LETTER TO GORDON. 175 



may be known. The vessel must be well lighted, and the 

 breaking of the wires must especially be kept in view. That 

 the two wire - fractures did not entail the loss of the cable 

 was a piece of luck such as seldom occurs. -- Altogether I 

 think you have all reason to be satisfied with the result. I 

 do not consider it difficult to recover the cable-end. I like- 

 wise consider the repairing of the fourth injured wire feasible, 

 if it is of importance to you. This granted, you have bought 

 the experience and a right theory of laying cheap enough. If 

 you choose to avail yourself of my proposals, you will in future 

 be able to undertake a laying in perfect peace of mind and 

 soon recoup yourself for past losses. With your new brake 

 you should however make the experiment of severing the cable 

 with a maximum strain. Mr. Newall told me before the arrival 

 of the Elba that he could fracture the cable with his brake, 

 but although on the day of laying we had lengthened the 

 lever of the brake by a half, and had suspended at least twice 

 as many weights as the lever and iron band could reasonably 

 be supposed to stand, yet we had not reached such a force 

 by a long way, apart from the great forces which were exerted 

 during fluctuations and in the first mishap. With my own 

 experiments I have unfortunately not succeeded much better 

 than in England. I see however that one can certainly signal 

 better in a metallic than in a semi-metallic circuit, and that 

 it is impossible with long lines to signal through more than a 

 single wire. The future belongs therefore to the metallic 

 circuit, and the patent will be remunerative. I see further 

 that our present construction of the induction telegraph acts 

 remarkably well and accurately, and that several submarine 

 translation stations may at pleasure be set up with absolute 

 certainty, that thus e. g. there may be direct communication 

 between England and India. Your apparatus for Malta- Corfu 

 are despatched to-day. I am quite sure that they will do their 

 work well. According to my present experience the inductors 

 might have been smaller and therefore cheaper, but it is better 

 to err on the safe side. Such fine and solid apparatus have 

 never before been turned out in our workshops. The contacts 

 have given the greatest trouble. Platinum burns too quickly 



