."
This was disheartening, but not so much from the fact of a fresh
breaking of the cable, as from the mystery as to its cause. The fact, of
course, was known instantly on both ships, but the cause was unknown.
Those on each ship supposed it had occurred on the other. With this
impression they turned about to beat up again toward the rendezvous. It
was noon of Monday, the twenty-eighth, before the Agamemnon rejoined the
Niagara; and then, says the writer:
"While all were waiting with impatience for her explanation of
how they broke the cable, she electrified every one by running
up the interrogatory: 'How did the cable part?' This was
astounding. As soon as the boats could be lowered, Mr. Cyrus
Field, with the electricians from the Niagara, came on board,
and a comparison of logs showed the painful and mysterious fact
that, _at the same second of time_, each vessel discovered that
a total fracture had taken place at a distance of certainly not
less than ten miles from each ship; in fact, as well as can be
judged, at the bottom of the ocean. That of all the many
mishaps connected with the Atlantic Telegraph, this is the
worst and most disheartening is certain, since it proves that,
after all that human skill and science can effect to lay the
wire down with safety has been accomplished, there may be some
fatal obstacles to success at the bottom of the ocean, which
can never be guarded against; for even the nature of the peril
must always remain as secret and unknown as the depths in which
it is to be encountered."
But it was no time for useless regrets. Once more the cable was joined
in mid-ocean, and dropped to its silent bed, and the Niagara and the
Agamemnon began to steam away toward opposite shores of the Atlantic.
This time the experiment succeeded better than before. The progress of
the English ship is thus reported:
"At first, the ship's speed was only two knots, the cable going
three and three and a half, with a strain of fifteen hundred
pounds. By and by, however, the speed was increased to four
knots, the cable going five, at a strain of two thousand
pounds. At this rate it was kept, with trifling variations,
throughout almost the whole of Monday night, and neither Mr.
Bright, Mr. Canning, nor Mr. Clifford ever quitted the machines
for an instant. Toward the middle of the night, while the rate
of the ship continued the same, the speed at which the cable
paid out slackened nearly a knot an hour, while the dynamometer
indicated as low as thirteen hundred pounds. This change could
only be accounted for on the supposition that the water had
shallowed to a considerable extent, and that the vessel was, in
fact, passing over some submarine Ben Nevis or Skiddaw. After
an interval of about an hour, the strain and rate of progress
of the cable again increased, while the increase of the
vertical angle seemed to indicate that the wire was sinking
down the side of a declivity. Beyond this, there was no
variation throughout Monday night, or, indeed, through
Tuesday."
On board the Niagara was the same scene of anxious watching every hour
of the day and night. Engineers and electricians were constantly on
duty:
"The scene at night was beautiful. Scarcely a word was spoken;
silence was commanded, and no conversation allowed. Nothing
was heard but the strange rattling of the machine as the cable
was running out. The lights about deck and in the quarter-deck
circle added to the singularity of the spectacle; and those who
were on board the ship describe the state of anxious suspense
in which all were held as exceedingly impressive."
Warned by repeated failures, they hardly dared to hope for success in
this last experiment. And yet the spirits of all rose, as the distance
widened between the ships. A hundred miles were laid safely--a hundred
and fifty--two hundred! Why might they not lay two thousand? So reasoned
the sanguine and hopeful when, Tuesday night, came the fatal
announcement that the electric current had ceased to flow. It afterward
appeared that the cable had broken about twenty feet from the stern of
the Agamemnon.
As the cable was now useless, it only remained to cut it from the stern
of the Niagara. Before doing this, it was thought a good opportunity to
test its strength. For this purpose the brakes were shut down, so that
the paying-out machine could not move. But still the cable did not
break, although the whole weight of the Niagara hung upon that slender
cord, and though several men got upon the brakes. Says Captain Hudson:
"Although the wind was quite fresh, the cable held the ship for one hour
and forty minutes before breaking, and notwithstanding a strain of four
tons."
