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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
234
This
great
chain
which
was
to
bind
the
sea
was
to
be
2,300
nautical
miles
long,
or
nearly
2,700
statute
miles!
But
where
could
this
enormous
bulk
be
stowed?
Its
weight
would
sink
the
Spanish
Armada.
In
1858,
the
cable
loaded
down
two
of
the
largest
ships
of
war
in
the
world,
the
Niagara
and
the
Agamemnon.
Yet
now
one
much
larger
and
bulkier
was
to
be
taken
on
board.
This
might
have
proved
a
serious
embarrassment,
but
that
a
few
years
before
there
had
been
built
in
England
a
ship
of
enormous
proportions.
The
Great
Eastern,
whose
iron
walls
had
been
reared
by
the
genius
of
Brunel,
had
been
for
ten
years
waiting
for
"a
mission."
As
a
specimen
of
marine
architecture
she
was
perfect.
She
walked
the
waters
in
towering
pride,
scarce
bending
her
imperial
head
to
the
waves
that
broke
against
her
sides,
as
against
the
rocks
of
the
shore.
But
with
all
her
noble
qualities,
she
was
too
great
for
the
ordinary
demands
of
commerce.
Her
very
size
was
against
her;
and
while
smaller
ships,
on
which
she
looked
down
with
contempt,
were
continually
flying
to
and
fro
across
the
sea,
this
leviathan,
Hugest
of
all
God's
works
That
swim
the
ocean
stream,
could
find
nothing
worthy
of
her
greatness.
Here
then
was
the
vessel
to
receive
the
Atlantic
cable.
Seeing
her
fitness
for
the
purpose,
a
few
of
the
gentlemen
who
were
active
in
reviving
the
Atlantic
Telegraph
combined
to
purchase
her,
as
she
was
about
to
be
sold.
One
of
them
went
down
with
all
speed
to
Liverpool,
and
the
next
day
telegraphed
that
the
big
ship
was
theirs.
The
new
owners
at
once
put
her
at
the
service
of
the
Atlantic
Company,
with
the
express
agreement
that
any
compensation
for
her
use
should
depend
on
the
success
of
the
expedition.
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