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378
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
·
Henry M. Field
335
"I
made
my
way
with
others,
in
accordance
with
an
invitation
from
Willoughby
Smith,
to
the
electricians'
room.
Here,
after
another
hour's
preparation,
during
which
time
the
cable
had
been
carefully
passed
round
the
drums
of
the
picking-up
machinery,
and
a
sufficient
length
drawn
in
on
board,
the
severed
end
was
received.
And
now,
in
their
mysterious,
darkened
haunt,
the
wizards
are
ready
to
work
their
spells
upon
the
tamed
lightning.
Not
'unholy
spells'
are
these,
or
secret;
for,
though
the
wizards'
den
is
but
of
limited
dimensions,
they
have
not
been
averse
to
the
presence
of
a
few
visitors.
Mr.
Gooch
is
looking
on;
Professor
Thomson,
be
sure,
is
here,
a
worthy
'Wizard
of
the
North;'
Cyrus
Field
could
no
more
be
absent
than
the
cable
itself;
I
think,
too,
Canning,
hard
at
work
as
he
is
forward
in
the
ship,
must
have
dropped
in
just
for
a
moment;
Clifford,
Laws,
Captain
Hamilton,
Deane,
Dudley--all
have,
in
their
several
ways,
a
great
interest
in
every
movement
of
Willoughby
Smith
and
his
brother
(and
able
assistant)
Oliver;
and,
when
the
core
of
the
cable
is
stripped
and
the
heart
itself--the
conducting
wire--fixed
in
the
instrument,
and
these
two
electricians
bend
over
the
galvanometer
in
patient
watching
for
some
message
from
that
far-off
land
of
home
to
which
the
great
news
has
just
been
signalled,
then
the
accustomed
stillness
of
the
test-room
is
deepened;
the
ticking
of
the
chronometer
becomes
monotonous.
Nearly
a
quarter
of
an
hour
has
passed,
and
still
no
sign!
Suddenly
Willoughby
Smith's
hat
is
off,
and
the
British
hurrah
bursts
from
his
lips,
echoed
by
all
on
board
with
a
volley
of
cheers,
evidently
none
the
worse
for
having
been
'bottled
up'
during
the
last
three
hours.
Along
the
deck
outside,
over
the
ship,
throughout
the
ship,
the
pent-up
enthusiasm
overflowed;
and
even
before
the
test-room
was
cleared,
the
roaring
bravos
of
our
guns
drowned
the
huzzas
of
the
crew,
and
the
whiz
of
rockets
was
heard
rushing
high
into
the
clear
morning
sky
to
greet
our
consort-ships
with
the
glad
intelligence."
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