Mr. Field returned to London on May 1st, and that same day was at a public meeting of Americans held “in order to give expression to their feelings respecting the late distressing intelligence from America”—the assassination of President Lincoln. Mr. Adams, the American minister, presided, and Mr. Field closed his speech with these words:
“Just before leaving America I called to see President Lincoln, and I know how deeply he desired peace in America and peace in all the world. I trust, therefore, that everything calculated to stir up ill-feeling between North and South—even the last sad deeds—or between England and America, will be allowed to die with the good man who has been taken away and will be buried in his grave forever. If Mr. Lincoln could speak to-day he would urge upon every one to do all he could to allay the passions which have been excited in America; and I hope all will comply with what I believe would be his wish.”
The weeks passed rapidly in active preparation for the summer’s attempt to lay another cable. This account is from the London Star of May 30th:
“At ten minutes past five yesterday afternoon the new telegraphic cable, destined once more to connect England with America, was completed. The last thread of wire was twisted, the last revolution of the engine accomplished, and the mechanism of that subtle and silent speech which henceforth is to unite two continents was ready to be put in operation.... It was not to be expected that such a propitious occasion should be allowed to pass without the celebration of a dinner. No true-born Englishman could have lent his countenance to a scheme which was not so inaugurated, and therefore, towards evening, the gentlemen who had visited the works of Messrs. Glass & Elliott proceeded westward to the Ship Tavern, where a very princely entertainment had been provided. John Pender, Esq., M. P., was in the chair. One of the toasts was: “Cyrus W. Field, Esq.—may his energy and perseverance in behalf of the Atlantic Telegraph Company be rewarded by the permanent success of the cable.”
What follows is the beginning of a long article in the London Times of June 19th:
“At length all the preparations connected with the final departure of this great telegraphic expedition are completed. On Wednesday the Amethyst left the telegraph works with the last length of 245 miles of cable on board, and on Saturday the operation of coiling this in was begun. This work will probably last till the 22d inst., when the Great Eastern will have in her as nearly as possible 7000 tons of cable, or, including the iron tanks which contain it and the water in which it is sunk, about 9000 tons in all. In addition to this she has already 7000 tons of coal on board, and 1500 tons more still to take in. This additional weight, however, will not be added till she leaves the Medway, which she will do on the morning of the 24th for the Nore, when the rest of the coals and special stores will be put aboard, and these will bring her mean draught down to 32½ feet. Her total weight, including engines, will then be rather over 21,000 tons—a stupendous mass for any ship to carry, but well within the capacity of the Great Eastern, of which the measurement tonnage is 24,000. Her way out from the Nore will be by Bullock’s Channel, which the admiralty are having carefully buoyed to avoid all risk in these rather shallow waters. Before the following spring tides set in, about the 6th or 7th of July, the Great Eastern will start for Valentia. There she is expected to arrive about the 9th or 10th, and there she will be met by the two ships of war appointed to convoy her—the Terrible and the Sphinx. Both these vessels are being fitted with the best apparatus for deep-sea soundings; with buoys and means for buoying the end of the cable, if ever it should become necessary; and with Bollen’s night-light naval signals, with which the Great Eastern is likewise to be supplied. To avoid all chance of accident the big ship will not approach the Irish coast nearer than twenty or twenty-five miles, and her stay off Valentia will be limited to the time occupied in making a splice with the massive shore end which for a length of twenty-five miles from the coast will be laid previous to her arrival. This monstrous shore end, which is the heaviest and strongest piece of cable ever made, will be despatched in a few days, and be laid from the head of a sheltered inlet near Cahirciveen out to the distance we have stated, where the end will be buoyed and watched by the ships of war till the Great Eastern herself comes up. Some idea of the strength and solidity of this great end may be guessed by the fact that its weight per mile is very little short of one-half the weight of an ordinary railway metal. For the shore end at Newfoundland only three miles are required, and this short length will be sent in the Great Eastern.”
The request that American war vessels should accompany the expedition was made in the early spring, as is shown by this correspondence:
“New York, March 1, 1865.
“Sir,—The undersigned honorary directors of the Atlantic Telegraph Company have the honor to transmit to the President of the United States the draft of a letter to the Honorable the Secretary of the Navy, deeming it a matter of propriety that an application of so interesting a character shall be made to the Navy Department of the United States through the chief executive of the nation, whose interest in behalf of the enterprise thus presented is earnestly invoked.
“We have the honor to be,
“Very respectfully,
“Your obedient servants,