THE FIRST ATTEMPT. 101 



continent to continent. And so far as injury from the surrounding elements was concerned, 

 there it might remain, whispering the thoughts of successive generations of men, till the sea 

 should give up its dead." Everything showed that the project of an Atlantic cable was feasible. 

 All that remained was to raise the capital necessary for its development. But this could 

 be done only by the formation of a large and influential company, the enterprise having 

 outgrown the resources of Mr. Field and his little band of New York merchants. While 

 engaged in submitting his scheme to the consideration of the capitalists of London, Mr. Field 

 found counsel and encouragement from many men distinguished in the world of science, and 

 among his principal supporters had the good fortune to rank Glass and Elliot, now so 

 well known as manufacturers of sea-cables, and the celebrated engineers whose names are 

 associated with the scientific marvels of the age Brett, Bidder, Robert Stephenson, and 

 Brunei. The last-named was then building the colossal ship afterwards called the Great 

 Eastern ; and one day taking Mr. Field down to see her gigantic hull as it lay in the yard 



EXTERIOR AND SECTION OF THE 1865 ATLANTIC CABLE. 



at Blackwall, he exclaimed and, as results have proved, prophetically " There is the ship 

 to lay your Atlantic cable ! " 



The Atlantic Telegraph Company was formed; and 2,500 miles of cable were manufac- 

 tured and stowed on board the English naval vessel Agamemnon and the United States ship 

 Niagara. It was on the evening of August 7th, 1857, that the squadron sailed; and according 

 to arrangement the Niagara at once began to pay out the cable very slowly ; but before five 

 miles had been accomplished the heavy shore end of the cable got entangled with the ma- 

 chinery through the carelessness of one of the men in charge, and parted. The Niagara 

 put back, and the cable was " under run " the whole distance. At last the end was raised 

 from the water and " spliced " to the gigantic coil, and as it dropped safely to its 

 resting-place among the " salt sea ooze " the noble ship once more went on her way. 

 Saturday, we are told, was a day of beautiful weather. The squadron made good progress 

 at a rate of from four to five miles an hour, and the cable was paid out at a speed somewhat 

 exceeding that of the ship, to allow for any irregularities of surface on the bottom of the sea. 

 Meantime a constant communication was kept up with the land. Every moment the electric 

 fluid flashed between ship and shore. Not only did the electricians wire back to Valentia the 

 progress they were making, but the officers on board sent messages to their friends in 

 America to go out by the steamer from Liverpool. The very heavens seemed to regard the 

 enterprise with favour. All went merrily as a marriage bell. Without a kink the coil 

 came up from the vessel's hold, and unwinding easily, passed over the stern into the 

 sea. Once or twice, however, a momentary alarm was caused by the cable being thrown 



