LESSON VII. Recovery of the Lost Atlantic Cable. e-lec-tri'-cian, one who has ooze, slime and mud from the bottom of the sea. stal'-wart, strong, powerful. sus-pense', doubt, hesitation. WHEN the first Atlantic Cable was being laid between England and America it broke in midocean, and nobody expected that it could ever be again found. But Captain Anderson, of the Great Eastern, the steamship that was employed in laying the cable, saw the cable when it broke, and at once took observations so exact that he could go to the very spot, and there commence the search at the very bottom of the sea. An American who was on board the Great Eastern gives the following interesting account of the lost cable: : "Having taken our bearings, we stood off three or four miles from the line of the cable, so as to come broadside on, and then, casting over the grapnel, drifted slowly down upon it, dragging the bottom of the ocean as we went. At first, it was a little awkward to fish in such deep water; but our men got used to it, and soon could cast a grapnel almost as straight as an old whaler throws a harpoon. Our fishing line was of formidable size. It was made of rope, twisted with wires of steel, so as to bear a strain of thirty tons. It took about two hours for the grapnel to reach bottom; but we could tell when it struck. I often went to the bow, and sat on the rope, and could feel by the quiver that the grapnel was dragging on the bottom two miles under us. "But it was a very slow business. We had storms and calms, and fogs and squalls. Still we worked on, day after day. "Once we got the cable up, and had it in full sight for five minutes, a long, slimy monster, fresh from the ooze of the ocean's bed; but our men began to cheer so wildly, that it seemed to be frightened, and suddenly broke went down into the sea. away, and accident kept us at work two weeks longer, but finally we caught it. We had cast the grapnel thirty times. This "It was a little before midnight on a Friday, that we hooked the cable; and it was a little after midnight, Sunday morning, when we got it on board. What was the anxiety of these twenty-six hours! The strain on every man's life was like the strain on the cable itself. When, finally, it appeared, it was midnight; the lights of the ship, and in the boats around our bows, as they flashed in the faces of the men, showed them eagerly watching for the cable to appear on the water. "At length, it was brought to the surface. All who were allowed to approach, crowded forward to see it. Yet not a word was spoken: only the voices of the officers in command were heard giving orders. All felt as if life and death hung on the issue. It was only when it was brought over the bow, and on to the deck, that men dared to breathe. Even then they hardly believed their eyes. Some crept toward it to feel it, to be sure it was there. "Then we carried it along to the electricians' room, to see if our long-sought treasure was alive or dead. A few minutes of suspense, and a flash told of the lightning current again set free. Then did the feelings long pent up burst forth. Some turned away their heads and wept; others broke into cheers; and the cry ran from man to man, and was heard down in the engine-rooms, deck C below deck, and from the boats on the water, and the other ships, while rockets lighted up the darkness of the sea. "The Great Eastern bore herself proudly through the ocean, as if she knew that the vital chord, which was to join two hemispheres, hung at her stern; and so we brought our second cable safely to the shore. "Even the sailors caught the enthusiasm of the enterprise, and were eager to share in the honour of the achievement. Brave, stalwart men they were, at home on the ocean and in the storm,-of that sort that have carried the flag of England round the globe. "I see them now as they dragged the shoreend up the beach at Heart's Content, hugging it in their brawny arms as if it were a shipwrecked child, whom they had rescued from the dangers of the sea. God bless them all!" The Great Eastern, the largest steam-boat ever built, was employed in laying the Atlantic and many other cables. Her great size rendered her very suitable for this work; but for ordinary steam-boat purposes she has been found almost useless. QUESTIONS:-1. What was the Atlantic Cable? 2. What vessel was employed to lay it? 3. How was the exact spot where the cable broke marked? 4. Describe the fishing for the cable. 5. What were the lines made of? 6. What strain could the lines bear? 7. With what feelings was the cable recovered? ON various parts of the British coast this bird is constantly found. It breeds on the ledges of rocks close to the sea-shore, sometimes not far above the water. Hundreds have been observed sitting on their nests in an island off St. David's, the nests being made of sea-weed, and placed close together, about fourteen feet from the beach. When disturbed they are very noisy, and not much alarmed by the sportsman's gun. They are frequently seen in winter, at a considerable distance from the coast, and they flock with rooks in severe weather. In the dangerous enterprise of taking the young and the eggs of the birds that dwell on their rocky coasts, the inhabitants of the Hebrides, the Faroe, and other northern islands, frequently earn their living. Sometimes they provide themselves with a long rope, having a strong stick about three feet long attached to the end. One of them then fastens one end about his waist and between his legs, and, supporting himself partly by the stick, is lowered down by several others. A small line |