INDO-EUROPEAN LINE. 257 



means of the Prussian and Russian government lines, 

 yet for the transmission of government and commercial 

 messages in the English language this proved almost 

 as unserviceable as the special line through Turkey. 

 From these experiences it was certain that the 

 great need of a quick and reliable telegraphic communi- 

 cation between England and India could only be satis- 

 fied by a line through Prussia, Russia, and Persia 

 planned as a connected whole, and under an un- 

 divided management. After I had thoroughly weighed 

 the practicability of such a line with my brothers 

 William and Charles, after moreover William had 

 through his friend. Colonel Bateman-Champain. the 

 constructor of the land line through Asia Minor, se- 

 cured the benevolent support of the English govern- 

 ment and Colonel von Chauvin had given the like 

 assurance on behalf of the Prussian government, our 



o 



three firms in Berlin, London, and St. Petersburg took 

 the execution of the plan in hand. 



The greatest difficulty lay in inducing the Russian 

 government to give permission to a foreign company 

 to construct and work a telegraph line through Russia. 

 This succeeded only after lengthy negotiations, in 

 which our previous achievements both as engineers 

 and as reliable contractors stood us in good stead. 

 The concession finally granted gave us the right of 

 laying and working a double line from the Prussian 

 frontier by way of Kiev, Odessa, Kertch, thence 

 partly under water to Suchum-Kale on the Caucasian 

 coast, and further via Tiflis to the Persian frontier. 



17 



