GRAPPLING FOR THE SEA-SERPENT 153 
ing hamlet had its day of triumph. Undoubtedly these unus- 
ual scenes are still discussed there. 
The work of the Great Eastern was finished. After years of 
idleness and failure, it had finally written its name high in the 
annals of the sea. A double victory had been won, and a re- 
markable lesson in deep-water grappling taught the world. It 
was time now to return to England. The fight was over, and 
the victors were to separate. 
Cyrus Field parted with regret from his brave comrades of 
the high seas—many of them veterans of his various expedi- 
tions. With deep emotion he shook hands and said goodbye. 
Seafaring men do not often take such a liking to a financial 
promoter as to this friendly Yankee of the aquiline nose and 
bushy whiskers. When he went over the side of the ship, Cap- 
tain Anderson shouted: “‘Give him three cheers!’ They were 
given with sincerity and were still ringing in his ears as he 
watched the great ship depart. He was due back in the United 
States, where his family awaited him. 
In a speech several weeks later, Field said: ‘It has been a 
long, hard struggle. Nearly thirteen years of anxious watch- 
ing and ceaseless toil. Often my heart has been ready to sink. 
Many times, when wandering in the forests of Newfoundland, 
in the pelting rain, or on the decks of ships, on dark stormy 
nights—alone, far from home—I have almost accused myself 
of madness and folly to sacrifice the peace of my family, and 
all the hopes of life, for what might prove after all but a 
dream.” 
Most of Field’s personal fortune had gone into telegraph 
stock, in order to uphold America’s quota in good faith with 
the British investors. At times he was in dire financial straits, 
especially during the recurring periods of tight money in the 
United States. His daughter, Isabella Field Judson, stated 
that outsiders did not realize to what extremes his family were 
forced at critical periods. “Not a luxury was allowed,” she 
