The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph Part 12

But in this country t.i.tles and honors come not from the Government, but from the people. Popular enthusiasm exhausted itself in eulogies of the man who had linked the Old World to the New. It seems strange now to sit down in cold blood and read what was published in the papers of that day. A collection of American journals issued during that eventful month, August, 1858, would be a literary curiosity.[A]

Nor was it merely in such outward demonstrations that the public enthusiasm showed itself. The feeling struck deeper, and reached all minds. While the people shouted and cannon roared, sober and thoughtful men pondered on the change that was being wrought in the earth. Business men reasoned how it would affect the commerce of the world, while the philanthropic regarded it as the forerunner of an age of universal peace. The first message flashed across the sea--even before that of the Queen--had been one of religious exultation. It was from the Directors in Great Britain to those on this side the Atlantic, and, simply reciting the fact that Europe and America were united by telegraph, at once broke into a strain of religious rapture, echoing the song of the angels over a Saviour's birth: "Glory to G.o.d in the highest; on earth, peace, good-will toward men." Poetry at once caught up the strain. The event became the theme of innumerable odes and hymns, of which it must be said that, whatever their merit as poetry, their spirit at least was n.o.ble, celebrating the event chiefly as promoting the brotherhood of the human family. The key-note was struck in such lines as these:

'Tis done! the angry sea consents, The nations stand no more apart, With clasped hands the continents Feel throbbings of each other's heart.

Speed, speed the cable; let it run A loving girdle round the earth, Till all the nations 'neath the sun Shall be as brothers of one hearth;

As brothers pledging, hand in hand, One freedom for the world abroad, One commerce over every land, One language and one G.o.d.

The sermons preached on this occasion were literally without number.

Enough found their way into print to make a large volume. Never had an event touched more deeply the spirit of religious enthusiasm. Devout men held it as an advance toward that millennial era which was at once the object of their faith and hope. Was not this the predicted time when, "many should run to and fro, and knowledge should be increased?" So said the preachers, taking for their favorite text the vision of the Psalmist, "Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world;" or the question of Job: "Canst thou send forth the lightnings, that they may go and say unto thee, Here we are?" Was not this the dawn of that happy age, when all men should be bound together in peaceful intercourse, and nations should learn war no more?

Such was the burden of the discourses that were preached in a thousand pulpits from one end of the country to the other. Even the Roman Catholic Church, so lofty and inflexible in its claims, soaring into the past centuries, and almost disdaining the material progress of the present day as compared with the spiritual glories of the Ages of Faith, did not ignore the great event; and in laying the foundation of the new Cathedral of St. Patrick, the largest temple of religion on the continent, Archbishop Hughes placed under the corner-stone an inscription, wherein, along with the enduring record of the Christian faith and the names of martyrs and confessors, he did not disdain to include a brief memorial of this last achievement of science, and the name of him who had conferred so great a benefit on mankind.

These public demonstrations culminated on the first of September, when the city authorities gave a public ovation to Mr. Field and the officers of the expedition. In accepting these honors, Mr. Field had taken good care that the British officers should be included with the American. At St. John's he had been notified of the intended celebration, and at once telegraphed to the British Admiral at Halifax:

"I should consider it a very great personal favor if you would permit the Gorgon, Captain Dayman, to accompany the Niagara, Captain Hudson, to New York. English officers and English sailors have labored with American officers and American sailors to lay the Atlantic cable. They were with us in our days of trial, and pray let them, if you can, share with us our triumph."

The request was granted so far as this, that the officers were allowed leave of absence, and came on to New York to take part in the celebration, and in all the honors which followed, the officers of the Gorgon were a.s.sociated with those of the Niagara.

The day arrived, and the celebration surpa.s.sed any thing which the city had ever witnessed before. It was a mild autumn day--warm, yet with a sky softly veiled with clouds, that seemed to invite a whole population into the streets. The day commenced with a solemn service at Trinity Church, which was attended by the city authorities, the representatives of foreign powers, and an immense concourse of people. The vast edifice was decorated with evergreens; in the centre hung a cross, with the inscription: "Glory to G.o.d on high; and on earth, peace, good-will towards men." When the audience were a.s.sembled, there entered a procession of two hundred clergy, headed by Bishop Doane of New Jersey, who was to deliver the address. Prayers were offered and Scriptures were read, and at intervals the choir gave voice to the general joy in the anthems in which for ages the Church has been wont to pour forth its exultation: "O come, let us sing unto the Lord," the Gloria in Excelsis, and the Te Deum Laudamus.

