CABLE BROKEN IN DEEP WATER. 



633 



" Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace and good-will 

 towards men." 



All went on favorably for several days : a constant communi- 

 cation was kept up between the Niagara and the shore. At 

 four o'clock on the following Tuesday, the signals suddenly 

 ceased. The return of the squadron confirmed the fears enter- 

 tained : the cable had broken in deep water. Three hundred 

 and thirty-five nautical miles had been laid, and the last half 

 of it in water over two miles in depth. The Niagara was 

 making at the time four miles an hour, and the cable running 



THE CABLE IN THE BED OF THE OCEAN. 



out at a greater speed, — from five to six miles an hour. This 

 was more than could be afforded, and the retard strain upon the 

 brakes was increased to three thousand pounds. The cable 

 bore the augmented pressure for a time, but finally parted, to 

 the dismay of the whole fleet. The vessels returned to England; 

 and the enterprise was abandoned for another year. Though 

 thus postponed, little or no doubt existed upon its ultimate suc- 

 cess. The exhilarating triumph which eventually attended the 

 efforts of the Company will form the subject of the next 

 chapter. 



