1864. | Crookes on the Atlantic Cable and its Teachings. 51 
Valencia.—* Yes. Now take another. Are you ready ?” 
Newfoundland.--“ Yes, send.” 
Valencia— “The Military Secretary to Commander-in-Chief, Horse 
Guards, to General Officer Commanding, Montreal, Canada :—The Thirty- 
ninth Regiment is not to return to England.” 
Newfoundland.—“ I want you to repeat ‘ Canada, 
Valencia.—* Can’t read. Try Daniel's.” 
Newfoundland. Repeat from ‘ Canada’ to ‘ return,’” 
Valencia.—* Canada :—The Thirty-ninth Regiment is not to return.” 
Newfoundland.—‘ Understand.” 
The above occupied eleven hours in transmission. 
999 
On the 30th of August, Mr. Field telegraphed from America, as 
follows :—“ Early in the morning of September 1, Please send me 
message that I can read at the celebration that day, and another on 
the 2nd that I can read at dinner that evening.’ Accordingly on the 
Ist of September, Valencia telegraphed the following message to 
C. W. Field, New York:—“The Directors are on their way to 
Valencia, to make arrangements for opening wire to public. ‘They 
convey through cable to you and your fellow-citizens their hearty 
congratulations and good wishes, and cordially sympathize in your 
joyous celebration of the great international work.” 
Up to this time the condition of the line may be said to have 
undergone slight improvement. Several long and important com- 
munications had been sent through it, and it was on the eve of being 
formally opened for commercial purposes, when, without any ascer- 
tained cause, a collapse took place, and the Atlantic Telegraph 
suddenly became defunct; its death being the more ignominious when 
we take into account the message, in the utterance of which it expired. 
From this date no other sentence could be forced through, and with 
the exception of isolated words and signals during the month of 
September, all attempts to restore communication failed. As late 
indeed as October 20th, eight words of a sentence were spoken 
through the cable from Newfoundland to Valencia, but this was 
owing to the employment of recklessly energetic battery power, and 
may be looked upon as the spasmodic twitchings of a galvanized 
corpse, rather than healthy vitality. 
Let us now try to ascertain the causes of this gigantic failure, and 
see whether the experience so dearly gained renders a similar under- 
taking likely to be reasonably successful. It must be confessed that 
from the first success was almost hopeless. Everything connected with 
the manufacture of the rope and its subsequent treatment was con- 
ducted in such a hurried and reckless manner, that few who knew all 
the circumstances were surprised at its failure. Before the cable was 
laid there was great neglect in the electrical department, and the 
manufacture was carried on throughout without proper supervision. 
At the whim of any dilettante experimentalist, the cable was cut 
through and through without hesitation, and the joints were fre- 
quently cobbled up most disgracefully. It has been estimated that 
there were upwards of 100 unnecessary cuts, and several imperfect 
joints have been exhibited, any one of which would be amply sufiicient 
E 2 
