late to ask the Government at Washington for another ship, and it was by no means certain that the request would be granted if made.  In this dilemma Mr. Field frankly stated his disappointment to the Lords of the Admiralty of England, and asked for a ship to accompany the “Niagara.”  He was informed that the English Government was at that moment chartering vessels to convey troops to Malta, as it had not ships enough of its own, and that it was doubtful whether it could contribute a third ship to the expedition.  Still, so greatly did the government desire the success of the enterprise, that a little later on the same day the “Valorous” was ordered to take the place of the “Susquehanna” in the telegraph fleet.  This generous assistance was all the more praiseworthy, as it was given at a time when the need of England for ships was very urgent.

After shipping the cable, the squadron sailed from Plymouth on the 29th of May, 1868, for the Bay of Biscay, where the cable was subjected to numerous and thorough tests, which demonstrated its strength and its sensitiveness to the electric current.  This accomplished, the vessels returned to Plymouth.

“Among the matters of personal solicitude and anxiety at this time, next to the success of the expedition, was Mr. Field himself.  He was working with an activity which was unnatural—­which could only be kept up by great excitement, and which involved the most serious danger.  The strain on the man was more than the strain on the cable, and we were in fear that both would break together.  Often he had no sleep, except such as he caught flying on the railway.  Indeed, when we remonstrated, he said he could rest better there than anywhere else, for then he was not tormented with the thought of any thing undone.  For the time being he could do no more; and then, putting his head in the cushioned corner of the carriage, he got an hour or two of broken sleep.

“Of this activity we had an instance while in Plymouth.  The ships were then lying in the Sound, only waiting orders from the Admiralty to go to sea; but some business required one of the directors to go to Paris, and, as usual, it fell upon him.  He left on Sunday night, and went to Bristol, and thence, by the first morning train, to London.  Monday he was busy all day, and that night went to Paris.  Tuesday, another busy day, and that night back to London.  Wednesday, occupied every minute till the departure of the Great Western train.  That night back to Plymouth.  Thursday morning on board the ‘Niagara,’ and immediately the squadron sailed.”

The plan of operations this time was for the vessels to proceed to a given point in mid-ocean, and there unite the two ends of the cable, after which the “Niagara” should proceed toward Newfoundland and the “Agamemnon” toward Ireland, and it was supposed that each vessel would make land about the same time.  This was believed to be a better plan than the one pursued in the first expedition.