The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph

DID THE FIRST CABLE EVER WORK? The Atlantic cable was dead! That word fell heavy as a stone on the hearts of those who had staked so much upon it. What a bitter disappointment to their hopes! In all the experience of life there are no sadder moments than those in which, after years of anxious toil, striving for a great object, and after one glorious hour of triumph, the achievement that seemed complete becomes a total wreck. Vain is all human toil and endeavor. The years thus spent are fled away; the labor that was to have brought such a reward of "riches and honor," is lost; and the prolonged tension of the mind by the excitement of hope and ambition, and the temporary success, reacts to plunge it into a deeper depression. So was it here. Years of labor and millions of capital were swept away in an hour into the bosom of the pitiless sea. Of course the reaction of the public mind was very great. As its elation had been so extravagant before, it was now silent and almost sullen. People were ashamed of their late enthusiasm, and disposed to revenge themselves on those who had been the objects of their idolatry. It is instructive to read the papers of the day. As soon as it was evident that the Atlantic cable was a dead lion, many hastened to give it a parting kick. There was no longer any dispute as to who was the author of the great achievement. Rival claimants quietly withdrew from the field, content to leave him alone in his glory.