346 DIRECT ATLANTIC CABLE. 



sensitive instruments, such as we were employing, could 

 have detected it. -According to previous cable-laying 

 practice, this defect would have been allowed to pass, 

 as it was without any influence on the signalling. But 

 we wished to lay down a perfectly faultless cable, and 

 determined therefore to take the cable up again to 

 the point of the fault, which must be immediately 

 behind the ship. This indeed went off well in spite 

 of the great depth of 18,000 feet, as was continuously 

 telegraphed to us from the ship. Suddenly however 

 the scale of our galvanometer flew out of the field of 

 sight, - - the cable was broken! Broken at a depth, 

 from which to fish up the end again appeared quite 

 impossible. 



It was a hard blow, which threatened our personal 

 reputation as well as our business credit. The intel- 

 ligence spread through all England in the same hour, 

 and was received with very different feelings. Nobody 

 believed in the possibility of recovering a detached 

 piece of cable from so great a depth, and even brother 

 William advised by telegraph to abandon the paid-out 

 cable, and to recommence the laying. I was how- 

 ever convinced that Charles would not return without 

 having made the attempt to pick the cable up, and 

 calmly watched the continual fluctuations of the scale 

 of the galvanometer to detect any signs pointing to 

 the movement of the cable-end by the search- anchor. 

 Such indications indeed frequently occurred, without 

 having further consequences, and two anxious days 

 passed without any news from the ship. All at once 



