The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph

"The ships were visited in the course of the evening by the Directors and others interested in the great undertaking, and arrangements were immediately commenced on board the Niagara for paying out the shore rope for conveyance to the mainland. These arrangements were fully perfected by Wednesday morning; but for some hours the state of the weather rendered it doubtful whether operations could be safely proceeded with. Toward the afternoon the breeze calmed down, and at two o'clock it was decided that an effort should be made to land the cable at once. The process of uncoiling into the small boats commenced at half-past two, and the scene at this period was grand and exciting in the highest degree. "Valentia Bay was studded with innumerable small craft, decked with the gayest bunting--small boats flitted hither and thither, their occupants cheering enthusiastically as the work successfully progressed. The cable-boats were managed by the sailors of the Niagara and Susquehanna, and it was a well-designed compliment, and indicative of the future fraternization of the nations, that the shore rope was arranged to be presented at this side the Atlantic to the representative of the Queen, by the officers and men of the United States navy, and that at the other side the British officers and sailors should make a similar presentation to the President of the Great Republic. "From the main land the operations were watched with intense interest. For several hours the Lord Lieutenant stood on the beach, surrounded by his staff and the directors of the railway and telegraph companies, waiting the arrival of the cable, and when at length the American sailors jumped through the surge with the hawser to which it was attached, his Excellency was among the first to lay hold of it and pull it lustily to the shore. Indeed every one present seemed desirous of having a hand in the great work; and never before perhaps were there so many willing assistants, at 'the long pull, the strong pull, and the pull all together.'