THE SUBMARINE CABLE 



miles of the wire strand when suddenly, without any 

 warning, the cable again parted. As signals could not 

 be exchanged between the ships, there was nothing 

 for it but to relinquish the undertaking and return to 

 Queenstown as agreed upon before starting. 



SUCCESS AT LAST 



The meeting of the board of directors of the Cable 

 Company was a gloomy affair. The chairman probably 

 voiced the feelings of a large share of the members when 

 he suggested that the cable remaining on shipboard be 

 sold as junk to the highest bidder, or words to that effect. 

 But Cyrus Field was there, and Bright, and Brett, and 

 with them the indomitable Professor Thomson and Cur- 

 tis Lampson. And once more the indomitable "Wire 

 Squadron" was ordered to sea. 



There was no pomp and display in this departure. 

 The ships crept out of the harbor more like sea-wolves 

 departing after an unsuccessful raid a handful of ships 

 carrying a party of cracked-brained visionaries, to whom 

 two tolerant governments had generously loaned their 

 vessels. This was on Saturday, July 17, 1858, and it is 

 probable that few persons, either in Great Britain or in 

 America, aside from immediate friends and relatives 

 of the members of the expedition, gave a single thought 

 to the movements of the boats or knew or cared what 

 they might be doing. 



But on August 5th, the world was awakened from its 

 lethargy with a start. A message had been flashed from 

 Valentia to the Board in London. "The Agamemnon 

 has arrived at Valentia," it read, "and we are about to 



[39] 



