Sir William Howard Russell

“ As the shackle and swivel of the eleventh length of rope, which would have made a mile on board, were passing the machinery, the head of the swivel pin was wrung off by the strain, and the 1,400 fathoms of line, with grapnel attached, rushed down again to the bottom of the Atlantic, carrying with it the bight of Cable. The shock was bitter and sharp. The nature of the mishap was quite unforeseen. The engineers had calculated that the wire rope might part, or that the Cable itself might break at the bight, but no one had thought of the stout iron shackles and swivels yielding. ”

“ 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 passed 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. ”

“ With every length of Cable drawn up from the sea, the spirits of all on board became lighter, and whilst we all talked of the uncertainty of such an accomplishment, there was a sentiment stronger than any one would care to avow, inspiring the secret confidence that, having caught the Cable in this extraordinary manner, we should get it up at last, and end our strange eventful history by a triumphant entry to Heart’s Content. ”

“ The Great Eastern is now undergoing the alterations which will render her absolutely perfect for the purpose of laying the new Cable and picking up the old, and next year will see the renewal of the enterprise of connecting the Old World with the New by an enduring link which, under God’s blessing, may confer unnumbered blessings on the nations which the ocean has so long divided, and add to the greatness and the power which this empire has achieved by the energy, enterprise, and perseverance of our countrymen, directed by Providence, to the promotion of the welfare and happiness of mankind. ”

“ The buoy was of course quite lost to view, nor did we see it all day. At 10·45 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, sextants 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! ”

“ 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 assisting at an attempt of singular audacity and success. ”

“ All life died out in the vessel, and no noise was heard except the dull grating of the wire-rope over the wheels at the bows. The most apathetic would have thought the rumble of the Cable the most grateful music in the world. ”

“ For hour after hour, the work of “picking-up” went on. The term is objectionable; it rather indicates a brisk, lively process—a bird picks up a worm—a lady picks up a pin—a sharper picks up a flat—but the machine working at the bows of the Great Eastern assuredly was not in any one way engaged in brisk or lively work. Most doggedly at times did the Cable yield. As if it knew its home was deep in the bed of the Atlantic, and that its insulation and all the objects of its existence would be gained and bettered by remaining there, it strained against the power which sought to pull it forth ”

“ 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 masses 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? ”

“ What justification could there be for war, when the disarming message, when the full explanation, when the genial and healing counsel may be wafted even across the mighty Atlantic, quicker than the sunbeam’s path and the lightning’s flash? ”

“ Even a punt will not turn if she has no way on her, and it takes a good deal of way—more than she could get with safety to the Cable—to give steerage to the Great Eastern. As she slowly drifted and came round by degrees quite imperceptible to those who did not keep a close watch on the compass, the wire rope was payed-out; and at last, as the ship’s bows turned, it was taken in over the machinery, and was passed aft through the drums, and the picking-up apparatus coiled it in very slowly away till the end of the Cable was hauled up out of the sea. ”

“ It has been said that the greatest boons conferred on mankind have been due to men of one idea. If the laying of the Atlantic Cable be among these benefits, its consummation may certainly be attributed to the man who, having many ideas, devoted himself to work out one idea with a gentle force and a patient vigour which converted opposition and overcame indifference. Mr. Field may be likened either to the core, or to the external protection, of the Cable itself. At times he has been its active life ”

“ The Terrible alone was in sight, and it was conjectured that the Sphinx must have passed on during the night, and that she would arrive in Heart’s Content before us. The sound and sight of the wheels and drums revolving again after so long a rest were very gratifying, and it was fondly hoped that this fault or dead earth would be the last, as it was now evident nothing else was to be feared, and nothing else humanly speaking could prevent the Cable being laid. In the Cable itself lay all the sources of mischief. ”

“ Nothing has been wanting in human skill, and therefore for the future, as now, let us trust the hand of Divine Providence will be upon it; and that as the great vessel is about to steam across the Atlantic no mishaps or misfortune may occur to imperil or obstruct the success of the work which has now been so happily commenced. I ask you all to give a cheer in honour of my noble friend here, the Knight of Kerry, who has just begun the work. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Some were planning out journeys through the United States, others speculated on the probability of sport in Newfoundland: the date of our arrival was already determined upon. The sound of the piano, a tribute to our own contentment, rose from the saloon, and now and then the notes of a violin became entwined in the melodious labyrinth through which the amateur professors wandered with uncertain fingers. The artists sketched vigorously. Men stretched their legs lustily along the decks, or penetrated, with easy curiosity for the first time into the recesses of the Leviathan that bore them. ”

