THE LAYING OF THE ATLANTIC CABLE. 255 



almost hopeless from the first, against superior force, 

 and with materials so ill adapted for the purpose, 

 yet carried on with such persistent energy and such 

 unwearied attention on the part of the chief workers, 

 that even for their sakes alone I could not help deeply 

 regretting that success had not attended such noble 

 efforts. Yet, looking at the amount of experience 

 gained, who shall say that the result is not in a high 

 degree satisfactory 1 ? It has been proved that the 

 Cable was of the right specific gravity, and its great 

 strength was shown by its holding the buoys even in 

 a stiff breeze, though the portion used for that pur- 

 pose had been picked up from a great depth, and had 

 been put to a severe strain ; it was proved that the 

 paying-out machinery was absolutely perfect, and that 

 the method employed of paying the Cable out from 

 coils instead of reels is by far the best ; it has also 

 been proved that it can be safely picked up at nearly 

 the greatest depth known in the course taken between 

 Yalentia and ^Newfoundland ; and lastly, to the won- 

 der of all on board, it has been proved that it can even 

 be grappled at that depth, and that with proper tackle 

 there would be every probability of its being raised 

 successfully. 



Much unnecessary, and I venture to think unjust, 

 censure has been cast on the engineers, by those wise 

 people who judge after the event, for the inefficiency 

 of the picking-up machinery. The real progress of 

 science must ever be affected by circumstances, and 



