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281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
151
He
took
to
gardening,
without
a
natural
liking
for
it,
and
soon
became
an
ardent
expert.
He
wrote
reviews,
and
lectured,
or
amused
himself
in
playing
charades,
and
reading
poetry.
Clerk
Maxwell,
and
Mr.
Ricketts,
who
was
lost
in
the
La
Plata,
were
among
his
visitors.
During
October,
1860,
he
superintended
the
repairs
of
the
Bona-Spartivento
cable,
revisiting
Chia
and
Cagliari,
then
full
of
Garibaldi's
troops.
The
cable,
which
had
been
broken
by
the
anchors
of
coral
fishers,
was
grapnelled
with
difficulty.
'What
rocks
we
did
hook!'
writes
Jenkin.
'No
sooner
was
the
grapnel
down
than
the
ship
was
anchored;
and
then
came
such
a
business:
ship's
engines
going,
deck
engine
thundering,
belt
slipping,
tear
of
breaking
ropes;
actually
breaking
grapnels.
It
was
always
an
hour
or
more
before
we
could
get
the
grapnels
down
again.'
In
1865,
on
the
birth
of
his
second
son,
Mrs.
Jenkin
was
very
ill,
and
Jenkin,
after
running
two
miles
for
a
doctor,
knelt
by
her
bedside
during
the
night
in
a
draught,
not
wishing
to
withdraw
his
hand
from
hers.
Never
robust,
he
suffered
much
from
flying
rheumatism
and
sciatica
ever
afterwards.
It
nearly
disabled
him
while
laying
the
Lowestoft
to
Norderney
cable
for
Mr.
Reuter,
in
1866.
This
line
was
designed
by
Messrs.
Forde
&
Jenkin,
manufactured
by
Messrs.
W.
T.
Henley
&
Co.,
and
laid
by
the
Caroline
and
William
Cory.
Miss
Clara
Volkman,
a
niece
of
Mr.
Reuter,
sent
the
first
message,
Mr.
C.
F,
Varley
holding
her
hand.
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