HONORS AND REWARDS 171 
resolution was passed. At that late date, the Treasury clerk 
to whom the medal had been entrusted for “safe keeping” 
and who had been forgotten, asked the Secretary of the ‘Treas- 
ury why Field had never been given the medal which had 
been made for the purpose and which he, the clerk, had been 
keeping carefully as instructed to do. Governmental proced- 
ure in this case had been slow but safe. 
Field was then in England. He received a cablegram from 
Washington saying: “The missing original Congressional gold 
medal, a duplicate of which was made and presented to you, 
has been found. Its value is about six hundred dollars... Sec- 
retary Treasury wishes informally to know whether you wish 
to possess it. If so, it will be given to you on receipt of value.” 
In other words, Field could have the medal struck for him 
by paying six hundred dollars for it. When he returned home 
and was in Washington, he called at the Treasury office for 
it. But there had been another misunderstanding. He was 
told that the medal had been sent to the United States mint 
in Philadelphia. A telegram was dispatched to the director 
of the mint. It arrived just in time to prevent a re-melting. 
Field finally received the medal but found that a hole had 
been drilled in it! 
Some pleasanter experiences marked his visits to Europe 
after the first enthusiasm had subsided. He sailed in Febru- 
ary, 1867, for England. While in London, he received a letter 
from Paris signed by a number of Americans temporarily 
there (including Professor Morse), inviting him to come to 
Paris for a public reception in his honor. Field was not able 
to accept this generous invitation because of engagements in 
England. 
The American Chamber of Commerce of Liverpool wrote 
to him at this time, stating that it had voted gold medals to 
Canning, Anderson, Willoughby Smith, and himself in com- 
memoration of the successful completion of the Atlantic cable. 
The medals were now ready, and it was proposed to present 