At noon, Mr. Field and the officers of the s.h.i.+ps landed at Castle Garden and were received with a national salute. A procession was formed which extended for miles from the Battery to the Crystal Palace, which stood on the plot of ground now known as Bryant Park, between Fortieth and Forty-second streets. In the procession were Lord Napier, the British Minister, and officers of the army and navy. For the whole distance the streets were crowded. The windows and even the tops of the houses were filled with people. Everywhere flags and banners, with every device, floated in the air. So dense was the crowd that it was five or six hours before the procession could reach the Crystal Palace.

Here its coming was awaited by an a.s.sembly that filled all the aisles and galleries. An address was delivered, giving the history of the Atlantic Telegraph. The Mayor then rose, and presenting Mr. Field to the audience, spoke as follows:

"Sir: History records but few enterprises of such 'pith and moment' as to command the attention and at the same time enlist the sympathies of all mankind. In all ages warlike expeditions have been undertaken on a scale of grandeur sufficient to astonish the world; but the evils which are inseparable from their prosecution have always sent a thrill of horror through the anxious nations. The discovery of the Western continent even, the grandest event of modern times, was made by an insignificant fleet which left the sh.o.r.es of Spain without attracting the notice of the civilized world. Far different has been the history of the daring and difficult enterprise of uniting the Old World and the New by means of the electric telegraph. From the very outset the good, the great and the wise of all lands beneath the sun, have watched with intense anxiety, and even when doubt existed, with warm interest, every step taken toward the accomplishment of what was universally acknowledged to be the most momentous undertaking of an age made marvellous by wonderful scientific and mechanical achievements. The two greatest and freest nations of the globe, by independent const.i.tutional legislation, and by the aid of their finest s.h.i.+ps and their ablest officers and engineers, combined together to insure success. Capital was liberally subscribed by private citizens in a spirit which put greed to the blush. The press on both sides of the Atlantic recorded the details of the progress of the undertaking with cordial interest, and secured the generous sympathies of men of all kindreds and tongues and nations in its behalf. You were thus fortunate, sir, in being identified with a project of such magnificent proportions and universal concern. But the enterprise itself was no less fortunate in being projected and carried into execution by a man whom no obstacles could daunt, no disasters discourage, no doubts paralyze, no opposition dishearten. If you, to whom the conduct of this great enterprise was a.s.signed by the will of Providence and the judgment of your fellow-men, had been found wanting in courage, in energy, in determination, and in a faith that was truly sublime, the very grandeur of the undertaking would only have rendered its failure the more conspicuous. But, sir, the incidents of the expedition, and the final result--too familiar to all the world to need repet.i.tion here--have demonstrated that you possessed all the qualities essential to achieve a successful issue. It is for this reason that you now stand out from among your fellow-men a mark for their cordial admiration and grateful applause. The city of your home delights to honor you; your fellow-citizens, conscious that the glory of your success is reflected back upon them, are proud that your lot has been cast among them. They have already testified their appreciation of your great services and heroic perseverance by illuminations, processions, serenades, and addresses. And now, sir, the munic.i.p.al government of this, the first city on the Western continent, instruct me, who have never felt the honor of being its chief magistrate so sensibly as in the presence of this vast a.s.semblage of its fair women and substantial citizens, to present to you a gold box, with the arms of the city engraved thereon, in testimony of the fact that to you mainly, under Divine Providence, the world is indebted for the successful execution of the grandest enterprise of our day and generation; and in behalf of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of New York, I now request your acceptance of this token of their approbation. In conclusion, sir, of this, the most agreeable duty of my public life, I sincerely trust that your days may be long in the land, and as prosperous and honorable as your achievement in uniting the two hemispheres by a cord of electric communication has been successful and glorious."

To this flattering address, Mr. Field replied:

"Sir: This will be a memorable day in my life; not only because it celebrates the success of an achievement with which my name is connected, but because the honor comes from the city of my home--the metropolitan city of the new world. I see here not only the civic authorities and citizens at large, but my own personal friends--men with whom I have been connected in business and friendly intercourse for the greater part of my life. Five weeks ago, this day and hour, I was standing on the deck of the Niagara in mid-ocean, with the Gorgon and Valorous in sight, waiting for the Agamemnon. The day was cold and cheerless, the air was misty, and the wind roughened the sea; and when I thought of all that we had pa.s.sed through--of the hopes thus far disappointed, of the friends saddened by our reverses, of the few that remained to sustain us--I felt a load at my heart almost too heavy to bear, though my confidence was firm, and my determination fixed. How different is the scene now before me--this vast crowd testifying their sympathy and approval, praises without stint, and friends without number!

