Part 12 (1/2)

But in this country titles and honors come not from the Government, but froies of the e now to sit down in cold blood and read as published in the papers of that day A collection of Aust, 1858, would be a literary curiosity[A]

Nor was it merely in such outward demonstrations that the public enthusias struck deeper, and reached all minds While the people shouted and cannon roared, sober and thoughtful ht in the earth Business men reasoned hoould affect the coarded it as the forerunner of an age of universal peace The first e flashed across the sea--even before that of the Queen--had been one of religious exultation It was from the Directors in Great Britain to those on this side the Atlantic, and, si the fact that Europe and Araph, at once broke into a strain of religious rapture, echoing the song of the angels over a Saviour's birth: ”Glory to God in the highest; on earth, peace, good-will toward ht up the strain The event became the theme of innumerable odes and hymns, of which it must be said that, whatever their merit as poetry, their spirit at least was noble, celebrating the event chiefly as pro the brotherhood of the human family The key-note was struck in such lines as these:

'Tis done! the angry sea consents, The nations stand no s of each other's heart

Speed, speed the cable; let it run A loving girdle round the earth, Till all the nations 'neath the sun Shall be as brothers of one hearth;

As brothers pledging, hand in hand, One freedouage and one God

The sermons preached on this occasion were literally without nue voluious enthusiasm Devout men held it as an advance toward that millennial era which was at once the object of their faith and hope Was not this the predicted tie should be increased?” So said the preachers, taking for their favorite text the vision of the Psalh all the earth, and their words to the end of the world;” or the question of Job: ”Canst thou send forth the lightnings, that they o and say unto thee, Here we are?” Was not this the dawn of that happy age, when all ether in peaceful intercourse, and nations should learn war no more?

Such was the burden of the discourses that were preached in a thousand pulpits from one end of the country to the other Even the Roman Catholic Church, so lofty and inflexible in its clai the ress of the present day as coes of Faith, did not ignore the great event; and in laying the foundation of the new Cathedral of St Patrick, the largest tehes placed under the corner-stone an inscription, wherein, along with the enduring record of the Christian faith and the names of martyrs and confessors, he did not disdain to include a brief memorial of this last achievereat a benefit on mankind

These public demonstrations culave a public ovation to Mr Field and the officers of the expedition In accepting these honors, Mr Field had taken good care that the British officers should be included with the American At St John's he had been notified of the intended celebration, and at once telegraphed to the British Adreat personal favor if you would perara, Captain Hudson, to New York English officers and English sailors have labored with American officers and American sailors to lay the Atlantic cable They ith us in our days of trial, and pray let them, if you can, share with us our triuranted so far as this, that the officers were allowed leave of absence, and came on to New York to take part in the celebration, and in all the honors which followed, the officers of the Gorgon were associated with those of the Niagara

The day arrived, and the celebration surpassed any thing which the city had ever witnessed before It was a mild autumn day--warm, yet with a sky softly veiled with clouds, that seemed to invite a whole population into the streets The day commenced with a solemn service at Trinity Church, which was attended by the city authorities, the representatives of foreign powers, and an immense concourse of people The vast edifice was decorated with evergreens; in the centre hung a cross, with the inscription: ”Glory to God on high; and on earth, peace, good-will towards men” When the audience were assey, headed by Bishop Doane of New Jersey, as to deliver the address Prayers were offered and Scriptures were read, and at intervals the choir gave voice to the general joy in the anthees the Church has been wont to pour forth its exultation: ”O co unto the Lord,” the Gloria in Excelsis, and the Te Deum Laudamus

At noon, Mr Field and the officers of the shi+ps landed at Castle Garden and were received with a national salute A procession was formed which extended for miles from the Battery to the Crystal Palace, which stood on the plot of ground non as Bryant Park, between Fortieth and Forty-second streets In the procession were Lord Napier, the British Minister, and officers of the army and navy For the whole distance the streets were crowded The s and even the tops of the houses were filled with people Everywhere flags and banners, with every device, floated in the air So dense was the crowd that it was five or six hours before the procession could reach the Crystal Palace

Here its co aited by an assealleries An address was delivered, giving the history of the Atlantic Telegraph The Mayor then rose, and presenting Mr Field to the audience, spoke as follows:

