The Story of the Atlantic TelegraphField, Henry M. (Henry Martyn)
History
The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph
Field, Henry M. (Henry Martyn)
Transatlantic cables
While exquisitely fine,
Feels at each thread and lives along the line.
And we may feel, gentlemen of Ireland, of England, and of
America, that we may take our stand here upon the extreme
rocky edge of our beloved Ireland; we may, as it were, leave
in our rear behind us the wars, the strifes, and the bloodshed
of the elder Europe, and of the elder Asia; and we may pledge
ourselves, weak as our agency may be, imperfect as our powers
may be, inadequate in strict diplomatic form as our credentials
may be, yet, in the face of the unparalleled circumstances, of
the place and the hour, in the immediate neighborhood of the
mighty vessels whose appearance may be beautiful upon the
waters, even as are the feet upon the mountains of those who
preach the Gospel of peace--as an homage due to that serene
science which often affords higher and holier lessons of
harmony and good will than the wayward passions of man are
always apt to learn--in the face and in the strength of such
circumstances, let us pledge ourselves to eternal peace between
the Old World and the New."
While these greetings were exchanged on shore, only the smaller vessels
of the squadron had arrived. But in a few hours the great hulls of the
Niagara and the Agamemnon, followed by the Leopard and the Susquehanna,
were seen in the horizon, and soon they all cast anchor in the bay. As
the sun went down in the west, shining still on the other hemisphere
which they were going to seek, its last rays fell on an expedition more
suggestive and hopeful than any since that of Columbus from the shores
of Spain, and upon navigators not unworthy to be his followers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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