“ 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 little chimneys of the boilers at the bows vomit forth clouds of smoke, the two eccentric-looking engines working the pick-up drums and wheels make as much noise as possible, brakesmen take their places, indicator and dynamometer play their parts, and all is life and bustle forwards, as with slow unequal straining the Cable is dragged up from its watery bed. ”

“ A calm examination of the courses which led to the suspension of the Great Eastern’s work, inspired those whose judgments were free from prejudice with the belief that a series of accidents, in their nature easily guarded against in future, had been the sole causes of the frustration of the enterprise. If the external coating had not been injured, no faults could have occurred, and if there had been no faults, the Cable would have been laid with the utmost ease. ”

“ On the 19th and 20th the gale reached its height. The position of the ship, carrying 2,840 tons of dead-weight, badly stowed, had become most critical, from her violent lurching as she sunk into the troughs of the sea, and struggled violently to right herself—the coal bunkers gave way, and caused alarm and confusion. Were the masts to yield, the ship would rock still more violently, the Cable would shift, and carry every one with it to destruction. ”

“ It is so guarded from wind and sea, that on one side only is it open to their united action, but as the entrance looks nearly west, the full roll of the Atlantic may break in upon it when the wind is from that point; and indeed there is not wanting evidence that the wild ocean swell must tumble in there with frightful violence. ”

“ The grapnel, two five-armed anchors, with flukes sharply curved and tapering to an oblique tooth-like end—the hooks with which the giant Despair was going to fish from the Great Eastern for a take worth, with all its belongings, more than a million, were brought up to the bows. One of these, weighing 3 cwt., shackled and secured to wire buoy rope, of which there were five miles on board, with a breaking strain calculated at 10 tons, was thrown over at 3·20, ship’s time, and “whistled thro’” the sea, a prey to fortune. ”

“ The matter of wonder was, what the people flocked to see, for it must soon have been known the Great Eastern was not there. The Hawk and the Caroline, as they went into Valentia, did duty successfully for the Big Ship, and the steam-yacht Alexandra, belonging to the Dublin Ballast Board, and H.M. tender Advice, created a sensation as they appeared in the offing on their way to the same rendezvous. All that related to the Cable and the laying of it possessed the utmost interest for the country people, simply because the Cable went westwards across the ocean to the home of their hopes. ”

“ A grey mist enveloped the Great Eastern from stem to stern, blanket-like as sleep itself. The haze—for so it was rather than a fog—got lighter soon after 12 o’clock, but it was quite out of the question to attempt an observation of a longitudinal character. ”

“ As the blaze shot up, ruddy, mellow, and strong, and flung arms of light aloft and along the glistening decks, and then died into a red centre, masts, spars, and ropes were for the instant touched with a golden gleaming, and strange figures and faces were called out from the darkness—vanished—glinted out again—rushed suddenly into foreground of bright pictures, which faded soon away—flickered—went out—as they were called to life by its warm breath, or were buried in the outer darkness! ”

“ The Agamemnon now anchored in Dowlas Bay, Valentia, and preparations were made to join the ocean and shore ends. On the same day, at 1·45 a.m., the Niagara anchored in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, and in an hour after she received a signal across the Atlantic that the Cable had been landed from the Agamemnon.
Mr. Field at once telegraphed the news to the New York press, and the intelligence flew all over the Union, where it was received with the most extraordinary manifestations of delight. ”

“ When the current is sent through a wire from one pole it produces an electro-chemical action on the wire, and at the place of the injury, which leads to a deposit of a salt of copper in the breach, and impedes the escape of electricity; and when the opposite current is returned, the deposit is reduced, and hydrogen gas formed, a globule of which may rest in the chink, and, by its non-conducting power, restore the insulation of the Cable for a time. The fault in the present instance was so grave that it was resolved to pick up the Cable once more, till we cut it out, and re-spliced it. ”