"Mere knowledge is itself a great possession; but we want things done as well as known, and we are impelled by an irresistible instinct to honor the men who actually do them, or get them done. This is Mr. Cyrus Field's distinction. By general confession it is to him we owe it that the science of men like Faraday and Wheatstone was utilized, and that philosophers and sailors and capitalists and governments were all united to produce one great result. It is surprising even now to read his enumeration of the agencies which co-operated in the work. Scientific investigations above and beneath the sea, the survey of the Atlantic basin, the manufacture of the cables, the mechanical appliances for laying them, the skilful seamanship, the great ship, the enterprises of capitalists, the ability of directors, the resources of governments--in a word, the unexampled combination of nautical, electrical, engineering, and executive resources--all these were necessary to stretch that piece of wire from continent to continent. We may imagine what energy, determination, and skill were needed to set all these agents at work, and to maintain them in working order in spite of disappointments; and it is as having been the principal cause of this perseverance and co-operation that Mr. Field received so handsome an acknowledgment the other evening." From _The Daily News_: "The name which the general estimate of the public--an estimate seldom erroneous in such matters--has associated with the idea of transatlantic telegraphy is that of Mr. Cyrus Field, the guest of last night's dinner. The credit of the undertaking is far too vast to be monopolized by any single name, and common justice, as well as regard for national honor, bids us remember that the material resources of the enterprise were due in the main to English energy, English wealth, and English perseverance. The organized power of an old country was required to accomplish an undertaking too immense to be successfully grasped by the not less powerful but less concentrated resources of a new community. Still, if the glory of the ultimate achievement rests with England, the credit of having conceived and initiated the enterprise must be ascribed to America. And of the American pioneers of the work, there is none who has labored so indefatigably as Mr. Cyrus Field. The distinguished guest deserves to be numbered among the 'representative men' of his own country. If you want to understand how it is that America has grown to be what she is, you must seek for an explanation in the fact that men of the Field type are not only to be found among her citizens, but are able to develop their peculiar powers after a fashion impossible in an old-fashioned country like our own." From the _Morning Star_: