The Sun.
London, England, 1858-07-14 00:00:00

- e
per, which went, cruising about, turning all it
touched to a light pea green. By and by she be-
gan to ship seas. Water came down the ventila-
tors near the funnel into the engine-room. Then
a tremendous sea struck her forward, drenching
those on deck, and leaving them up to their knees
in water, and the least learned on board could see
that things were fist going to the bid unless a
change took place ei.her in the weather or the con-
dition of the ship. Of the first there seemed little
chance. A little after 10 o'clock on Monday, the
21st, the aspect of affairs was' so alarming that
Captain Preedy resolved at all risks to try wear-
ing the ship round on the other tack. It was hard
enough to make the words of command audible, hut
to execute them seemed ahem -t impossible. The
ship's head went round enough:t o leave her broad-
side onto the seas, and then for a time it seemeel as
if nothing could be done. All the rolls which she
bad ever given on the previous day seemed mere
trifles as compared to her performances then. Once
round on the starboard tack, and it was seen in an
instant that the ship was iu no degree relieved by
the change. Another heavy sea struck her forward,
Sweeping clean over the fore part of the vessel, and
carrying away the woodwork and platform which
bad been placed there round the machinery for
under running. This and a few more plunges were
quite sufficient to settle the mater, and at last,
reluctantly, Captain Preedy succumbed to the
stermhe could neither conquer nor c estend against.
Ftsil steam was got on, and, with a foresail and
fore-top-sail to lift her head, the Agamemnon ran
before the storm, rolling and tumbling over the
huge waves at a tremendous pace.
Throughout the whole of Monday the Agamem-
non ran before the wind, which moderated so much
that at 4 a.M. on Tuesday her head was again put
about, and for the second time she commenced
beating up for the rendezvous, then some 200 miles
further from us than when the gale was at its
height on Sunday morning. So little was gained
against the wind, that Friday, the 25th, 16 days
after leaving Plymouth, still found us some 50
miles away from the rendezvous. So it was deter-
mined to get up steam and run down on it at epee.
As we approached the place of meeting the
Valorous hove in sight at noon ; in the afternoon
the Niagara came in from the north, and in the
evening the Gorgon from the r owls ; and tben,
almost for the first time since starting, the squa-
dron was re-united near the spot where the great
work was to commence.
On the evening of Friday, the 25th of June, the
four vessels lay together side by side, and there was
such a stillness in the sea and air as would have
seemed reenarkalrle in an inland lake ; on the
Atlantic, and after what we had all so lately
witnessed, it seemed almost unnatural. We have
said bow, during the awful rolls which the Aga-
Memnon made on the 20th and 21st, the upper
part of the main coil shifted and became a mere
shapeless tangled mass, with which it seemed im-
Possible to deal in any conceivable way. However,
neither Mr. Bright, nor Mr. Canning,
nor Mr.
Clifford were to be daunted by the aspect of a
difficulty however formidable. Absurd as the state-
ment seemed at first they were all positive that the
tangle did not extend far down the coil, and they
were right. Captain needy gave them his hearty
Assistance, men were at work day and night, draw-
ing it out of the hold and coiling it aft on the
main deck. For the first 24 hours the labour
thated hopele.e,
an for so dense was the tangle
hour's bard work would sometimes
scarcely clear half a mile. By and by, how-
ever, it began to mend, the efforts were redoubled,
and late on Friday night 140 miles had been got
out, and the remainder was found to be clear
of
enough to commence work with. On the morning
were Seturday, the 211 h of June all the preparations
completed for makine 'the splice and com-
mencing the great undertaking. The end of the
thNiagara's cable was Kent on boird the Agamemnon,
e splice was made, a bent sixpence put in it for
and at 2.50 Greenwich time it was slowly
Tll© rsese for ever
lowered over the side and disappea.
aria weather wal cold and foggy, with a stiff ereeee
dismal sort of sleet, and as there was no cheer-
'ntg or manifestation of enthusiasm of any kind, the
whole ceremony had a most funereal effect, and
"Posed as solemn as if were burying a marine, or
some other mortuary task of the kind, equally
cheerful and enlivening. As it turned out, how-
ever, it was just as well that no display took place,
as every one.would have looked uncommon silly,
when the same operation came to he repeated, as it
had to he, an hour or so after wards. It is needless ?
making a long story longer, so we may state at
once, that when ewe ship had paid out three miles
or so, and were getting well apart, the cable broke
on board the Niagara,
owing to its overriding and I
getting off the pulley leading on to the machine. The
break was of course known instantly, both ve sets
Put about and returned, a fresh settee was ni,:de,
and again to over at half-past seven. Ac-
Cording to arrangement 150 fathoms were veered
deent from each ship and then all stood away on their
2arse, at first at two miles an hour and after-
znwaa_die at four. Everything then went well—the
tti,'-nce working beautifully, at 32 revolutions per
7:,
es-ILe---the- screw at 26—the cable running out
,-1-Le at
e• The
5 and 52 miles an hour, the ship going '
greatest strain opon the dynarrotue.ee
was 2,500 lbs., and this was only for a few mi-
1114es—the average riving only about 2000 lbs.
and 2,1001b5. A twelve midnight 21, nautical
miles had h
-een Payed out, and the angle of the
ziderably.
cable: with the horizen heti been reduced con-
At half past 3 4Q miles had gone, and
-Lin"g could be morn perfect and regular than the .
working el every t hinse when suddenly at 3. 40 a m.,
Smida3', the 27th, Professor Thompson came on
deck and reported a total break of continuity ; that
the cable, in fact, had parted, and, as was believed '
at the time, from the .Niaeara. The Agamemnon '
th
ev..as instantly stopped, and the brake applied to
m e machinery, in order that the cable payed out
Might he severed from the mass in the hold, and so
enable Professor Thompson to discover by electrical
tat about what distance from the ship the
fracture had taken place. Unfortunately, however,
there was a strong breeze on at the time, with
rather a heavy swell, which told severely upon the cable, and ere any means could be taken to ease
-entirely the motion on the ship, it parted a few
-fathoms below the stern wheel,
the dynamometer
indicating a strain of nearly 4,000 lb. In another
instant a gun and a blue light warned the Valorous
of what had happened, and roused all on board the
Agamemnon to a knowledge that the mar_linery
-Was silent, aed teat the first part or the Atlantic
cable had been laid and lost efacesally.
The great length of cable on board both ships
allowed a large margin for such mishaps as these,
and the arrangements made before leaving England
was that the splices might he renewed and the
work re-commenced till each ship had lost 250
Miles of wire, after which they were to discontinue
their efforts And return to Queenstown for orders.
' Accordingly, after the breakage on Sunday morn-
' jug, the ships' heads were put about, and for the
fourth time-the Agamemnon again began the weary
work of beating up against the wind for that ever-
lasting.reridezvous which we seemed destined to be
always seeking.
It was bard work beating up against ihe wind ;
so hard, indeed, that it was not t 11 the noon of
14daY, the 28th, that we rejoined the Niagara ;
im°lld, While all were wahing with impatience for her
er,i.fied every one by
explanationt. of how they broke the cable, she elec-
trified
As soon as the boat running
up
HOW did la
one
be part 1" This was astounding*.
the interrogatory,
Field, with the d be lowered, Mr. Cyrus
on board, elecstriccoivarirs from the Niagara, came
and a comparison of logs showed the
painful and mysterious fact that, at the same second
leadlad taken
time each vessel discovered that a total fracture
place at a distance of certainly not less
than 1.0 miles from each ship—in fact, as well as
eau be judged, at the bottom of the ocean. The
logs on Loth sides were so clear as to the minute of
tiny', and as to the electrical tests, showing not
merely leakage or defective insulation of the wire,
but a total fracture, that there was no room left on
which. to rest- a moment's doubt of the certainty of
this most disheartening fact. That of all the many mishaps connected with the Atlantic telegraph this
is the worst and most disheartening is certain, since
it proves that, after all that human skill and science
can effect to lay the • wire down with safety has
been accomplished; there may be some fa 'ell
obrta-
des to success at the bottom cf the ocean which
can never be guarded against, for even the nature
of the peril must always remain as secret and un-
known as the depths in which it is to be encoun-
tered.
• No time was lost, after the vessels rejoined, in
making the third and last splice, which wast.wered
over into 2,000 fathoms water at seven o'clock by
chip's time -the satno night.
The cableeas before, rayed out beautifully, and
notbi7iss could have been more regular and more
eaey than the working of every pert of thu
rtlioa":1 first the REp's speed tvss only 2 knots,
cable going 3 and 3e- with a strain of 1,5 t 01b.,
the hole:en:tat: angle averaging as low as 17, and
the vertical &tont 16. By and bye, however, rue
speed was increased to four knots, the cable going
tove 1, at a strain of 2,0001 b., and an angle of from 12
t 5,
tioe At this rate it was kept, with trifling varia-
s, At
the whole of Monday night, and
n.either Me. Bright, Mr. Canning, nor Mr. Clif-
teowards the meddle of the night,ted the machines
while the rate for an instanof
t.
the ship
continued the same, the speed at which
the cabl' Payed out slackened nearly a knot an
si ,3001 b. This
the dynamometer indicated as low as
lb This change could only he accounted for
on the supposition that the water had shallowest
to a considerable extent, and that the vessel was iu
act pasting- over tome submarine 13;n Nevis or