2 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
exalted him in a two-day carnival; poems were composed 
about his accomplishments. He was honored by statesmen 
and nobility. A few days later he was derided as a failure, and 
accused of fraud and duplicity. 
These discouraging insinuations, however, were proved 
false. Once more he rose to the heights. Although a feted 
hero for years and a man of deeds apparently sure of perma- 
nent glory, he is now remembered only vaguely. Such is fame 
in American life. 
Cyrus Field is interesting as an outstanding man of his 
times. Properly interpreted, his success in laying the first 
cable across the Atlantic serves as a background for a reveal- 
ing study of human nature, both in himself and in the popu- 
lace that cheered and criticized him. He lived a full life— 
much of it in the public eye. His biography gives an absorb- 
ing picture of American conditions in the mid-eighteen- 
hundreds, the era of wooden ships, whiskered men, and hoop- 
skirted females. 
As aman, he showed courage, initiative, and determination. 
Liberal in his tendencies, he trusted others too freely and ex- 
pected from them the same generosity and frankness that he 
himself exhibited. Such an assumption is likely to lead to 
disaster if followed too trustingly. The very optimism and 
courage that made him famous later wrecked his fortunes. 
This is one of the lessons of his life, that virtues carried too 
far become weaknesses. An honest and modest man is always 
a target for attacks. 
One of the interesting aspects of his life was his wide ac- 
quaintance with prominent persons, both in the United 
States and Europe. He had a faculty for friendship and was 
one of the most widely-known men of his day. Although his 
admirers were legion and unusually demonstrative, especially 
at banquets and speeches, he was betrayed more than once 
by men he considered his friends. Such a frank and trusting 
type of man was particularly liable to be preyed upon. 