Though not unexpected, this last breaking of the cable was a sad blow
to all on board. It was the end of their hopes, at least for the present
expedition. Before separating, it had been agreed, that if the cable
should part again before either ship had run a hundred miles, they
should return and renew the attempt. If they had passed that limit, they
were all to sail for Ireland. But the Niagara had run out a hundred and
eleven miles, and knowing that the Agamemnon had done about the same,
she expected the latter would keep on her course eastward, not stopping
till she reached Queenstown. The Niagara, therefore, reluctantly bore
away for the same port.
Of course, the return voyage was "any thing but gay." When soldiers come
home from the war, they march with a proud step, if they have had a
victorious campaign. But it is otherwise when they come with a sad tale
of disaster and defeat. Seldom had an expedition begun with higher
hopes, or ended in more complete failure. Who could help feeling keenly
this fresh disappointment? Even with all the courage "that may become a
man," heightened by a natural buoyancy of spirits, how was it possible
to resist the impression of the facts they had just witnessed? If--as
Lord Carlisle had told them the year before--"there was almost enough of
glory in the very design of an Atlantic telegraph," that glory might
still be theirs. But apparently they could hope for nothing more. They
had done all that men could do. But fate seemed against them; and who
can fight against destiny? No one can blame them if they sometimes had
sore misgivings, and looked out sadly upon the sea that had baffled
their utmost skill, and now laughed their efforts to scorn.
In this mood they entered once more the harbor of Queenstown. The
Niagara was the first to arrive and to bring tidings of the great
disaster. The Agamemnon came in a few days after. Knowing the fatal
impression their report was likely to produce, Mr. Field hastened to
London to meet the Directors. It was high time. The news had reached
there before him, and had already produced its effect. Under its
impression the Board was called together. It met in the same room where,
six weeks before, it had discussed the prospects of the expedition with
full confidence of success. Now it met, as a council of war is summoned
after a terrible defeat, to decide whether to surrender or to try once
more the chances of battle. When the Directors came together, the
feeling--to call it by the mildest name--was one of extreme
discouragement. They looked blankly in each other's faces. With some,
the feeling was one almost of despair. Sir William Brown, of Liverpool,
the first Chairman, wrote, advising them to sell the cable. Mr.
Brooking, the Vice-Chairman, who had given more time to it than any
other Director, when he saw that his colleagues were disposed to make
still another trial, left the room, and the next day sent in his
resignation, determined to take no further part in an undertaking which
had been proved hopeless, and to persist in which seemed mere rashness
and folly.
But others thought there was still a chance. Like Robert Bruce, who,
after twelve battles and twelve defeats, yet believed that a thirteenth
_might_ bring victory, they clung to this bare possibility. Mr. Field
and Professor Thomson gave the results of their experience, from which
it appeared that there was no obstacle in the nature of the case which
might not be overcome. Mr. Bright and Mr. Woodhouse joined with them in
advising strongly that they should renew the attempt. To be sure, it was
a forlorn hope. But the ships were there. Though they had lost three
hundred miles of cable, they had still enough on board to cross the sea.
These arguments prevailed, and it was voted to make one more trial
before the project was finally abandoned. Even though the chances were a
hundred to one against them, that one might bring them success. And so
it proved. But was it their own wisdom or courage that got them the
victory, or were they led by that Being whose way is in the sea, and
whose path is in the great waters?
FOOTNOTES:
[A] It should be said, however, in justice to Mr. Bright, that most of
these defects he had himself perceived on seeing it in operation. On his
return from the expedition of 1857, he sent in a report, pointing out
the defects of the machinery, and how to remedy them. These suggestions
were approved by the Scientific Committee, and carried out by Mr.
Everett. The recognition of this fact, while it takes nothing from the
practical skill shown by the American engineer, is but just to his
predecessor, who, as the pioneer in this work, might easily fall into
mistakes, which it needed only time and experience to correct.
[B] As there is no trouble without a compensation, it is something that
this voyage, fearful as it was, furnished a subject for a description of
marvellous power. The letter to the London Times, written by Mr. Woods,
its correspondent on board the Agamemnon, is one of the finest
descriptions of a storm at sea we know of in the language. It is a
wonderful specimen of "word-painting," and brings the scene before us
with a vividness like that of the marine paintings of Stanfield or
Turner.