THE LAYING OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 247 



sheep " Billy " for whose sake he daily committed 

 petty larceny on that day bah-ah-ah'd unheeded. 

 Moreover, a certain demoralisation had taken place. 

 Hitherto I had never seen any one light a pipe or 

 cigar in the saloons, and now smoking was prevalent, 

 the ladies' chamber, with its pretty ornaments and 

 luxurious couches, being specially selected as a divan ; 

 and this dreadful breach of discipline Avas regarded 

 with utter indifference by Captain Anderson and Mr 

 Gooch, the latter being himself one of the chief cul- 

 prits. One man alone was seemingly unmoved, pur- 

 suing his avocations as if nothing had occurred and 

 iJ(nt man was the cook; though, as the crowning effect 

 of all, the sound of the dinner-bell lost its accustomed 

 charm. 



It had come at last, this evil of evils. There lay 

 the mangled end of the Cable ; the other end, with 

 1200 miles of it, being at the bottom of the sea, 

 apparently far from the reach of man. I am not 

 exaggerating when I say that the crash represented 

 a loss of nearly a million sterling, and with it fled, 

 for the time at least, the prospects of the projectors 

 and the hopes of all civilised nations. For though 

 it was immediately resolved to try and grapple the 

 Cable, it was felt that the task was one of great 

 difficulty. We were in a depth of 2000 fathoms, 

 or two nautical miles; and even if we were so 

 fortunate as to succeed in the attempt, the chances 

 of our bringing it on board with such tackle as we 



VOL. IV. B 