This occasion, sir, gives me the opportunity to express my thanks for the enthusiastic reception which I have received, and I here make my acknowledgments before this vast concourse of my fellow-citizens. To the ladies I may, perhaps, add, that they have had their appropriate place, for when the cable was laid, the first public message that pa.s.sed over it came from one of their own s.e.x. This box, sir, which I have the honor to receive from your hand, shall testify to me and to my children what my own city thinks of my acts. For your kindness, sir, expressed in such flattering, too flattering terms, and for the kindness of my fellow-citizens, I repeat my most heartfelt thanks."

The enthusiasm with which this address was received reached its height, when at the close, Mr. Field advanced to the edge of the platform, and unrolling a despatch, held it up, saying: "Gentlemen, I have just received a telegraphic message from a little village, now a suburb of New York, which I will read to you:

"London, September 1, 1858.

"To Cyrus W. Field, New York:

"The directors are on their way to Valentia, to make arrangements for opening the line to the public. They convey, through the cable, to you and your fellow-citizens, their hearty congratulations and good wishes, and cordially sympathize in your joyous celebration of the great international work."[B]

A gold medal was presented to Captain Hudson, with an address, to which he made a fitting reply. Similar testimonials were presented to all the English captains through Mr. Archibald, the British Consul, who replied for his absent countrymen, after which the whole audience rose to their feet, as the band played "G.o.d save the Queen."

It was long after dark when the exercises closed, and the vast mult.i.tude dispersed.

The night witnessed one of those displays for which New York surpa.s.ses all the cities of the world--a firemen's torchlight procession--a display such as was afterward given to the Prince of Wales, but which we shall probably witness no more, since the Volunteer Fire Department is disbanded.

But one day did not exhaust the public enthusiasm. The next evening, a grand banquet was given by the city authorities, at which were present a great number of distinguished guests. Lord Napier spoke, in language as happy as it was eloquent, of the new tie that was formed between kindred dwelling on opposite sides of the sea, and awarded the highest praise to the one whom he recognized as the author of this great achievement.

While these demonstrations continued, every opposing voice was hushed in the chorus of national rejoicing; yet some there were, no doubt, who looked on with silent envy or whispered detraction. But who could grudge these honors to the hero of the hour--honors so hardly won, and which, as it proved, were soon to give place to harsh censures and unjust imputations?

Alas for all human glory! Its paths lead but to the grave. Death is the end of human ambition. The very day that a whole city rose up to do honor to the Atlantic Telegraph and its author, it gave its last throb, and that first cable was thenceforth to sleep for ever silent in its ocean grave.

FOOTNOTES:

[A] Such a curiosity exists, prepared by the industry of a gentleman who was one of the most careful collectors of the events of his time--by which he gathered up the materials of future history--Mr. John R.

Bartlett, formerly Secretary of State of Rhode Island. This gentleman kept files of all the papers referring to the Atlantic Telegraph, from which he compiled a very unique volume. It is in the form of a sc.r.a.p-book, but on a gigantic scale, being of a size equal to Webster's large Dictionary. It is made up entirely of newspaper cuttings, cla.s.sified under different heads, and neatly arranged in double columns on nearly four hundred folio pages. The matter thus compressed would make between three and four octavo volumes of the size of Prescott's Histories, if printed in the style of those works. Every thing is included that could be gathered from European as well as American papers, touching the claims of the inventors and projectors of the electric telegraph in general, and of the Atlantic Telegraph in particular. The historical sketches are set off by ill.u.s.trations taken from the pictorial papers. Altogether it embraces more of the materials of a history of this subject than any other volume with which we are acquainted, and well deserves the t.i.tle prefixed to it by the laborious compiler:

"THE ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.--Its Origin and History, with an Account of the Voyages of the Steamers Niagara and Agamemnon, in Laying the Cable, and of the Celebration of the Great Event in New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Montreal, Dublin, Paris, etc.; together with the Discussions, Sermons, Poetry, and Anecdotes relating thereto; also, a History of the Invention of the Electric Telegraph. Ill.u.s.trated with Maps, Plans, Views, and Portraits, collected from the Newspapers of the Day, and arranged by John Russell Bartlett. 1858."

[B] The history of this despatch is curious. Though dated at London, it was sent from a small town in Ireland. The directors were on their way from Dublin to Valentia, on the morning of the first of September, when Mr. Saward remarked: "This is the day of the celebration in New York--we ought to send a despatch to Mr. Field." Accordingly, at the first stopping-place (Mallow Station) the message was written, and forwarded to Valentia, and thence sent across the Atlantic. It was put into Mr.

