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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
279
The
machinery
also
was
perfected
in
every
part,
to
withstand
the
great
strain
which
might
be
brought
upon
it
in
grappling
and
lifting
the
cable
from
the
great
depths
of
the
Atlantic.
This
necessitated
almost
a
reconstruction
of
the
machinery,
together
with
engines
of
greater
power,
applied
both
to
the
gear
for
hauling
in
forward
and
that
for
paying
out
aft.
Thus,
in
case
of
a
fault,
the
motion
of
the
ship
could
be
easily
reversed,
and
the
cable
hauled
back
by
the
paying-out
machinery,
without
waiting
for
the
long
and
tedious
process
of
bringing
the
cable
round
from
the
stern
to
the
bow
of
the
ship.
But
the
most
marvellous
improvement
had
been
in
the
method
of
testing
the
cable
for
the
discovery
of
faults.
In
the
last
expedition,
a
grave
omission
had
been
in
the
long
intervals
during
which
the
cable
was
left
without
a
test
of
its
insulation.
Thus,
from
thirty
to
thirty-five
minutes
in
each
hour
it
was
occupied
with
tests
of
minor
importance,
which
would
not
indicate
the
existence
of
a
fault,
so
that,
if
a
fault
occurred
on
ship-board,
it
might
pass
over
the
stern,
and
be
miles
away
before
it
was
discovered.
But
now
a
new
and
ingenious
method
was
devised
by
Mr.
Willoughby
Smith,
by
which
the
cable
will
be
tested
every
instant.
The
current
will
not
cease
to
flow
any
more
than
the
blood
ceases
to
flow
in
human
veins.
The
cord
is
vital
in
every
part,
and
if
touched
at
any
point
it
reveals
the
wound
as
instinctively
as
the
nerves
of
a
living
man
flash
to
the
brain
a
wound
in
any
part
of
the
human
frame.
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