HARD LUCK AND HUMAN NATURE 85 
The British Government had recently assisted in the laying 
of a cable in the Red Sea, in order to facilitate communica- 
tion with India. But the cable was improperly designed and 
soon ceased to function. ‘Things began to look as though such 
enterprises were impracticable. 
Nevertheless, the British Government made a sporting of- 
fer. It agreed that if an Atlantic cable could be made to ope- 
rate, it would increase its annual subsidy for official messages 
from fourteen thousand to twenty thousand pounds, and it 
would guarantee eight percent interest on six hundred thou- 
sand pounds of new capital for twenty-five years. Still further 
help was given by the Government in its soundings off Ire- 
land and in its organization of an official committee to clarify 
the technical problems. ‘This Committee, composed of emi- 
nent authorities, worked for nearly two years and finally re- 
ported favorably on the feasibility of an Atlantic cable. ‘This 
long delay retarded the active prosecution of the cable- 
laying, although valuable data were gathered that would even- 
tually bring success. The technical features of the undertak- 
ing were at last being recognized and solved. 
These were difficult years for Cyrus Field. His life seemed 
destined to be a succession of ups and downs. At the close of 
1859, after his firm had finally succeeded in paying off the 
debts incurred in the panic of 1857, another misfortune fell 
upon them. The firm’s office and warehouse on Beekman 
street were destroyed by fire. ‘There was a large loss of goods 
beyond the amount covered by insurance, and valuable papers 
were burned. It is no wonder that at times Field appeared 
hard and implacable in business. Fresh efforts had now to be 
made to resuscitate the firm. 
When the Republican Party’s national convention to nom- 
inate a candidate for president was held in the summer of 
1860, Field (unlike his brother David and his friend Horace 
Greeley) favored the selection of William H. Seward of New 
York, who had helped the cable subsidy in the Senate. He had 