Field's hand as he was getting into his carriage on the Battery.

CHAPTER XII.

DID THE FIRST CABLE EVER WORK?

The Atlantic cable was dead! That word fell heavy as a stone on the hearts of those who had staked so much upon it. What a bitter disappointment to their hopes! In all the experience of life there are no sadder moments than those in which, after years of anxious toil, striving for a great object, and after one glorious hour of triumph, the achievement that seemed complete becomes a total wreck. Vain is all human toil and endeavor. The years thus spent are fled away; the labor that was to have brought such a reward of "riches and honor," is lost; and the prolonged tension of the mind by the excitement of hope and ambition, and the temporary success, reacts to plunge it into a deeper depression. So was it here. Years of labor and millions of capital were swept away in an hour into the bosom of the pitiless sea.

Of course the reaction of the public mind was very great. As its elation had been so extravagant before, it was now silent and almost sullen.

People were ashamed of their late enthusiasm, and disposed to revenge themselves on those who had been the objects of their idolatry. It is instructive to read the papers of the day. As soon as it was evident that the Atlantic cable was a dead lion, many hastened to give it a parting kick. There was no longer any dispute as to who was the author of the great achievement. Rival claimants quietly withdrew from the field, content to leave him alone in his glory.

Many explanations were offered of this sudden suspension of life. One writer argued that the Telegraphic Plateau was only a myth; that the bottom of the ocean was jagged and precipitous; that the cable pa.s.sed over lofty mountain chains, and hung suspended from the peaks of submarine Alps, till it broke and fell into the tremendous depths below.

But others found a readier explanation. With the natural tendency of a popular excitement to rush from one extreme to the other, many now believed that the whole thing was an imposition on public credulity, a sort of "Moon hoax." An elaborate article appeared in a Boston paper, headed with the alarming question, "Was the Atlantic cable a humbug?"

wherein the writer argued through several columns that it was a huge deception. A writer in an English paper also made merry of the celebration in Dublin, where a banquet was given to Sir Charles Bright, in an article bearing the ominous t.i.tle: "Very like a whale!" This writer proved not only that the Atlantic cable was never laid, but that such a thing was mathematically impossible. But since he turned out to be a crazy fellow, whom the police had to take into custody, his "demonstrations" did not make much impression on the public. The difficulty of finding a motive for the perpetration of such a stupendous fraud, did not at all embarra.s.s these ingenious writers. Was it not enough to make the world stare? to furnish something to the gaping crowd, even though it were but a nine days' wonder? Those who thus reasoned seemed not to reflect that such deceptions are always sure to be found out; that one who goes up like a rocket comes down like a stick; and that if by false means he has made himself an object of popular idolatry, he is likely to become the object of popular indignation.

But others there were--sharp, shrewd men--who thought they could see through a mill-stone farther than their neighbors, who shook their heads with a knowing air, and said: "It was all a stock speculation." One writer stepped before the public with this solemn inquiry: "Now that the great cable glorification is over, we should like to ask one question: How many shares of his stock did Mr. Field sell during the month of August?" This he evidently thought was a question which could not be answered, except by acknowledging a great imposition on the public. If this brilliant inquirer after truth really desired to be informed, we could have referred him to Messrs. George Peabody & Co., of London, with whom was deposited all of Mr. Field's stock at the time, and who, during that memorable month of August, sold _just one share_, and that at a price below the par value, which had been paid by Mr. Field himself. Whether this was an object sufficiently great to set two hemispheres in a blaze, we leave him to judge.

To those who have followed this narrative, all these conjectures and suspicions will appear very absurd. The personal reflections of course deserved and received only the contempt with which a man of character always scorns an imputation on his personal honor. But while these anonymous scribblers might be despised, many honest people not disposed to think evil were sorely perplexed. That the cable should continue to work for three or four weeks, _and then stop the very day of the celebration_, was certainly a singular, if not a suspicious circ.u.mstance; and it was not to be wondered at that it should excite a painful feeling of doubt. The distrust is quite natural, and ought not to be matter either of offence or surprise. On the contrary, those who are fully satisfied of the facts, ought rather to be glad of the opportunity which such questions afford, to present the amplest vindication.