”Sir: History records but few enterprises of such 'pith and moment' as to command the attention and at the saes warlike expeditions have been undertaken on a scale of grandeur sufficient to astonish the world; but the evils which are inseparable froh the anxious nations The discovery of the Western continent even, the grandest event of nificant fleet which left the shores of Spain without attracting the notice of the civilized world Far different has been the history of the daring and difficult enterprise of uniting the Old World and the New by ood, the great and the wise of all lands beneath the sun, have watched with intense anxiety, and even when doubt existed, arm interest, every step taken toward the accoed to be the e made marvellous by wonderful scientific and reatest and freest nations of the globe, by independent constitutional legislation, and by the aid of their finest shi+ps and their ablest officers and engineers, coether to insure success Capital was liberally subscribed by private citizens in a spirit which put greed to the blush The press on both sides of the Atlantic recorded the details of the progress of the undertaking with cordial interest, and secured the generous syues and nations in its behalf You were thus fortunate, sir, in being identified with a project of such nificent proportions and universal concern But the enterprise itself was no less fortunate in being projected and carried into execution by a e, no doubts paralyze, no opposition dishearten If you, to whoned by the will of Providence and the judge, in energy, in deterrandeur of the undertaking would only have rendered its failure the more conspicuous But, sir, the incidents of the expedition, and the final result--too familiar to all the world to need repetition here--have demonstrated that you possessed all the qualities essential to achieve a successful issue It is for this reason that you now stand out fro your fellow-rateful applause The city of your hohts to honor you; your fellow-citizens, conscious that the glory of your success is reflected back upon the thereat services and heroic perseverance by illuminations, processions, serenades, and addresses And now, sir, the overnment of this, the first city on the Western continent, instruct istrate so sensibly as in the presence of this vast assee of its fair woold box, with the arraved thereon, in testimony of the fact that to you mainly, under Divine Providence, the world is indebted for the successful execution of the grandest enterprise of our day and generation; and in behalf of the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the City of New York, I now request your acceptance of this token of their approbation In conclusion, sir, of this, the reeable duty ofin the land, and as prosperous and honorable as your achieve the two hemispheres by a cord of electric colorious”

To this flattering address, Mr Field replied:

”Sir: This will be a memorable day in my life; not only because it celebrates the success of an achievement hich my name is connected, but because the honor comes from the city of my home--the metropolitan city of the neorld I see here not only the civic authorities and citizens at large, but my own personal friends--men hom I have been connected in business and friendly intercourse for the greater part ofon the deck of the Niagara infor the Agamemnon The day was cold and cheerless, the air was ht of all that we had passed through--of the hopes thus far disappointed, of the friends saddened by our reverses, of the few that remained to sustain us--I felt a load at h my confidence was firm, and my determination fixed How different is the scene now beforetheir sympathy and approval, praises without stint, and friends without nuives me the opportunity to express my thanks for the enthusiastic reception which I have received, and I here ments before this vast concourse of my fellow-citizens To the ladies I may, perhaps, add, that they have had their appropriate place, for when the cable was laid, the first public e that passed over it came from one of their own sex This box, sir, which I have the honor to receive from your hand, shall testify to me and to my children what my own city thinks of , too flattering terms, and for the kindness of my fellow-citizens, I repeat my most heartfelt thanks”

The enthusiasht, when at the close, Mr Field advanced to the edge of the platfor: ”Gentlee froe, now a suburb of New York, which I will read to you:

”London, September 1, 1858

”To Cyrus W Field, New York:

”The directors are on their way to Valentia, tothe line to the public They convey, through the cable, to you and your fellow-citizens, their hearty congratulations and good wishes, and cordially syreat international work”[B]

A gold medal was presented to Captain Hudson, with an address, to which hereply Silish captains through Mr Archibald, the British Consul, who replied for his absent countrymen, after which the whole audience rose to their feet, as the band played ”God save the Queen”

It was long after dark when the exercises closed, and the vast ht witnessed one of those displays for which New York surpasses all the cities of the world--a fireiven to the Prince of Wales, but which we shall probably witness no more, since the Volunteer Fire Department is disbanded

But one day did not exhaust the public enthusiasiven by the city authorities, at which were present a great nue as happy as it was eloquent, of the new tie that was for on opposite sides of the sea, and awarded the highest praise to the one whoreat achievement

While these de voice was hushed in the chorus of national rejoicing; yet some there were, no doubt, who looked on with silent envy or whispered detraction But who could grudge these honors to the hero of the hour--honors so hardly won, and which, as it proved, were soon to give place to harsh censures and unjust ilory! Its paths lead but to the grave Death is the end of human ambition The very day that a whole city rose up to do honor to the Atlantic Telegraph and its author, it gave its last throb, and that first cable was thenceforth to sleep for ever silent in its ocean grave