To relieve all doubts, it is only necessary to give a very brief history of the working of the Atlantic cable. It was landed on both sides of the ocean on the fifth of August. The last recorded message pa.s.sed over it on the first of September, one day short of four weeks. Within that time there were sent exactly four hundred messages, of which two hundred and seventy-one were from Newfoundland to Ireland, and one hundred and twenty-nine from Ireland to Newfoundland. Of these, the greater part were merely between the operators themselves, respecting the adjustment of instruments, and working the telegraph, which, while they furnished decisive evidence _to them_, were of no force to the public. Of course an operator, working with a battery on the sh.o.r.e at Valentia, or at Trinity Bay, watching his instrument, and seeing the little tongue of light reflected from the moving mirror of the galvanometer, needed no other evidence of an electric current that had pa.s.sed through the cable.

He _saw_ it, and knew, as if he saw the flash of a gun on the coast of Ireland, that it was a light which had come from beyond the sea. But these private a.s.surances were nothing to the outside world. What they needed was _public_ messages, conveying news from one hemisphere to the other. Of these, there were not a great number, for obvious reasons. The cable, during the four weeks of its existence, never worked _perfectly_--that is, as a land line works, transmitting messages freely and rapidly, and with perfect accuracy. It was subject to frequent interruptions for reasons which may satisfy any one that the wonder is, not that it did so little, but that it did so much.

1st. To begin with, the cable was not constructed in the most perfect manner. Its makers, though the best then in the world, had had but little experience in making deep-sea cables. No line over three hundred miles long had ever been laid. 2d. It had been made more than a year before. After it was finished, part of it had been coiled out of doors, where it was exposed to a burning sun, by which, as was afterward found, the gutta-percha had been melted in many places till the insulation was nearly destroyed. 3d. It had been put on board the s.h.i.+ps in 1857, and after the first failure, had been taken out and coiled on the dock at Plymouth, and then re-s.h.i.+pped in 1858. Thus it had been twisted and untwisted, some portions of it as many as ten times. Then the Agamemnon was so shaken in the terrible gale of June, that the cable on board of her was seriously injured, and some portions were cut out and condemned.

Taking all these things together, the wonder is, not that the cable failed after a month, but that it ever worked at all!

Owing to this impaired state of the cable, it did _not_ work perfectly.

Probably it would not have worked at all with ordinary instruments. But the galvanometer of Professor Thomson, that instrument of marvellous delicacy, drew faint whispers from its muttering lips. Signals came and went, which showed that the electric current pa.s.sed from sh.o.r.e to sh.o.r.e, and gave promise that with delicate handling it could be taught to speak plainly. But for the present it spoke slowly and with difficulty. It often took hours to get through a single despatch of any length. Witness the delay in transmitting the Queen's message! These frequent interruptions were ascribed to various causes. Sometimes it was earth-currents; at others, a thunderstorm was raging. Thus, on the morning of Thursday, the twenty-sixth of August, there was a violent storm in Newfoundland, heavy rain, accompanied by thunder and lightning.

At three o'clock, the lightning was so intense that for an hour and a half the end of the cable had to be put to the earth for protection.

After that the storm cleared away, and at seven o'clock the weather was reported as very fine. But aside from these local and temporary causes, the real difficulty was in the cable itself, whose insulation had been fatally impaired, and which was now wearing out its life on the rocks of the sea. These causes made its speech difficult and broken. Yet sometimes it flashed up with sudden power. In one case, a message was sent from the office at Trinity Bay to Ireland and an answer received back in two minutes! Such incidents excited the liveliest hopes that all difficulties would be speedily overcome, and justified the messages which were sent to the New York papers from day to day, that the instruments were being adjusted, by which it was expected that the line would soon be put in perfect working order, and be thrown open to the public. But these flashes of light proved to be only the flickering of the flame, that was soon to be extinguished in the eternal darkness of the waters.

But the question which perplexed not only skeptics, but the truest friends, was not whether the cable worked fast or slow, _but whether it ever worked at all_. Happily, this is a question which can easily be settled, since it is one simply of facts and dates, which can be ascertained by referring to the files of the English and American papers. Of course the only proof must be in messages containing _news_.

Mere congratulations between the Queen and the President, or the Mayor of New York and the Mayor of London, prove nothing, for these might have been prepared beforehand, if we suppose a design to impose on the credulity of the public. But the decisive test is this: Was there at any time within that month published in the English or American journals _news_ which could not be matter of guess or conjecture, and within a time too short for its possible transmission in any other way? If this can be proved beyond all doubt, even in a few instances, the question is decided, for the argument is just as strong with a dozen cases as with a thousand. We give, therefore, a few dates, the accuracy of which can be tested by any one who will take the trouble to examine the English and American papers: