r/n /// 
 
1. 
 
 DIARIES 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR DANIEL GOOCH, 
 
 BARONET. 
 
DIARIES 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR DANIEL GOOCH 
 
 r 
 
 BARONET 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTORY NOTICE 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR THEODORE MARTIN, K.C.B. 
 
 LONDON 
 KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER, & CO. L T - D 
 
 PATERNOSTER HOUSE, CHARING CROSS ROAD 
 1892 
 
vfi 
 
 
 rights of translation and of reproduction are reserved. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTORY NOTICE BY SIR THEODORE MARTIN, 
 
 K.C.B. vii 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 EARLY LIFE (1816-1837) 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY ENGINES AND THE 
 
 BROAD GAUGE (1837-1859) 33 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE " GREAT EASTERN " STEAMSHIP AND THE AT- 
 LANTIC CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865 (1860- 
 1865) ... 72 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 THE ATLANTIC CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866 . 119 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE ATLANTIC CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869 . 189 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 LATER YEARS (1870-1889) 226 
 
 418391 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PORTRAIT A.D. 1888 ... - Frontispiece. 
 
 PORTRAIT A.D. 1845 To face page 33. 
 
 THE " GREAT EASTERN " STEAMSHIP (IN 
 
 THE GRIDIRON AT MiLFORD) . . To face page 72. 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 SIR DANIEL GOOCH left voluminous diaries; and it 
 was his wish that extracts from these, either illustrative 
 of his career, or bearing upon the works of national 
 importance with which he was connected, should be 
 made public. By industry, steady perseverance, and 
 the influence of a character which inspired confidence 
 in all with whom he was brought into contact, he had 
 become, like Horace, "ex humili potens," and, like 
 Horace, he was justifiably proud of the fact. He had 
 many friends, who, he naturally thought, might feel an 
 interest in the story of his life ; but perhaps his strongest 
 reason for desiring to tell it was, that it might operate 
 as a guiding light and incentive to the many who live 
 by labour, to thousands of whom he was personally 
 known, and the welfare of whose class was always 
 present to his thoughts as an object to be steadily 
 pursued. 
 
 From his boyhood, happy in the training of a home 
 in which parental discipline was tempered by affection, 
 and " pure religion teaching household laws " prevailed, 
 
viii INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 he seems early to have determined that, if he did not 
 make a career for himself, it should not be for want of 
 application and self-control. The wise counsel of his 
 mother, that he should keep pressing onward and up- 
 ward, fell upon no heedless ear. It was his rule through 
 life. It led him to seize every opportunity of acquiring 
 the knowledge for which his natural genius gave him a 
 bias. However scanty his earnings, he lived within 
 them, that he might be free from the distractions and 
 the slavery of debt. Always to turn out work the best 
 he could make it, and to make his employers feel that 
 this completeness, far more than the question of wages, 
 was uppermost in his mind, brought its natural reward 
 in the regard it inspired, and in procuring for him such 
 early opportunities for advancement as could have been 
 gained in no other way. Hard, honest, conscientious 
 work, a quick eye to see where improvements were 
 wanted and might be made, and the patience and 
 perseverance required for their accomplishment, 
 these were the basis of his success in life in a field 
 where he had many men of great ability for his com- 
 petitors. 
 
 The name of Sir Daniel Gooch is inseparably con- 
 nected with the establishment and growth of railways 
 and of ocean telegraphic communication. While yet 
 only twenty-one years old, he was appointed, on the 
 recommendation of Mr. Brunei, to superintend the 
 locomotive department of the Great Western Railway, 
 then in the course of construction, and he very soon 
 showed that, young as he was, he had shot ahead 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. ix 
 
 of the locomotive engine-makers of the time by the 
 construction of engines of greater power and more 
 economical in working than any which, up to that date, 
 they had been able to turn out. Like the Great West- 
 ern engineer, Mr. Brunei, he was an enthusiastic advo- 
 cate of the broad gauge, and fought for it in the front 
 rank of the Battle of the Gauges a conflict of now 
 merely historical interest, but carried on for years with 
 a fury of which only those who were partakers in it could 
 form an idea. To the last Sir Daniel adhered to his con- 
 viction, that the broad gauge would have been the best 
 and cheapest for the country. But he admitted that the 
 preponderance of the narrow gauge, which, for the 
 lighter loads that prevail through the minor ramifica- 
 tions of the railway system is assuredly the more appro- 
 priate, made the ultimate abandonment of the broad 
 gauge inevitable ; and before his death he was preparing 
 the way for that abandonment, which is now being 
 carried out. In his diary he alludes with justice to the 
 gain which the country reaped from this conflict of the 
 gauges, putting on their mettle, as it did, the engineer- 
 ing giants by whom the conflict was carried on, and 
 leading through their rivalry to improvements in speed, 
 economy, and comfort which might otherwise have 
 been long postponed. 
 
 Soon after Sir Daniel's appointment to the Great 
 Western Railway Company, he was instructed by the 
 Board to provide drawings for the engines wanted to 
 meet the growth of the traffic. The engines built upon 
 his designs, unlike those by other makers with which 
 
x INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 he had to work on the opening of the earlier sections of 
 the railway, proved quite satisfactory. As he himself 
 records in 1 840, " they all gave every one general satis- 
 faction. We could now calculate with some certainty, 
 not only upon the speed they could run, but also upon 
 their not breaking down upon the journey " a casualty 
 which had previously been of not unfrequent occur- 
 rence. Sixty miles an hour, with good loads, was the 
 speed to which they were equal. 
 
 In November of this year Sir Daniel took out a patent 
 for steeling the surface of rails and tires. The inven- 
 tion was largely used. It was, he says, used exclusively 
 on the Great Western engines and tenders, with great 
 economy in the result. The use of any patented inven- 
 tion of his own by an official in the works of the Com- 
 pany to which he belongs is sure to create jealousy and 
 misrepresentation. Sir Daniel seems to have suffered 
 in this way. He found, he says, so much trouble con- 
 nected with his patent, "and the false position I felt 
 placed in with our own Company, that I never took 
 out another, nor do I ever approve of engineers who 
 advise large companies being themselves interested in 
 patents." Like Mr. Brunei and many other men of 
 science, he had formed and maintained to the last an 
 unfavourable opinion as to the general effect of the 
 patent laws upon the progress of invention, and the 
 real interests of inventors. 
 
 With a view to the extension of the Great Western 
 system by the leases which had been taken of the Bristol 
 and Exeter and Swindon and Cheltenham Railways ; 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xi 
 
 the necessity had become apparent in 1840 for the 
 establishment of extensive works for the ' manufacture 
 and repair of their rolling stock. Mr. Brunei approved 
 of Sir Daniel's suggestion of Swindon as the site, 
 which, as situated at the junction with the Cheltenham 
 branch, would be most convenient as a centre from 
 which the engines could be worked. What were then 
 green fields are now covered with a flourishing town 
 and works of enormous magnitude, from which the 
 engines, carriages, and waggons required for working 
 the two thousand five hundred miles of the Great 
 Western system are supplied. 
 
 The moving spirit in the organizing of this vast 
 establishment, as well as in developing the growth and 
 prosperity of the town of Swindon, was Sir Daniel 
 Gooch. To the end of his life his interest in the wel- 
 fare of all connected with the place never flagged. He 
 took an active part in the establishment of schools and 
 libraries, and in providing those reasonable amuse- 
 ments for vacant hours, the want of which he had seen 
 to be productive of so much injury in other manufac- 
 turing centres. He was surrounded there by a highly 
 intelligent class of working-men, and he kept his hold 
 upon their respect and regard by his superior know- 
 ledge of the crafts in which they were engaged, and by 
 his sympathy with every effort for their benefit, physical 
 and mental. He had his reward in being selected to 
 represent them in Parliament for over twenty years. 
 Pronounced Conservative as he was, they felt how 
 thoroughly he understood the interests of the working- 
 
xii INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 classes, and how sincere was his wish to help them in 
 every reasonable way. He was a man, as they well 
 knew, who did not court popular applause, and was not 
 given at any time to much speaking. Accordingly, they 
 did not complain that he took no part in the debates. 
 They respected him as a man of deeds, not of words, 
 and were content to know that his services and his votes 
 were always available in the public interest. In record- 
 ing the close of his parliamentary career with the Dis- 
 solution in November 1885, he says, "I have taken no 
 part in any of the debates. It would be a great advan- 
 tage to business if there were a greater number of 
 people who followed my example " a view which must 
 have been strongly confirmed by the incidents of the 
 subsequent sessions. 
 
 Years of active association in the development of 
 the Great Western system had deepened the mutual 
 respect and regard which, from the first, had existed 
 between Mr. Brunei and himself. No one could 
 know that great engineer without admiration of his 
 urbane and amiable character, no less than of his 
 genius. Sir Daniel deeply appreciated both, and threw 
 himself with hearty zeal into Mr. Brunei's plans for 
 steamers of then unusual size for the improvement of 
 the Atlantic service. The history of the Great Western, 
 launched in 1837, tne fi rst steamship which made regu- 
 lar voyages across the Atlantic, is well known. The 
 Great Britain, launched in 1843, the first large iron 
 steamship, and the first large ship in which the screw- 
 propeller was used, was at the time considered to be 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xiii 
 
 a monster ship, and thought by many to be doomed to 
 certain failure. These predictions were disproved by 
 several successful voyages to America, and by the 
 manner in which she withstood the action of the sea 
 during a whole winter after she had been run aground 
 in Dundrum Bay. His experience of the perfect fitness 
 of steamers of great size for ocean service emboldened 
 Mr. Brunei to carry his experiments still further, and 
 he projected the Great Eastern on a scale of magnitude, 
 which no engineer of less daring than himself would 
 then have dreamed to be practicable. So great was the 
 confidence in the soundness of his views, that a com- 
 pany for building her was quickly formed. Mr. Brunei 
 did not live to see the fulfilment of his plans. He died 
 in September 1859, but it was the summer of the fol- 
 lowing year before the Great Eastern was ready for 
 her first voyage across the Atlantic. The death of his 
 dear friend seemed to have made Sir Daniel feel it to 
 be a point of duty to watch over the fortunes of the 
 vessel which that friend's genius had planned, and 
 whose chequered fate in the difficulties which arose in 
 getting her launched had no doubt helped in break- 
 ing down his health. Sir Daniel took an active inte- 
 rest in the completion of the vessel, and went out to 
 New York with her on her first voyage in June 
 i860, when she made the run at the rate of 330 knots 
 a day. 
 
 The vessel was a magnificent conception, but acci- 
 dent after accident interfered to mar her success as a 
 commercial speculation. The vast sum sunk in her 
 
xiv INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 by the shareholders was lost, and the bondholders took 
 possession of her in 1863. As a passenger-ship her 
 career was ended. But she was destined before long 
 to be the vehicle for laying the first successful Atlantic 
 cable, a work of world-wide importance, which Sir 
 Daniel records it as his conviction could not have been 
 accomplished without her. 
 
 An unsuccessful attempt had already been made to 
 lay a cable between England and America. The com- 
 pany by whom it had been undertaken could not find 
 the money for a renewal of the attempt. In this state 
 of affairs it was proposed, in 1864, to form a new com- 
 pany with sufficient capital to purchase the works of 
 Messrs. Glass & Elliott, by which they would be able to 
 make their own cable, and to undertake a contract for 
 laying it. In this company Sir Daniel became a partner, 
 taking 20,000 in shares. This the wealth which he 
 had by this time acquired easily enabled him to do, 
 the Directors of the Great Western Railway having 
 many years before permitted him to engage in any 
 other work which did not interfere with his duties to 
 them. The attention of his partners and himself had 
 naturally been turned to the Great Eastern as espe- 
 cially fitted for the operation of laying the cable. The 
 company owning her had been wound up. To the 
 bondholders, who had risked 100,000 upon her, 
 she was a white elephant. Three of their number, 
 who held the great proportion of her bonds, of whom 
 Sir Daniel was one, resolved to purchase her, if 
 they could, for 80,000. But, to their surprise, 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xv 
 
 when she was put up for sale by auction in Liverpool, 
 she was knocked down to them for only 25,000. A 
 company to work the great ship was then formed, of 
 which Sir Daniel was elected chairman, and a contract 
 was made, chartering the vessel to lay the Atlantic 
 cable, with the Telegraph Construction Company, of 
 which, as already mentioned, he was also a director. 
 Into this great enterprise he threw himself with all his 
 wonted energy, devoting much time to looking after 
 the construction of the cable, and also to the prepa- 
 ration of the Great Eastern for receiving it and paying 
 it out. 
 
 In this way the best part of his leisure during 
 the six months that he still remained in the service 
 of the Great Western Railway Company was spent. 
 Having made a fortune amply sufficient for his desires, 
 he had for some time meditated retiring in August 1 862 
 from the position he had held there for twenty-five 
 years. Attachment to those with whom he had worked 
 so long induced him to protract his stay. Other men 
 with other views of railway policy had now obtained 
 influence in the Company. Mr. Charles Russell had 
 been for some years dead. Mr. Ponsonby, now Lord 
 Bessborough, and Mr. Walpole, his successors in the 
 chair, had both resigned, and the retirement of its 
 secretary, Mr. Charles Saunders, to whom Sir Daniel 
 was warmly attached, as indeed were all who ever 
 worked with him or under him, seems to have made 
 Sir Daniel determine to send in his resignation. "We 
 had worked together for nearly my whole life," he 
 
xvi INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 writes, " and never had a disagreement." The remark 
 will be well understood by all who had the happiness 
 of knowing Mr. Saunders either in his official capacity 
 or as a friend. The public, too, owe that gentleman a 
 debt of gratitude, for he impressed upon the whole 
 staff connected with the railway that spirit of obliging 
 courtesy of which travellers by it from the first felt the 
 advantage, and of the traditions of which they continue 
 still to reap the benefit. 
 
 Sir Daniel left the Great Western Railway in Sep- 
 tember 1864, to the general regret of all his colleagues 
 and subordinates. He was presented, on the 3rd of 
 June 1865, with an address from the officers and 
 servants of the Company. In what he says of this 
 incident the character of the man is well shown. " Man 
 can receive no higher reward on earth than that of 
 the goodwill and esteem of those with whom he has 
 been associated through life, and my life had been 
 passed in daily communication, both as master and 
 brother officer, with those who gave expression to 
 their feelings on this occasion. I count this 3rd of 
 June as the brightest day in my life." 
 
 He had been invited to stand for Cricklade at the next 
 election, which was then imminent, and would probably 
 come off in his absence, as he had resolved to go out for 
 the laying of the cable in the Great Eastern. The good- 
 will he had established at Swindon was speedily shown 
 in the zeal with which a committee of the workmen there 
 assisted his canvas. They did their work well in his 
 absence. The nomination took place on the I2th of 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xvii 
 
 July, by which time he was on board the ship to whose 
 destinies he was so devotedly attached, hoping for her, 
 to use his own words, " a useful future, which should 
 lift her out of the depression under which she had 
 laboured from her birth, and satisfy him that he had 
 done wisely in never losing confidence in her." How 
 thoroughly that confidence was maintained will be seen 
 from the vivid records in his diary of the countless 
 difficulties and adventures which were encountered, and 
 finally overcome, in laying the first working telegraphic 
 cables in the depths of the great Atlantic sea. 
 
 Sir Daniel was returned for Cricklade on the i$th 
 July 1865 by a considerable majority. The equani- 
 mity with which he competed for the honour shows 
 itself very notably in his diary. On the I2th he writes, 
 " I have often wondered whether my absence will have 
 any effect upon the result." The great problem of 
 which he was bent on seeing the solution interested 
 him fai* more, for he adds, " Yet, if I knew it would 
 have, I am certain I would have been here all the same. 
 There is no comparison between the importance of the 
 two works." Again, when informed of his success, 
 " Has it in any way satisfied my ambition ? I say 
 no, for I do not feel I ever had any particular ambition 
 for the honour. I value it chiefly for the warm-hearted 
 feelings it has called forth in those who have been asso- 
 ciated with me for a long, long time, and it is a sequel 
 to the kind reception given to me a little while ago ; 
 but I look back upon that reception as more honourable 
 than this. . . . What a change in one's life may be pro- 
 
xviii INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 duced by a few hours ! All the morning my mind has 
 been very anxious. Now it is at rest, and I have only 
 one anxiety left, viz., the success of the cable, the most 
 important of all." 
 
 Much was to be undergone and a fresh voyage to be 
 made before that success was ensured ; but, by the 
 27th of July 1866, the cable was laid from the Great 
 Eastern, and telegrams were flashed through it from 
 shore to shore, the raising of the first cable, which 
 had snapped at one of the deepest parts of the Atlantic, 
 being postponed till this was done. By the end of 
 the first week of September the end of the broken cable 
 was recovered, united, and in working order. " What," 
 the diary says, " will they now say in England, those 
 who told me so often I was mad to hope to recover last 
 year's cable from the deep Atlantic ? . . . I know of 
 nothing in the course of my life in which I have taken 
 so deep an interest an interest more intense than I 
 will ever allow myself to take again in any enterprise." 
 This feeling will come home to every one who follows 
 the diarist through the day-by-day record of his excit- 
 ing alternations of hope, anxiety, despondency, and 
 triumph. 
 
 The progress of the enterprise had been watched by 
 England with eager interest ; for its importance in the 
 interests of commerce and of international friendliness, 
 as well as of science, was even then capable of being 
 measured by every educated man. Sir Daniel had 
 looked to success as his best reward, and was taken by 
 surprise when, immediately upon his return to England, 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xix 
 
 he was offered a Baronetcy " a fate," he says, " which 
 had certainly never entered my head. . . . When all 
 equally did their best, it seemed unfair that a few 
 should be selected for any special reward." 
 
 Meanwhile an honour which probably came nearer 
 to his heart had been conferred upon him. Since he 
 left the Great Western Company in 1864, its affairs, 
 which for some years before had been far from flourish- 
 ing, had fallen into a very unsatisfactory state. Heavy 
 liabilities had been undertaken, which the revenues of 
 the Company were unable to meet. The value of its 
 stock had sunk to a level calamitous to the share- 
 holders, and it became clear that wise and energetic 
 measures, in pursuance of a more enlightened and prac- 
 tical policy, could alone save the undertaking from dis- 
 aster. For this task the tact, sagacity, and experience 
 of a man conversant with the working of railways and 
 with the conduct of great enterprises was necessary. 
 Such a man seemed to present himself in the great 
 mechanical engineer who had so long been connected 
 with the undertaking, and by general consent he was 
 invited to become Chairman of the Company. On the 
 2nd of March 1866 he presided, for the first time, over 
 the general meeting of the shareholders, who gave him, 
 as he records, " a kind and hearty reception." The re- 
 ception grew warmer as he stated the principles on which 
 he meant to act, viz., " to avoid all further obligations 
 with new lines and extensions ; to make, as far as pos- 
 sible, friendly relations with adjoining companies, and to 
 cut down all capital expenditure to a minimum." In his 
 
xx INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 capacity as Chairman of the Company, I had frequent 
 opportunities professionally of observing with what 
 calm and far-seeing sagacity these principles were 
 carried out, and how admirably they were seconded 
 by the able men who acted under his guidance. The 
 effect soon became perceptible. Confidence, which had 
 been shaken in the inherent value of the undertaking, 
 began to be restored. Economy in working, at no 
 sacrifice of efficiency, was established; attention was 
 given to developing the traffic resources of the districts 
 already occupied by the Company ; unprofitable compe- 
 tition ceased, all unnecessary expenditure in extensions 
 was avoided, and the numerous varieties of the Com- 
 pany's capital stock were consolidated. The benefit of 
 these changes was felt in the gradual extinction of 
 floating debt and the rise in the Company's dividends. 
 Sir Daniel devoted himself to the onerous task he had 
 undertaken with the same constancy and quiet perse- 
 verance for which he was distinguished through the 
 earlier part of his career, only allowing himself the 
 recreation, for such it was to him, of seeing another 
 Atlantic cable laid from his beloved Great Eastern in 
 1 869. In March of that year he had the satisfaction of 
 announcing to the Great Western proprietary a divi- 
 dend at the rate of 3f per cent., the highest that had 
 been earned for eighteen years, which was followed in 
 April 1872 by a dividend at the rate of 5f per cent. 
 The price of the shares, which had been 90 when he 
 first took the chair, had now risen to 120, and the 
 shareholders showed their appreciation of his services 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xxi 
 
 by voting him a honorarium of 5000. From this time 
 onward the affairs of the Great Western Company con- 
 tinued to prosper under his guidance. The mixed 
 gauge was laid throughout the greater part of the 
 system. "Thus," he writes in October 1874, "is the 
 poor broad gauge gradually dying out," and he calmly 
 anticipates the time, not long distant, when it would 
 be no more. Meanwhile the" system continued to 
 grow in magnitude, till it came to be composed, as it 
 now is, of a greater number of miles than any other 
 railway in the kingdom. 
 
 The great work of the tunnel, upwards of four miles 
 long, under the River Severn, engaged much of Sir 
 Daniel's attention, and from the serious difficulties 
 which attended its construction, and the consequent 
 cost, caused him no little anxiety during the latter years 
 of his life. The increase of the actual cost over the origi- 
 nal estimate, from 900,000 to more than 1,600,000, 
 was calculated to daunt a man of less robust faith than 
 his in the ultimate value to the Company of the enter- 
 prise when completed a faith which, it may be said 
 in passing, has been fully justified by the revenue it 
 has already secured. In December 1886 he had the 
 happiness to see the tunnel completed for passenger 
 traffic, and to know that a boon of the greatest magni- 
 tude had thus been conferred upon the commercial and 
 travelling public. 
 
 The shadows were now beginning to close round a 
 long and crowded life. The friends who had " wrought 
 
xxii INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 and thought with him " were falling around him thick 
 and fast, either into the grave or into the retirement 
 which they had honourably earned. His diary teems 
 with records of these losses, which weighed heavily on 
 a man of his friendly and constant nature. Of these, 
 perhaps the heaviest loss came suddenly upon him in 
 the death, in September 1887, of his devoted friend and 
 fellow- worker, Mr. James Grierson, who had since 1863 
 acted as the General Manager of the Great Western 
 Company, and had won for himself a foremost place in 
 the railway world, not more by his exceptional ability 
 and energy than by the tact and fairness of the spirit 
 which marked all his conduct. They thoroughly under- 
 stood each other, and on Mr. Grierson he could rely 
 with confidence, that the policy on which their minds 
 were at one should be carried out with skill and decision. 
 Sir Daniel's words in recording Mr. Grierson's death 
 speak volumes as to what he felt : " His loss to me and 
 to the railway interest cannot be replaced." 
 
 The labours of Sir Daniel's long and active life had 
 now begun to tell upon him, but he remained at his 
 post as Chairman of the Great Western. From that 
 he could not be spared ; but he felt himself much alone, 
 with some of the men no longer beside him on whom he 
 had come to lean in the management of this great under- 
 taking. The energy of quiet enthusiasm which had car- 
 ried him through his toilsome and honourable career 
 began to flag, and health failed. In February 1889 he 
 presided for the last time at the general meeting of the 
 
INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xxiii 
 
 Great Western shareholders, when he had the satisfac- 
 tion, of which he might well be proud, of announcing 
 to them a dividend of no less than 7J per cent. The 
 effort to fill the chair tried him, and from that time he 
 had to give more thought than an actively minded man 
 willingly gives to the care of his health. All that watch- 
 ful affection could do to lighten the pains of weakness 
 was done for him. He bore his illness, which brought 
 him much suffering, with the patience of a man who 
 throughout his life had recognised with gratitude the 
 blessings which had crowned his efforts, and was con- 
 tent to lay down its burden whenever the call should 
 come. It came on the i$th of October 1889, and he 
 was buried in Clewer churchyard, near the pleasant 
 home where his happiest hours had for many years 
 been spent. 
 
 Of his professional abilities his works are the best 
 memorial. He had that modest estimate of himself 
 which is generally the concomitant of real power. Of 
 speech he was chary, and his general demeanour was 
 marked by that reserve of manner which is often mis- 
 taken for coldness. He was a man such as Words- 
 worth speaks of in the lines 
 
 ' ' You must love him ere to you 
 He will seem worthy of your love." 
 
 But by those who knew him well, his kindness of 
 heart, his sincerity in friendship, his high sense of duty, 
 and the strong element of enthusiasm for what was 
 
xxiv INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. 
 
 beautiful or grand in nature, in art, or in character, he 
 was loved, and his loss was recognised, as he himself 
 would have wished it to be, by all whom he had him- 
 self loved or held in esteem. 
 
 T. M. 
 
 The following selection from Sir Daniel Gooch's 
 Diaries has been made by his widow, with the assist- 
 ance of personal friends who knew him well. 
 
DIARIES 
 
 OF 
 
 SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY LIFE. 
 (18161837.) 
 
 LONDON, December 1867. 
 
 HER MAJESTY having by Royal Letters Patent con- 
 ferred upon me the rank and dignity of a Baronet, I 
 feel it may not be uninteresting to those who succeed 
 me in the Baronetcy, and to others, to know something 
 of the life of him upon whom the title was first con- 
 ferred. 
 
 Looking back, as I now do, for a period of thirty- 
 five years, during which I have had to struggle with 
 the world, I must first express my gratitude to God 
 for the many and great blessings He has bestowed 
 upon me. I feel and acknowledge that all is due to 
 His goodness, and that many who have run the race 
 of life with me, while falling greatly short in the 
 result, have equally merited advancement. 
 
2 ' ' 'VTARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 The principle which has guided me through life 
 has been a steady perseverance in the path of duty 
 to my employers, not being disheartened by a first 
 failure, but ever believing in the possibility of ulti- 
 mate success, and a determination not to be led into 
 changes by the inducement of immediate advance- 
 ment. I feel proud of the thought that since I was a 
 boy I have only been in one service, although I was 
 on several occasions tempted by the offers of a higher 
 salary to make a change. But some words my father 
 once used to me have ever been present with me, 
 "A rolling stone gathers no moss." The experience 
 of my life has fully supported the truth of this saying, 
 and I would earnestly urge it upon my children and 
 young people to adopt it as their motto. Although 
 I feel it is not possible for all men to succeed in life, 
 yet I am sure few need fail to do well, if they will 
 win for themselves a character for strict honesty ; and 
 by this I do not merely mean that they will not steal, 
 but that in their dealings with other men they will 
 act with honour, not seeking to obtain an advantage 
 by either suppressing or magnifying the truth, but 
 conducting themselves in such a way that a feeling 
 may be created in the minds of those with whom they 
 are brought into contact, that what they say may be 
 relied upon, and will honourably be fulfilled. This 
 is the character which begets the confidence and 
 esteem of the outer world. Make your immediate 
 employers or associates feel that, having embarked 
 with them in their enterprise, you can be relied upon 
 
EARLY LIFE. 3 
 
 steadily to persevere in the pursuit of their interest, 
 and so identify yourself with them that they can rest 
 assured you are not ever seeking for a change, be- 
 cause you thus might earn a few pounds a year 
 extra. Be sure, as a general rule, your interests are 
 in the end best promoted by such a course ; it may 
 be in some cases you will not be so rich, but you 
 will be more esteemed. 
 
 It ought to be every man's greatest happiness and 
 pride to say, " I have been associated with the same 
 men through life." And to my mind, nothing speaks 
 stronger against a man than for him, in describing 
 his past life, to go through a long list of changes 
 in his business associations, in the end trusted by 
 none and esteemed by few. I earnestly pray that 
 my children and their children may avoid this, and 
 pursue that straight and certain path I have before 
 described. 
 
 About the year 1827, my father, assisted by Mr. 
 Hodgson, the historian of Northumberland, took great 
 pains and expended much labour in tracing the pedi- 
 gree of my family in the female line down to that 
 period. I believe the cause of this was the restora- 
 tion of the estates to some of the Border families 
 that had been forfeited for rebellion and other political 
 causes. I know that one case in which my father 
 took much interest, and I believe spent some money, 
 was that of an old man living in Bedlington as a 
 labourer, who was thought to be the rightful owner of 
 
4 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 large estates of the Ford family. He, however, did 
 not succeed ; but the searching into pedigrees in this 
 case induced my father to look into the matter for 
 our own family, and he was greatly assisted by Mr. 
 Hodgson. This pedigree, together with such records 
 of the family as my father collected, are now entered 
 in my large Family Bible. It shows that in the 
 female line the family is of no mean descent, but 
 may claim the blood of Alfred the Great. The por- 
 traits, as far back as Mr. Justice, are now in the 
 family, the property of my eldest brother. The pedi- 
 gree in the male line has not been investigated, but I 
 hope, when I have a little leisure, to be able to do 
 this. As far as it has gone, it is a Suffolk family. 
 My father and mother were first cousins ; in this 
 way both had the blood of the female line. 
 
 I was born at Bedlington in Northumberland on 
 the 24th day of August 1816. I have often heard 
 my mother say my birth occurred about three o'clock 
 in the morning, during an awful thunderstorm. My 
 father had then lived in Bedlington about a year. 
 He was engaged in the Bedlington Ironworks, at 
 that time the property of my second cousins, the 
 Langridges, and Mr. Sorden of Linden. The village 
 of Bedlington was a tolerably clean and large country 
 village, with half a dozen good houses in it. 
 
 We moved from this house to another near it 
 when I was probably about three years old, as I can 
 remember my trying to carry part of my cot over the 
 
EARLY LIFE. 5 
 
 street. I certainly was not more than three years 
 old at the time, and I was only four years of age 
 when I went to school. How well I remember the 
 first day I was led there by the servant, and also the 
 appearance of the two ladies who kept it. The ladies 
 were a Miss Robson and her sister, Miss Betsey. 
 They must have been kind to me, as I was very fond 
 of them, and long after looked back upon them as old 
 friends. My mother has often told me I was sent so 
 early to school, as I was rather inclined to keep the 
 house in hot water by my mischievous pranks. I do 
 not know exactly how long I was at that school, but 
 probably a few years, as the next I went to was at 
 Mr. Thompson's, the clergyman of Horton parish, 
 who lived at a place called Condhall, nor far from 
 Cramlington, and about four miles from Bedlington. 
 It was a large school. The boys were chiefly the 
 sons of farmers living round about ; and, as most 
 of us rode there on donkeys or ponies, probably 
 some thirty of those animals were congregated in 
 the old buildings used as stables at the school. We 
 all had a great regard for Mr. Thompson, and also for 
 Mrs. Thompson. Both were very kind to us. We 
 dined in the schoolroom, where Mrs. Thompson looked 
 after us, and did all she could for our comfort. We 
 used to have each a large basin of milk, and I well 
 remember the thick coating of cream upon it, into 
 which we used to dip our bread. I even now look 
 back upon the time I was at that school as a very 
 happy period in my life. 
 
6 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Mr. Thompson was very indulgent, and often when 
 the Northumberland pack of foxhounds, then belong- 
 ing to Sir Matthew White Ridley, came past the 
 place, he did not punish us if we mounted our steeds 
 and went after them. It was a great amusement for 
 the gentlemen hunting to see some eighty donkeys 
 and ponies and us boys. There were also times 
 when Mr. Thompson had either a wedding or a 
 funeral to attend to at his church, which was a 
 couple of miles from the school ; and in his absence 
 his eldest son used to take charge of the school, but, 
 not being much older than the eldest of the boys, he 
 had not very much command of us, and we used to 
 have all kinds of fun in the school, shutting the 
 shutters to prevent people outside seeing what we 
 were about. We thought little and cared little about 
 the loss of time in our studies. My chief playmate 
 was George Marshall, who lived at Bedlington. He 
 was the son of a widow, farming their own farm, 
 and he had a sweet girl as his sister, who died, 
 as I well remember, further on. He and I were 
 inseparable companions ; our evenings and our Satur- 
 days (on which day there was no school) were always 
 spent together, although I do not think there was a 
 great similarity in our dispositions. He was quieter, 
 had less mischief in him, and I believe most of the 
 scrapes he got into were through my leading. His 
 mother was very kind to me, and treated me as she did 
 her own son. For some time we used to ride together on 
 the same pony to school. My Saturdays were always 
 
EARLY LIFE. 7 
 
 spent either on the farm, or at the collieries or iron- 
 works. I used to go often to a pit called the Glebe, 
 and nothing pleased me so much as going under- 
 ground and driving the trams. In looking back at 
 all the risks I ran at this pit, it is a wonder to me I 
 never met with an accident ; but it was not in my 
 nature at that time to have any fear, and I could 
 never rest an hour at home. My father was rather 
 strict with us on Sunday. We went to church morning 
 and afternoon, and at the afternoon service I, with 
 the rest of the young people, had to say the Catechism 
 before the congregation. We all stood in a circle round 
 the reading-desk; for this a large open space in the 
 church was well fitted, and the questions were put by 
 Mr. Coates, the minister, a true pattern of a clergyman, 
 a gentleman in every sense of the word, beloved by all. 
 The church and churchyard at that time (it has since 
 been much altered, I think, for the worse) were kept 
 in the most beautiful order. It was the great pride of 
 Mr. Coates to see the churchyard kept neat, and filled 
 with flowers and pretty shrubs ; and so much was he 
 liked, that even we mischievous boys respected them 
 for his sake, and never did them any harm, although 
 we used often to play there, as it was always open. 
 A grandson of Mr. Coates was also a playfellow of 
 mine, and I used often to be at the Parsonage. 
 
 The old women of the village had a considerable 
 dread of me, yet I believe they liked me all the better 
 for the pranks I used to play upon them. One great 
 amusement was to fill a cow's horn with old tar-rope, 
 
8 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 and then to put a hot cinder in it, and insert the 
 small end of the horn into the keyhole, or any other 
 opening we could get through the cottage door, and 
 by blowing at the large end, driving the smoke into 
 the cottage. This we called funking the old women, 
 and it was generally a winter evening's amusement. 
 There were no policemen in those days to protect the 
 victims of this iniquity. There were, however, two 
 very serious scrapes we got into, and for which we 
 were threatened with the magistrate. George Marshall, 
 Harry Coates, and myself found some young girls 
 in one of Marshall's fields. We told them to go out, 
 instead of doing which they laughed at us. I had at 
 the time a small frog in my hand, and as one of them 
 opened her mouth in laughing rather wide, I slipped 
 the frog into it. She said it went down her throat, 
 and they all went off screaming to the village. There 
 was soon a hue and cry after us, and we had to keep 
 out of the way until night. There was a general in- 
 quiry next day, and we were threatened with a visit 
 to Morpeth jail, but somehow we got out of the scrape. 
 I am not sure to this day whether she did or did not 
 actually swallow the frog. Another serious scrape 
 was our nearly hanging a boy. Four of us were 
 playing in the rickyard at the back of Marshall's 
 house. As the hayricks had just been put up, a 
 ladder was standing up against one of them, and 
 we proposed a game at hanging. I remember I 
 was to be hanged last. Of course one boy had to 
 be the first, so we got a small rope and fastened 
 
EARLY LIFE. $ 
 
 it round his neck, getting the other end over one of 
 the rounds of the ladder, and so pulled him up off 
 the ground. This end we made fast, and thought 
 it good fun to see him kick his legs about. Fortu- 
 nately we heard the bailiff coming, and all ran away. 
 Still more fortunately he happened to go round and 
 saw the boy hanging, and was just in time to get him 
 down and save his life. He was black in the face and 
 insensible. I have often thought since what a pain- 
 ful thing for us through life it would have been had we 
 killed him. The poor boy carried the mark of the rope 
 round his neck for some time afterwards, but in a few 
 days we were playing together again, little feeling the 
 escape we had all had. We got into considerable hot 
 water about this. 
 
 Another amusement we used to have was for our 
 school to challenge some other one to fight, for which 
 we used to prepare ourselves with swords made of 
 wood, and in these fights we got many very hard 
 knocks. The last one I was at I was the captain, 
 and the ground selected was a road leading from the 
 bottom of the village to the ironworks, a high hedge 
 on one side and a steep bank down to the river on the 
 other side. The plan of battle was to force each other's 
 ranks. Drawn up as we were across the road facing 
 each other, this was a very hard battle and a drawn 
 one. I am not sure we did not get the worst of it. 
 It was to be renewed at another time, but this was 
 prevented by the schoolmaster. Many swords were 
 broken, and sundry combatants sent down the bank 
 
io DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 into the bushes. These amusements, if rough, I think 
 did us no harm ; they taught us a certain amount of 
 self-reliance, and we never suffered any serious per- 
 sonal injury. Bedlington, at the time I was there, was 
 often the scene of sharp fights between the excisemen 
 and the smugglers, who used to carry whisky across 
 the Scotch borders. These men used to ride generally 
 a very good horse with kegs of whisky hung like saddle- 
 bags on the saddle ; and as the population of the village 
 in all cases took the part of the smuggler, the excise- 
 men often got the worst of it. I remember one night 
 a very hard fight with two smugglers. The excisemen 
 had got them off the horses, and secured the kegs of 
 whisky, which they placed against the side of a house 
 while they were securing the men, and we, finding the 
 kegs, stove the ends in and let the whisky run to waste, 
 much to the disgust of the excisemen when they came 
 to take them away. I used to enjoy these rows. 
 There was also great excitement in the village at the 
 time of the Burke and Hare murders in Edinburgh. 
 What were called resurrection-men used to rob the 
 graves of the bodies for the doctors, and all that 
 winter the churchyard was watched for some time 
 after any one had been buried. Hare, who turned 
 king's evidence, and was let off, was supposed to be 
 at Bedlington one night ; at any rate, a man believed 
 to be he was there, and the whole place turned out to 
 lynch him. It was a wonder he was not killed. Had 
 he not possessed good legs he certainly would have 
 been, but his fleetness enabled him to keep ahead of 
 
EARLY LIFE. 11 
 
 his pursuers, and they did not get hold of him, but 
 pelted him with stones until he got away in the dark 
 He certainly was a bad-looking fellow. I had seen 
 him in the afternoon begging. My father, as church- 
 warden, and a constable used to go round to all the 
 lodging-houses for tramps, to see who was in them at 
 night, and I used often to accompany them. It was 
 a winter of great dread, which was made worse b$ 
 many practical jokes, by a piece of sticking plaster 
 being put over people's mouths in the dark, the belief 
 being that a number of people were killed by the 
 resurrection-men in that way, they having a plaster 
 which the person operated on could not get off. I 
 had a dagger made out of an old bayonet that I used 
 to carry about with me when out after dark, although 
 I daresay I should have used my legs freely had I 
 fancied there was any real danger. 
 
 When ten or twelve years old, my father indulged 
 my taste for mechanics by buying me a lathe and box 
 of tools. The former I still have, or rather what is 
 left of it, and I took lessons in turning. This was a 
 source of great amusement and usefulness to me, as it 
 caused me to think, and also to read useful books on 
 mechanics. I acquired a considerable amount of skill 
 in fancy turning, and got a great deal of employment 
 from the ladies for screen handles, chessmen, &c. I 
 collected all the large bones I could get to make things 
 in bone. My father took a great deal of interest in 
 what I did. He was very fond of a little carpentering 
 himself, and had a good idea of mechanics, although 
 
12 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 he had received no mechanical training. I quite 
 understood the details of the steam-engine ; and, for 
 a boy who had to depend upon himself, got from 
 books and such experiments as I could make a fair 
 knowledge of natural philosophy. Arnold was a very 
 favourite book of mine. A plan I found very useful 
 was to write down from memory what I had been 
 reading. In science, to enable you to do this requires 
 that you should understand fully what you have read, 
 as you have to put it into your own language. I have 
 ever looked back upon my years I spent at Bedlington 
 as very happy ones. I know they have been very 
 useful to me in after life, giving me a feeling of self- 
 reliance which I have needed, having my way to fight 
 in the world. My dear parents gave me all the 
 education they could, and such as was to be obtained 
 in private schools, and while leaving me much libert}', 
 they set me a high example. I may say Sunday was 
 the only day when my time was not at my own dis- 
 posal out of school-time, and I often used to be out 
 of the house on a Saturday morning before any one 
 was up. I remember eating my breakfast before 
 going to bed to save time next morning. Before I 
 left Bedlington I do not know in what year it was 
 I went to Morpeth to see a steam-engine working 
 in the common road. It was built by Messrs. Haw- 
 thorne of Newcastle, and drew a threshing-machine 
 after it ; I believe it was for the Duke of Northumber- 
 land. It was on its way from Newcastle to Alnwick. 
 I found it at a stand, owing to some defect, on a hill 
 
EARLY LIFE. 13 
 
 a little before reaching Morpeth, but I waited to see 
 it repaired, and went on with the driver, making the 
 turnings of the streets capitally. It made a strong 
 impression on me. I knew all about the iron horses, 
 as they were then called, on the waggon-way. George 
 Stephenson was frequently at my father's house, and 
 used to take a great deal of notice of me by taking 
 me on his knee and talking to me about pits, &c. At 
 that time he was much engaged in advising on colliery 
 matters, and had just commenced his glorious career. 
 My eldest brother Tom went to his works at New- 
 castle as a pupil. Mr. Locke (afterwards celebrated 
 as a railway engineer) was also there, and used fre- 
 quently to come to Bedlington to spend his Sunday 
 with my brother. I well remember the discussions 
 about railways, then called waggon-ways, and the 
 first introduction of the long straight iron rail. Mr. 
 Birkenshaw, the manager of the Bedlington Rails 
 Works, took out a patent for making these rails 
 fish-bellied, as they were called, the chairs or sup- 
 ports being placed at the weak part of the rail and 
 the bellied part giving strength between. It was at 
 that time a great advance in the art of rolling to give 
 this varying depth of bar. Amongst my father's 
 papers I found the annexed slip, showing that he 
 foresaw the great future in railways from the intro- 
 duction of these straight iron rails. He lived to see 
 some considerable progress made : 
 
 "The only manufactory in this parish is that 
 carried on under the firm of & Co., the lead- 
 
14 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 ing feature in which is the manufactory of railway 
 bars invented by Mr. Baker, for which he obtained a 
 patent, an improvement as connected with the present 
 prospects of railways becoming of general use, from 
 which the most beneficial results may be expected, 
 both from their superior durability of metal as well as 
 from the facility given to locomotion from the lengths 
 (from 15 to 1 8 feet) in which they can be laid down 
 without a joint." 
 
 Since writing the above I found, on making an 
 inspection of the lines of the Great Western Railway 
 at Stratford-upon-Avon, these rails laid on an old 
 line purchased by the Great Western Company be- 
 tween Stratford-on-Avon and Morton, and learned 
 
 from Mr. S , whose father was instrumental in 
 
 laying the road, that the present rails were originally 
 obtained from Bedlington in the year 1830. The line 
 is worked by trains, and the rails are still in good 
 order (1867). I have had a sample sent to me to 
 keep as a relic of the early history of railways. This 
 is now at Clewer, and it ought to be preserved. 
 
 In February 1831 my father left Bedlington to go 
 to Tredegar Ironworks in Monmouthshire, and took 
 his family with him. I remember well what a plea- 
 sant journey it was. He had a kind of omnibus built 
 with curtains round it, in which we all travelled, post- 
 ing. I do not know how many days it took us to 
 make the journey, but I well remember it, and the 
 beautiful view as we crossed the Malvern Hills. It 
 was a bright moonlight evening. When we were 
 
EARL? LIFE. 15 
 
 settled at Tredegar, I began my professional career 
 by working in the works. Mr. Samuel Humfray was 
 the managing partner. I went first into the mould- 
 ing department, commencing work at six o'clock in 
 the morning. The first few months I was chiefly 
 employed in making cores, but after that was intrusted 
 to mould tram-wheels. This was a very heavy job 
 for me. The wheel pattern weighed 50 or 60 Ibs., 
 and I had nine boxes to mould twice a da}', the first lot 
 before nine o'clock in the morning, when the furnace 
 was run off, and they were cast. During this time 
 I went to my breakfast for a couple of hours, when 
 I returned and opened the boxes, tempered my sand, 
 and moulded the second set ; this was generally 
 finished between four and five o'clock. I had an hour 
 for dinner. As this work was done in the atmosphere 
 of the furnace-house, and the work was very hard, I 
 began to feel the effects of it in my health, and was 
 sent a voyage to sea for a few months. I went to 
 Bristol and got a passage in a ship going to Liverpool 
 and back. This was the first time I was in Liverpool. 
 My brother John was at this time in Warrington, and 
 I went to him to spend the few days the ship was 
 unloading, and loading to return. On my return to 
 Tredegar, I went into the pattern-makers' shop, and 
 did not do any more moulding. The foreman of the 
 moulders, Ben Williams, was very kind to me, and 
 gave me all the information he could. I also obtained 
 from those working the furnaces a good deal of infor- 
 mation as to the mode of working them, and learned 
 
16 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 to know from the cinder and other indications the 
 quality of the iron produced. Here also my system 
 of writing down any facts I collected was of great 
 use, as it not only stimulated me to collect such 
 facts, but impressed them more strongly on my mind. 
 Several of my books of notes are still in my posses- 
 sion. The foreman in the pattern-shop was a Mr. 
 Ellis ; his son was the engineer of the works that 
 is, had charge of all the mechanical department. Old 
 Ellis, as we used to call him, was somewhat of a 
 character ; but he was always a kind friend to me, 
 and gave me any information he could. He had a 
 book with a store of facts valuable at the time as the 
 result of a life's experience, and this was always at 
 my service. He gave me a pearl-handle knife, which 
 I still have. One of the men in the shop was also 
 most kind to me his name was Jonathan Miles 
 taking great pains to instruct me in the proper use of 
 my tools and assisting me in every way he could. I 
 am glad to feel that I have since that time had it in 
 my power to return some of his kindness by giving 
 him employment at Swindon, where he has been for 
 a great many years, respected by all his fellow-work- 
 men. He is now, in 1867, a very old man, and not 
 able to do much ; but he still is at the bench, and is 
 very sensitive about his ability to do as much as 
 ever he used to do. Poor old Jonathan ! I shall feel 
 as though I had lost a friend when it pleases God 
 to take you. We worked very much together at 
 Tredegar. 
 
EARLY LIFE. 17 
 
 One of the duties of our shop was to repair the 
 valves of the blowing-engine. They were made of 
 wood faced with leather, and one or other of the 
 engines had to be done every Saturday morning. I 
 always went to this work, as it took me amongst 
 the engines, and we often had some excitement in 
 performing the duty. This on two occasions was 
 made rather too strong. There were three large 
 blowing-engines at Tredegar at that time, and they 
 were all connected by the blowing-pipes, so that in 
 case of accident to one engine the others could blow 
 the furnaces. Each engine had a large regulator, or 
 sort of iron balloon, to equalise the blast from the 
 varying strength of the cylinders. To make their 
 regulators tight, it was the practice to put powdered 
 lime into them. A young fellow, a little older 
 than myself, of the name of Jenkins, and I were 
 inside the blowing-cylinders, putting on a new valve, 
 when one of the firemen near lifted the valve be- 
 tween our engine and the next one, when the blast 
 came through the regulator upon us, bringing with it 
 the lime-powder, and we could not get out, for the 
 pressure shut the valves where we were ; but as 
 one was off in another place, the engine-house was 
 also soon filled with lime, and the engineer, knowing 
 where we were, and what had been done, ran as hard 
 as he could to shut off the valve again, and returned 
 to find us nearly dead from suffocation. A very little 
 more, and it would have been all over with us. We 
 thought at the time the furnaceman did it on purpose, 
 
 B 
 
1 8 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 as he knew we were there, and he had no business in 
 any case to lift the valve. The old scamp ! we played 
 him some tricks for it afterwards, gave a dog his dinner, 
 watered his beer, and all the other men about the fur- 
 nace condemned him, and gave us every opportunity of 
 clearing off scores with him. Another occasion was, I 
 believe, quite accidental, but the result of carelessness, 
 although the engineer was a great friend of mine and 
 a good fellow. We were in the bottom of the cylin- 
 der, and had just finished the work ; one of the men 
 had gone out, and we were just about to follow, when 
 we were much astonished to see the engine start. 
 The piston at the time was about half stroke, so that 
 we could stand nearly upright ; fortunately it made its 
 first start upwards, or we would have been flattened 
 like a cake between it and the bottom of the cylinder. 
 Before it had time to make the up-stroke and return, 
 we were able to crouch down into the square valve 
 box at the bottom (these tubes being about two feet 
 square and the same depth, just enough to crouch 
 into), when down came the piston again within an 
 inch or so of our heads. Fortunately the man who 
 had left us was in the engine-house, and shouted to 
 the engineer, who stopped the engine at once, before 
 she could make another upstroke, or I fear the valves 
 would have given us a hard squeeze. It was not at all 
 uncommon for us to sit in these valve-boxes when the 
 engine was moved a little, but then we either had the 
 valve off or made fast. I must say, it was a curious 
 sensation to be there, and hear the roar of the air 
 
EARLY LIFE. 19 
 
 rushing in, as the piston moved, or on the piston 
 coming down upon us, shutting us up in this little 
 tube until it moved up again. With all this, I used 
 to like those Saturday mornings in the blowing- 
 engines ; and, as that liking was not general in the 
 shop, it was readily accorded to me. A boy was also 
 a better size for the confined space than a man, if 
 they could depend upon him to do the work properly. 
 I therefore took it as a compliment to me that I was 
 so much trusted. I also had a very narrow escape 
 when erecting a roof over the rolling-mill. We were 
 putting up a new one just over the large fly-wheel 
 a very improper thing to be allowed to do when the 
 mill was at work, as, if we happened to fall, nothing 
 could save us amongst those great wheels. One 
 morning while we were at breakfast, the fly-wheel 
 broke and flew through the roof we were at work 
 upon, carrying everything away before it. Half an 
 hour later, and we would have gone with it. I worked 
 upon the iron roof of the market-house, and, as it was 
 put up during the winter, it was a dreadfully cold 
 job. I have looked on it on the occasions I have 
 been at Tredegar since, and recalled my feelings in 
 those cold days. I think on one occasion I saved the 
 life of my brother William. He was a little fellow, 
 and had gone with me to the works. I missed him 
 from the shop, and went out to look for him, when 
 I saw him standing between the rails of a road that 
 passed the end of the shop. On going towards him, 
 I saw a locomotive coming within a very few yards, of 
 
20 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 which he was taking no notice, and had just time to 
 run and pull him out of the way. It made my heart 
 jump, and was a very narrow escape for him. For- 
 tunately, the engines on these roads did not travel 
 very fast. 
 
 Mr. Bevan and Mr. Jones, the mineral agents, were 
 also very kind to me. Although only a boy, they 
 always gladly told me anything I wished to know 
 about the mines, and allowed me to go with them 
 sometimes. Large works of this kind are by far the 
 best school for a young engineer to get a general 
 knowledge of what he needs in after life. It is, in 
 fact, the foundation for all else. Every Englishman 
 ought to know and understand the manufacture of iron 
 and working of mines. It is a kind of knowledge that 
 is constantly coming in useful as he gets older, and I 
 look back upon the time spent at Tredegar as by far 
 the most important years of my life, and will ever feel 
 grateful to those, many in number, who were so kind 
 to me in enabling me to obtain and in giving me in- 
 formation. It was also at Tredegar where the de- 
 light of having earned money for myself was first felt 
 by me, a feeling that cannot come twice in a man's 
 life. Those first few sovereigns gave me more plea- 
 sure than millions could do now. When I first 
 went to work, the important question of my wages 
 took some time to settle, and it was nearly four 
 months before finally an arrangement was made. I 
 had sixteen weeks pay due to me, and the amount 
 per week being 93., I was indeed a proud boy as I 
 
EARLY LIFE. 21 
 
 walked away from the pay-table with upwards of 6 
 in my hand. I did not think there was so rich a 
 person in the world. Oh, those first feelings of life, 
 once passed never to return with equal force or 
 earnestness ! 
 
 About early in 1833 my father's health began to 
 fail him. Although we had no idea of any danger, 
 he went to London for advice, and stopped at my 
 Uncle Robinson's at Worcester on his return, where 
 my mother went to meet him. He was very weak, 
 but quite cheerful. The evening before he died he 
 sat up to the usual hour, then went to bed and fell 
 asleep. A few hours afterwards my mother woke 
 and found him dead (August 28, 1833). It was a 
 great and unexpected blow to us all. I went to 
 Worcester, hoping to be in time to attend his funeral, 
 but was too late, the funeral having taken place the 
 day I reached there. My father was buried at a 
 pretty country churchyard a little distance from Wor- 
 cester called Claines, where his sons put up a monu- 
 ment to his memory a little later. I thus at a very 
 early age lost a good father, and my poor mother was 
 left to care for four others younger than myself, and 
 nobly she performed her task. I had few companions 
 at Tredegar. Two young surgeons, pupils of Mr. 
 Jackson, who was the surgeon to the works, were the 
 only young men I associated with. I spent a great 
 deal of time with them at the surgery, and learned 
 the arts of drawing teeth and making plaisters. I 
 used sometimes to accompany them in their visits to 
 
22 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 the sick, and we often had some shooting together on 
 the mountain. One was a nephew of Mr. Humfray, 
 named Alfred Humfray, and the other a Mr. Fenton ; 
 both are since dead. 
 
 My mother remained in the town of Tredegar after 
 the death of my father, and I continued at the works. 
 During the time I was there the Merthyr riots took 
 place ; I forget the year. The Tredegar men did not 
 join the rioters. On the Friday a large body of them, 
 collected from Nantyglo and Ebbw Vale, passed 
 through Tredegar on their way to join the Dowlais 
 and Merthyr men, where they attacked the Castle 
 Inn, in which a number of one of the Highland regi- 
 ments and the magistrates were. The soldiers were 
 obliged to fire from the windows upon the mob, and 
 I think twenty-one men were killed. They were 
 beaten off for the time, but determined to collect addi- 
 tional strength by the Monday. Early on the Monday 
 morning a much larger number passed through Trede- 
 gar, and got hold of all the men they could to force 
 them to go with them. I was amongst the unwilling 
 ones, and with the others was placed in front, the 
 men behind having sticks with spikes in the end 
 to push us on. There were eight or ten thousand 
 altogether. When we got to Rhymney, we saw a lot 
 of soldiers drawn up along the ridge of Dowlais Hill, 
 instead of our meeting the Merthyr men there, as had 
 been arranged. A considerable amount of bluster 
 took place as they ascended the hill, we in the front 
 not liking the look of things at all. When we reached 
 
EARLY LIFE. 23 
 
 the soldiers, some of the magistrates came forward to 
 advise the men to disperse and return home. This 
 could not be listened to, and they would march on to 
 Merthyr in spite of the soldiers. The magistrates 
 then retired, and the soldiers were ordered to " pre- 
 sent" unpleasant sound to us in front, as one word 
 of command received, and who could say how many 
 of us would roll in the dust. A panic certainly took 
 possession of us in the front, and was as quickly com- 
 municated to those behind, and a general scramble 
 down the hill took place, so that in a very few minutes 
 the word " Fire " would have done us no harm. The 
 Tredegar people were right glad to get back, and we 
 had some revenge on our oppressors ; as they in par- 
 ties of two and three passed back through Tredegar 
 on their way home, we gave them a fair amount of 
 chaff. The soldiers managed this matter very well, as 
 they took possession of the hill first, and so prevented 
 the two bodies of men meeting. This put an end to 
 the riots. On the Friday the men disarmed a troop 
 of yeomanry coming up from Cardiff, I think, and got 
 one of the bayonets off the musket of one of the 
 Highlanders when they made a rush upon them at 
 the Castle Inn. This bayonet, with a small flag 
 tied to it, was carried on a pike by the party with 
 whom I had the honour of marching. I have often 
 asked myself since whether I was really frightened at 
 the position I was in, but I think not. It is true the 
 number of lives lost on the Friday made me feel the 
 soldiers would fire if necessary, but I seemed to enter 
 
24 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 into the spirit of the march and the excitement of 
 the shouting and noise, and I had no real occasion to 
 get into the mess. Had I stayed at home I would 
 not have done so, as they only went into the work- 
 men's houses. 1 
 
 Just before leaving Tredegar I did a very foolish 
 thing. I was dared to go down a pit about thirty 
 yards deep by the chain and come up in the same 
 way. This I did. It was a balance pit with a large 
 round link chain ; I thought by taking a piece of 
 iron to put through the links to rest on I could man- 
 age it easily. I went down easily enough, and had no 
 difficulty for more than half the distance in coming 
 up ; but as I got near the top I felt my muscular 
 power failing me, and nothing but a struggle between 
 life and death enabled me to hold on. My arms and 
 legs began to tremble so, I could hardly hold to the 
 chain, and I am sure if I had had a couple more 
 yards to do before I reached the top, I must have 
 given up and gone crash to the bottom. It was a 
 lesson I never forgot, and therefore it had its use. I 
 saw a man a year ago on board the Great Eastern in 
 a similar predicament. He was sent up a rope to 
 free a line, and before he could get back his muscles 
 gave out, and but for Halpin going up after him and 
 supporting him on his shoulders down again, the man 
 
 1 The account of this incident given in the "Annual Register "for 
 June 1831 thus concludes : "The Riot Act was read by a magistrate 
 who accompanied the soldiers, and they were ordered to present their 
 pieces, at the sight of which every man took to his heels and returned 
 home." 
 
EARLY LIFE. 25 
 
 must have fallen down into the paddle engine-room. 
 But he shouted at the top of his voice ; I made no 
 noise, but felt death almost certain. 
 
 The time for leaving Tredegar now arrived, and I 
 left it with a heavy heart. I had been very happy 
 there, and liked not to part with old friends. One of 
 my best and dearest friends gave me, the night before 
 I left, a small Bible and Prayer-book, which I have 
 deeply valued, and ever will value so long as life lasts, 
 telling me ever to seek in it comfort and support in all 
 my trials through life. I have never forgotten those 
 kind words, and I pray God they may not have been 
 used in vain. We travelled from Tredegar in the 
 carriage which was used to take us there from Bed- 
 lington. My mother went to live at Coventry, in a 
 house about a mile out of the town. I stayed there 
 until I left for the Vulcan Foundry. 
 
 On 28th January 1834 I left home to go and 
 work at the Vulcan Foundry, near Warrington, in 
 Lancashire, under Mr. Robert Stephenson. He and 
 Mr. Tayleur of Liverpool had just built their works 
 indeed they were not quite finished when I went 
 there. They were intended chiefly for building 
 locomotives. This was the first time I had left 
 my home, and my dear mother gave me much good 
 advice, which has been of use to me through life. 
 I remember well her telling me always to keep my 
 thoughts fixed on obtaining for myself a good posi- 
 tion in life, never to be satisfied to stand still ; and 
 although I was going to the Vulcan as a boy and 
 
26 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 a pupil, to strive to one day become the manager. 
 I have often in after life thought over my mother's 
 words, and seen the wisdom of them. The road to 
 success in life is open to all who will with deter- 
 mination and honour follow it, never looking back, 
 but keeping the eyes and soul ever fixed forward. 
 Men are more indebted to their mothers, I think, 
 for the feelings and impressions that guide them 
 through life than they are to their fathers. There 
 is more of sympathy between the boy and his mother 
 than with the father; the advice is probably given 
 more in love and less as a duty from her, and comes 
 nearer home to the heart of the boy, while from the 
 father it appeals more to the reason ; and all who 
 have lived fifty years, feel and know how much 
 greater and purer the heart is with us than the 
 reason. I left my mother's roof with great regret. 
 I was going out alone into an unknown world, 
 amongst strangers, and I quite well remember I 
 did not feel very happy. I arrived at the Newton 
 Junction late in the evening, and found Mr. Charles 
 Tayleur, the manager of the Vulcan Works, in the 
 waiting-room. I had a letter from Mr. Stephenson 
 for him, and presented it with great awe to him, as 
 the arbitrator of my future. He, however, spoke 
 in a kind, friendly way to me, and this did much 
 to reassure me. Lodgings had been taken for me 
 at a farmhouse close to Newton Junction, called 
 the Moss. 
 
 The works were situated about a mile from the 
 
EARLY LIFE. 27 
 
 Moss, down a wretched dirty lane with ruts a 
 foot deep. I had to be in the works not later than 
 ten minutes past six in the morning, and a dreadful 
 walk it was in the dark when I first went there. 
 As we were only allowed half an hour for breakfast, 
 I was obliged to take my breakfast with me, consist- 
 ing of a can of new milk and bread and butter. This 
 I used to eat in the stationary engine-room. Being 
 allowed an hour for dinner, I was able to walk up to 
 the Moss, and get that meal very comfortably, but it 
 did not give me a very long time. I worked very hard 
 at these works. A man of the name of Ireland (who 
 is now old, but is still at the Vulcan) and I used 
 to take jobs on piece-work together, and both worked 
 hard. I was much indebted to Ireland. He was a 
 well-informed and respectable man, and gladly gave 
 me all the instruction and assistance he could. I 
 was always glad to go out with the new engines, 
 and in this way was a good deal on the Liverpool 
 and Manchester Railway, and became acquainted with 
 Mr. Milling at the Liverpool end, and Mr. Fife at the 
 Manchester end. They were the locomotive superin- 
 tendents, and gave me facilities to ride about on the 
 engines. I thus got a good deal of useful experience 
 in the working of a railway, which I could not have 
 got in the workshops alone. Mr. Tayleur was kind 
 to me in this respect, as it was only by his per- 
 mission I could get out of the factory. I knew some 
 very nice families in Warrington, where I went 
 occasionally to spend the Saturday afternoon. To- 
 
28 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 ward the middle of the summer my health began 
 to give way, and, after the doctor at Warrington 
 had doctored me for some time, I was obliged to 
 give up work and go home to Coventry early in 
 September 1834. I remained there until the end 
 of the year. My brother Tom was the engineer on 
 that part of the London and Birmingham Railway, 
 and had his principal offices in Coventry. I used 
 to go there and draw most days, or went out on 
 the trucks with his assistants. This rest and my 
 mother's care restored me to health, and, instead 
 of returning to Newton, I arranged to go to the 
 Dundee foundry at Dundee as a draftsman, the hard 
 work in the shops being considered more than my 
 strength could bear. I left home early in January 
 1835, and, on my way to Dundee, paid a visit 
 to G. Marshall at Bedlington, and spent a few 
 days in Edinburgh, arriving at Dundee on the i/th 
 February. 
 
 The Dundee foundry did a class of work I had 
 not before had an opportunity of seeing, such as 
 marine engines, flax and other general machinery. 
 Mr. James Stirling, now of Edinburgh, was the chief 
 manager, and I always found Mr. Stirling very kind. 
 I had the large salary of one pound per week, and 
 am glad to say I made this keep me, and thus ceased 
 to be any burden upon my mother, a matter that gave 
 me very great pleasure, as she could ill afford to help 
 me. Living at Dundee was very cheap. I was for- 
 tunate in having in Dundee an old friend from Bed- 
 
EARLY LIFE. 29 
 
 lington, a Mr. Nicholson, who had been brought up 
 at the Bedlington Ironworks, and was then manager 
 of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway. He had married 
 there. Mrs. Nicholson was a kind, good woman, and 
 I received both from Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson the 
 greatest kindness. I dined with them most Sun- 
 days, and often spent the evenings with them ; their 
 house was almost a home to me. The Sturrocks 
 also lived here ; Archie, who afterwards served under 
 me in the Great Western, and who was many years 
 locomotive superintendent of the Great Western Rail- 
 way, was serving his time at the foundry, so that I 
 had plenty of pleasant society. There w r as a very 
 good Mechanics' Institution here, of which I was a 
 member, and attended the lectures regularly. The 
 library was also a good one for such purposes. 
 
 For three or four years I had been a great believer 
 in making use of the galvanic battery as a power 
 instead of steam. When at Tredegar I tried a great 
 many experiments, and there constructed a small 
 engine to be worked by this power. It had a very 
 short glass cylinder with straight iron ends, and I got 
 my power by magnetising these cylinder curves alter- 
 nately, and with a good heavy fly-wheel got a rotating 
 motion. 
 
 As it was not my intention when I went to Dundee 
 to stay there more than the year, I finished with the 
 Foundry Company on the 3 1st December, and on the 
 6th January 1836 left all my kind friends in Dundee 
 with very great regret. I had arranged with Mr. R. 
 
30 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Stephenson to go to his works at Newcastle, and, 
 after spending a little time at Edinburgh and Bed- 
 lington, reached Newcastle on the 26th January (1836), 
 beginning my work at the works the following day. 
 I got lodgings in Blackett Street. I did not stay in 
 these lodgings, but joined Harry Birkinshaw (a son 
 of the Mr. Birkinshaw of the Bedlington Ironworks) 
 in some lodgings in Carliol Street, where I went on 
 the 1 6th February. I had plenty of friends in New- 
 castle, and scarcely ever spent an evening at home, and 
 generally went to the theatre one evening a week. My 
 cousin, Mr. George Hawkes, was very kind to me, and 
 my Sundays were often spent with them. My wages at 
 the works were not large. To begin with, I had a pound 
 a week when I was in the drawing-office ; this, after 
 a couple of months, was increased to thirty shillings, 
 when I certainly felt myself very rich, and took an 
 extra night at the theatre. I made some drawings 
 for locomotive engines for Russia, which were oddly 
 enough afterwards two engines on the Great Western 
 Railway. The Russian railway was a six-feet gauge, 
 and I was much delighted in having so much room to 
 arrange the engine. For some financial reasons, all 
 the engines we made were not sent out, and two of 
 them were made with seven-feet gauge for the Great 
 Western Railway, the " North Star," and the " Morning 
 Star." I was very much impressed in making these 
 drawings with the importance of a wider gauge, and 
 no doubt thus early became an advocate for the broad 
 gauge system, although at the time Mr. Brunei had not 
 
EARLY LIFE. 31 
 
 propounded his views on the subject, 1 and I did not 
 foresee how important a matter it was to be in my 
 future life. I occasionally at this time used to go 
 over to Sunderland to spend the Sunday at John 
 Wilkinson's, and I there met my wife for the first 
 time at a party on the 25th of July 1836. 
 
 In September Mr. Robert Hawkes, who had taken 
 great notice of me both while in Newcastle and when 
 I lived at Bedlington he used to be pleased with my 
 skill in turning asked me to go to their works at 
 Gateshead. He proposed they should build a loco- 
 motive engine-works, and take me in as a partner in 
 this department. This matter was so arranged, and I 
 left Mr. Stephenson on the 8th of October, and went 
 to the Gateshead works. They were then building a 
 couple of locomotives for the Newcastle and Carlisle 
 Railway. I was engaged in getting out plans for the 
 new works, and looking after the engines then in hand. 
 A Mr. Thompson was to join this new concern towards 
 the end of the month. Thompson and I went south 
 to buy machinery, and visited Leeds and Manchester. 
 At this latter place I first became acquainted with Mr. 
 Whitworth. We ordered some tools from him. We 
 spent a few weeks in visiting the various shops, and 
 seeing my old friends in this part of Lancashire. 
 When Thompson returned, Whitworth and I went to 
 pay a visit at Tredegar, where I arrived on the 1 7th 
 November, from whence I went on to Bristol to see 
 
 1 They had, however, been communicated to the Directors of the 
 Great Western Railway in October 1835. 
 
32 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Mr. Brunei, to try and get an order for some of the 
 Great Western broad-gauge engines, which they had 
 then determined upon building. I went to the Great 
 Western Office, and saw the directors, as it happened 
 to be a Board day, but found that Mr. Brunei was not 
 in Bristol. I then went to Warwick to see my mother, 
 she having removed from Coventry there. Here I was 
 taken very unwell, and was detained until the second 
 week in January 1837, when I returned to Newcastle. 
 There is a great contrast in the travelling between that 
 time and this. I left Coventry for Manchester at 8.30 
 at night, and ought to have arrived there between seven 
 and eight next morning ; but owing to the bad state of 
 the road, did not reach it until three in the afternoon, 
 or in nearly nineteen hours. It now takes a little over 
 2\ hours to perform the same journey. On my arrival 
 at Newcastle, I went to Bedlington. My brother Tom 
 was then the engineer of the Manchester and Leeds 
 Railway, and I at once went to ask him to give me 
 something to do, and this he kindly did. I therefore 
 left Newcastle and went to him at Rochdale on the 
 25th May, and began my work on that part of the 
 railway. I went to the opening of the Grand Junction 
 Railway on the 4th of June. 
 
DAN I E L GOOCH , 1845 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY ENGINES AND 
 THE BROAD GAUGE. 
 
 (1837-1859.) 
 
 TOWARDS the end of July 1837 I heard that Mr. Brunei 
 wanted some one to take the post of locomotive engi- 
 neer on the Great Western Railway, and I at once 
 went to him, on July 2Oth, preferring that department 
 to railway making. The offices of the Grand Junction 
 Railway were removed from Rochdale to Manchester 
 at the end of the month, and I went to live there. I 
 heard from Mr. Brunei on the 2nd of August, saying 
 he was coming into the North, and that he would call 
 and see me. This gave me some brighter hopes, 
 and he called at the office on the Qth August, and 
 arranged I should go to him at once. I was very 
 glad of this appointment, as I felt it was a permanent 
 thing, in which by attention and perseverance I might 
 hope to get on. I was also very glad to have to 
 manage the broad gauge, which filled my mind as 
 the great advance of the age, and in the soundness 
 of which I was a firm believer. I left Manchester 
 and went to London, beginning my duties with the 
 Great Western on the i8th August 1837. None of 
 
 33 r 
 
34 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 the engines had then been delivered, although several 
 were ordered, six from the Vulcan Foundry, my old 
 shop, four from Mather Dixon & Co. of Liverpool, 
 and two from Sharp, Roberts, & Co., Manchester, 
 two from Hawthorne & Co., Newcastle, and two from 
 the Haigh Foundry Company, also the two altered 
 Russian engines, before mentioned, from Robert 
 Stephenson & Co., Newcastle. My first work was 
 to prepare plans for the engine-houses at Paddington 
 and Maidenhead, and I then went to inspect the 
 engines then building. I was not much pleased with 
 the design of the engines ordered. They had very 
 small boilers and cylinders, and very large wheels. 
 Those made by the Vulcan Company had wheels 
 8 feet in diameter, and three of them only 1 2-inch 
 cylinders with i8-inches stroke; two of Mather 
 Dixon's had lO-feet wheels and 14-inch cylinders, 
 with very small boilers. Those made by Hawthorne 
 were on a patent plan of Tom Harrison's, having 
 the engine and boiler on separate carriages, and 
 coupled with ball-and-socket steam-pipes. These 
 were immense affairs ; the boilers were large, and the 
 cylinders were, I think, l6-inches diameter, and about 
 2-feet stroke. In one, the cylinders were coupled 
 direct to the driving wheels, which were 10 feet 
 diameter, and the other had a spur and pinion 3 
 to i, with 6-feet wheel, making the wheel equal to 
 1 8 feet diameter. The same plan of gearing was 
 used in the two engines built by the Haigh Foundry ; 
 their wheels were 6 feet diameter and the gearing 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 35 
 
 2 to I, but the cylinders were small. I felt very 
 uneasy about the working of these machines, feeling 
 sure they would have enough to do to drive them- 
 selves along the road. The Great Western line 
 had been laid out with very flat gradients, generally 
 4 feet per mile, and a maximum of 8 feet, with the 
 exception of the inclines at Box and Wootton Bassett, 
 which were I in 100. The idea was to concentrate 
 the gradients on these inclines, and work them with 
 stationary power. In the directors' report to the 
 shareholders of the 25th August 1836 these matters 
 are referred to as follows : " It is expected by these 
 ultimate arrangements (meaning the end gradients) 
 the locomotive engines in the Great Western Rail- 
 way will have nowhere to surmount a greater incli- 
 nation than 5 or 6 feet per mile, and probably even 
 less, the only two inclined planes of I in 100, at Box 
 and Wootton Bassett, being worked by stationary 
 power. These very favourable gradients, unequalled 
 in any railway of great extent now in progress, will 
 ensure such an economy in the cost of locomotive 
 power as materially to reduce the estimated annual 
 expenses. They will, moreover, greatly facilitate 
 the attainment of a higher speed of travelling. Under 
 these peculiar circumstances, and with the view of 
 obtaining the full advantage of the regularity and 
 the reduction of power effected by this near approach 
 to a level, and also to remedy several serious incon- 
 veniences experienced in existing railways, an in- 
 creased width of rails has been recommended by your 
 
36 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 engineer, and, after mature consideration, has been 
 determined upon by the Board. Difficulties and 
 objections were at first supposed by some persons 
 to exist in the construction of engines for this in- 
 creased width of rails, but the directors have pleasure 
 in stating that several of the most experienced loco- 
 motive engine manufacturers in the North have under- 
 taken to construct these, and several are now contracted 
 for, adapted to the peculiar track and dimensions of 
 this railway, calculated for a minimum velocity of 
 30 miles per hour. These engines will be capable 
 of attaining a rate of 35 or 40 miles per hour, with 
 the same facility as 25 to 30 miles is gained by those 
 now constructed for other lines." 
 
 It was thus the great battle of the gauges had its 
 beginning, and these were the rates of the speed to 
 be obtained. As I before said, I liked the gauge and 
 the scope it gave for improving the engines, but the 
 designs of the engines then contracted for were bad. 
 I, however, had made up my mind to do my best to 
 aid Mr. Brunei in carrying out his views. While 
 inspecting these engines, I also bought a number of 
 tools for the repairing shops, 
 
 I spent the 24th of August, the day I came of age, 
 with my mother at Warwick, and on my return from 
 the North I went to live at West Drayton, as being a 
 central place between London and Maidenhead. The 
 company provided me with a horse and gig. We 
 also built an engine-house here, supposing that trains 
 would start from West Drayton, and the first piece 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 37 
 
 of the line was finished between the Drayton engine- 
 house and the Dogkennel Bridge through the cutting 
 towards Maidenhead. The first engine delivered to 
 the railway was the " Vulcan/' built by the Vulcan 
 Foundry Company. She was first in steam on the 
 rail on the 9th January. 1838 ; a second from the 
 same firm, and two from Mather Dixon & Co., fol- 
 lowed in a week or so. These came by canal to 
 West Drayton, and I had to get them from there to 
 the engine-house, about a mile off. The " North Star" 
 engine was delivered by barge on the river at Maiden- 
 head in January, and was first in steam on the 1 5th 
 January 1838. The first running of the engines was 
 celebrated by a dinner at West Drayton on the i6th 
 January. Some Irish gentlemen took more wine than 
 was good for them, and amused themselves by danc- 
 ing an Irish war dance on our hats, which happened 
 to be piled up in a corner of the room. I was rather 
 disgusted with the termination of our dinner, and 
 resolved never to have anything to do with another. 
 I was one of the stewards. I went to my first Lon- 
 don party on the 2Qth January. It was at Mrs. 
 Horsley's, Mrs. Brunei's mother. I believe I did suc- 
 ceed in getting as far as the staircase, and left it dis- 
 gusted with London parties, making a note in my 
 memorandum-book never to go to another. I had to 
 drive all the way from West Drayton to get there, 
 and to walk from a public-house, where I put up and 
 got a bed, in silk stockings and thin shoes. I spent 
 my Christmas in the North, chiefly at Mr. Tanner's. 
 
38 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 The time had now arrived when I thought myself 
 sufficiently fixed in life to get married. On March 
 22, 1838, I was married at Bishop Wearmouth 
 church by Mr. Grant to Miss Margaret Tanner. It 
 took place, on account of Mrs. Tanner's state of health, 
 in a very quiet manner. A postchaise (things that 
 have gone out of use) was brought to the back-door of 
 Mr. Tanner's house, and Margaret and I, accompanied 
 by Mr. Temfield, an old friend of Mr. Tanner's, went 
 in it to church. The day was quietly spent at Mr. 
 Tanner's house. I was anxious to get back to the 
 railway, but did not leave Sunderland until Sunday 
 night. We went by a postchaise to Durham, and 
 took the coach early next morning for London, arriving 
 there about five o'clock on the Tuesday afternoon, or 
 in thirty-six hours, a very different time from that 
 now occupied by the same journey. We went on to 
 West Drayton the same night, where I had taken part 
 of a furnished house, and my mother was there to 
 receive us. 
 
 I took a good deal of interest at this time in the 
 building of the Great Western steamship. She was 
 intended to sail between Bristol and America. She 
 was a design of Mr. Brunei's, and, like many of his 
 ideas, the world would not believe in her. Indeed, Dr. 
 Lardner proved that she could not cross the Atlantic. 
 However, on the 3 1st March 1838 steam was got up 
 in her, and a trial made. All went well with the ship, 
 but Mr. Brunei had a serious accident by falling down 
 one of the hatchways and severely injuring himself. 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 39 
 
 It was a most unfortunate time for him, as every effort 
 was being made to get the railway open. The Great 
 Western steamship made her voyage to America, and 
 has since been a most successful ship. None of her 
 size have done better. She was broken up in 1857. 
 I was much engaged up to the end of May in getting 
 all ready for opening the portion of the Great Western 
 Railway from London to Maidenhead. On the 3ist 
 May the directors made their first trip over the whole 
 length of this portion, and it was opened to the public 
 on the 4th June, and then my difficulties with the 
 engines began. The " North Star " and the six from 
 the Vulcan Foundry Company were the only ones I 
 could at all depend upon. The result was I had to 
 begin in a measure to rebuild one half of the stock I 
 had to work with. For many weeks my nights were 
 spent in a carriage in the engine-house at Paddington, 
 as repairs had to be done to the engines at night to 
 get them to do their work next day. The "North Star" 
 being the most powerful one, and in other respects 
 the best, was my chief reliance, but she was often 
 getting into trouble from other causes. I began to 
 think railway life was a very hard and anxious one. 
 I was soon obliged to leave West Drayton and go to 
 Paddington to live, having taken furnished lodgings 
 in the Harrow Road. When I look back upon that 
 time, it is a marvel to me that we escaped serious 
 accidents. It was no uncommon thing to take an en- 
 gine out on the line to look for a late train that was 
 expected, and many times have I seen the train coming 
 
40 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 and reversed the engine, and ran back out of its way 
 as quickly as I could. What would be said of such a 
 mode of proceeding now ? 
 
 The failure of so many engines made the directors 
 very anxious, and they called upon me, apart from 
 Mr. Brunei, to make them a report on each engine. 
 I had hitherto done all I could to get them into 
 working order, and had reported to Mr. Brunei alone, 
 as my chief; but the directors having called upon 
 me for a separate report, I felt I was placed in a 
 great difficulty, as I could only tell what I believed 
 to be the facts. I, however, had no choice, and had 
 to make this report, in which I condemned the con- 
 struction of the engines. This alarmed the directors, 
 and obtained for me a rather angry letter from Mr. 
 Brunei. I will, however, do him the justice to say 
 that he only showed it in his letter, and was per- 
 sonally most kind and considerate to me, leaving me 
 to deal with the stock as I thought best. His good 
 sense told him what I said was correct, and his 
 kind heart did me justice. I was shortly after, with 
 his full consent and support, instructed to prepare 
 designs for the future stock, of which it had become 
 necessary to order a large quantity. These draw- 
 ings I took great pains with, giving every detail 
 much thought and consideration, and the result was 
 designs for two classes of engines, one with a 7-feet 
 driving wheel, 1 5 -inch cylinder, and 1 8-inch stroke, 
 and another with 6-feet wheel, 1 4-inch cylinder, 
 and 1 8-inch stroke, both with ample boiler power; 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 41 
 
 and I may with confidence, after these engines have 
 been working for twenty-eight years, say that no 
 better engines for their weight have since been con- 
 structed either by myself or others. They have 
 done, and continue to do, admirable duty ; advantage 
 has been taken of new cylinders being required to 
 give them an extra inch in diameter and 4 inches 
 more in stroke, and expansion gear has been added; 
 in other respects the engines are the same. 
 
 When I had completed the drawings, I had them 
 lithographed and specifications printed, and thin iron 
 templates for those parts it was essential should 
 be interchangeable, and these were supplied to the 
 various engine-builders with whom contracts were 
 made. One hundred and forty-two engines were 
 let, and all the makers did their work well. The 
 best were built by Fenton, Murray, & Jackson, of 
 Leeds, but the great durability of the engines has 
 proved that all did their work well. I very 
 frequently visited the various works where they 
 were built. My chief draftsman at that time was 
 also a clever fellow, and he has made a good posi- 
 tion for himself since as a contractor. His name is 
 Thomas Crampton (he died April 1888). A drawing 
 now at Clewer 1 of the /-feet engine was made by him, 
 and shows the design, but I have also a very perfect 
 working model of the engine at my house in London. 
 This model is a beautiful piece of work ; many of 
 the parts were made by Clements, who used to be in 
 
 1 Sir Daniel Gooch's country-house. 
 
42 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 those days the best workman in London. I also 
 value the drawings very much, and would wish 
 both to be carefully preserved in the family by my 
 eldest son. 
 
 No sooner was the Great Western Railway opened 
 than a strong party amongst the shareholders was 
 organised in Lancashire and the North to condemn 
 the broad gauge, and they appointed Mr. Hawkshaw, 
 then an engineer in Manchester, and Mr. Nicholas 
 Wood of Newcastle-on-Tyne to report upon it, for 
 which purpose they required a great many experi- 
 ments to be made, had instruments for testing the 
 deflection of the road, &c. They appointed Dr. 
 Lardner to conduct the experiments for them, and 
 the Doctor's calculations were little more reliable 
 in the matter of the power and speed of the locomo- 
 tive than they had been with regard to the Great 
 Western steamship crossing the Atlantic. He said 
 the " North Star " engine could only at 45 miles per 
 hour draw a load of 15 tons. I tried her the next 
 day and took 50 tons. 
 
 A very elaborate report was made by both these 
 gentlemen, and presented to the shareholders of the 
 Great Western at a meeting held at the London 
 Tavern on the Qth January 1839. Mr. Hawkshaw 
 in his report condemned the whole thing, while Mr. 
 Wood admitted many advantages in the broad 
 gauge. 
 
 As the shareholders were entering the meeting, a 
 very clever paper written by Mr. George Clark (who 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 43 
 
 at the time was on the Great Western acting as an 
 engineer he is now the manager of the Dowlais Iron 
 Works) was put into their hands. This paper 
 turned the dispute into ridicule, and there is no 
 doubt had a good deal of effect on the result. There 
 were 7792 votes for the directors, and 6145 against 
 them, so that, as far as the Great Western share- 
 holders were concerned, the matter was settled by a 
 majority of 1647 votes. This decision the share- 
 holders never attempted to disturb. 
 
 I was very much interested in this fight, and had 
 devoted a great deal of time to counteract the con- 
 clusions of the narrow-gauge party. A much better 
 result was obtained from the " North Star " before the 
 meeting than was obtained when Dr. Lardner made 
 his experiment. I made some experiments on the 
 blast-pipe by increasing its size, and also taking 
 great care that the steam was discharged up the 
 middle of the chimney, and it was wonderful how 
 much the large size from the cylinders and the care in 
 discharging the steam still enabled us to get plenty 
 of it. The effect and power of the blast-pipe had 
 not before been sufficiently considered in the loco- 
 motive. Mr. Brunei had a notion that if the orifice 
 was made in the form of a cross it would be more 
 effective, and he and I worked by ourselves most of 
 Christmas day in the upper smith's shop, constructing 
 a tip of this shape ; but nothing succeeded so well 
 as the plain round orifice. We kept our trials on 
 this matter very quiet, intending to spring it as a. 
 
44 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 mine against our opponents after they had com- 
 mitted themselves to their report, and it will be seen, 
 by reference to the report of the directors, that they 
 made good use of it. Mr. Brunei having called upon 
 me for a report upon the question of the gauge, I 
 wrote a very full one, and was glad to get a kind 
 letter from him, saying how much both he and the 
 directors were pleased with it ; and some portions of 
 it were included in their report to the shareholders. 
 
 Before the end of 1838 I had taken rooms on 
 Paddington Green, and on 1st June 1839 my first 
 child was born there. 
 
 The neighbourhood of Paddington at that time 
 was very different from what it has since become. 
 It was then almost impossible to get a house, and 
 lodgings such as would suit me were very scarce. 
 My salary was only $$o per annum ; but as I 
 began life with the determination never to spend 
 the whole of my income, be it what it might, or 
 the saving ever so small, if I only saved a pound, 
 I was sure I did not get into debt. I advise all 
 young people to do this. It will add, not only 
 to their present peace of mind, but to their future 
 success in life. Nothing is so destructive to the 
 mind as the feeling of being in debt. Illness or 
 misfortune may force it upon you, but apart from 
 these two causes it should be avoided as you would 
 poison, 
 
 Little occurred in railway matters during 1839 
 after the January meeting. 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 45 
 
 Mr. Brunei had rather an amusing victory over his 
 enemies in the autumn of 1839. Maidenhead Bridge 
 consists chiefly of two flat brick arches of 128 feet 
 span each. They were built in brickwork, and 
 people were pleased to say they would not stand, 
 and a newspaper authority in railway matters used to 
 send a commissioner down every week to report upon 
 it. This he did by describing the cracks, &c. They 
 said, as it was resting on the centres, as soon as 
 Mr. Brunei took them away the bridge must follow. 
 One Friday night there was a great storm of wind 
 and rain, and the centres were blown down during 
 the night. The paper came out on the Saturday 
 morning with statements and opinions rather stronger 
 than usual ; but before it was in the hands of the 
 readers the arches were standing alone, and have 
 stood well ever since. They had not been resting 
 on the centering for some time before. 
 
 1840. During this year further portions of the 
 Great Western were opened, and agreements were 
 made for leasing the Bristol and Exeter and the 
 Swindon and Cheltenham Railways, and it became 
 necessary to furnish large works for the repair, &c., 
 of our stock. I was called upon to report on the 
 best situation to build these works, and on full con- 
 sideration I reported in favour of Swindon, it being 
 the junction with the Cheltenham Branch, and also a 
 convenient division of the Great Western line for the 
 engine-working. Mr. Brunei and I went down to 
 
46 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 look at the ground, then only green fields, and he 
 agreed with me as to its being the best place. The 
 matter is referred to in the directors' report of 
 February 1841. By this time I was much more 
 comfortable with regard to our engines ; the new 
 engines ordered to my drawings were being delivered. 
 The " Firefly," started on March 1840, was the first, 
 and they all gave every one general satisfaction. 
 We could now calculate with some certainty, not 
 only upon the speed they could run, but also upon 
 their not breaking down upon the journey. We had 
 no difficulty in running at sixty miles per hour with 
 good loads. I may mention, as a contrast of the 
 locomotive expenses per mile up to that time as com- 
 pared with that they have since become, that they 
 were then about is. 6d. per mile, and are now 
 between /d. and 8d. No doubt the cost of fuel was 
 one of the chief sources of saving, and getting a 
 greater mileage out of the engines. 
 
 In November of this year 1840 I took out a patent 
 for steeling the surface of rails and tires, either by 
 the mode of cementing the surface after the rails or 
 tires were manufactured, or by welding a slab of steel 
 on the surface of the pile. Careful experiments made 
 at the Haigh Foundry Company's works at Wigan, 
 in Lancashire, showed that the latter mode was the 
 best. Mr. Stubbs, the steel manufacturer of War- 
 rington, assisted us in these experiments, and al- 
 though we never used it for rail-making on account 
 of the cost, we succeeded in making good sound 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 47 
 
 tires, containing about one-fifth part of best shear 
 steel. The large price paid at that time for steel 
 made the tires costly in first cost, and interfered 
 with their general introduction ; but I used them 
 exclusively on our engines and tenders, and the 
 result of their working showed a very large economy 
 in their use. Many of them ran a distance of be- 
 tween 200,000 and 300,000 miles. Latterly, from the 
 great progress that has been made in the cheap 
 manufacture of steel, solid steel tires and rails also 
 have come into very general use ; but I am still of 
 opinion that for tires the plan I used of making the 
 surface only of steel is much the best, because they 
 can be hardened, the iron in the tire being depended 
 upon for toughness, while the hard steel formed 
 the wearing surface. A solid steel tire cannot be 
 hardened, as it would be brittle and dangerous ; there 
 is therefore, in my opinion, as much difference in the 
 life of the two kinds of tire as there would be 
 between two anvils, one having the face hardened 
 and the other left soft. The extreme hardness of 
 my steel tires made it impossible to turn them in the 
 ordinary manner. I was therefore obliged to design 
 machinery for grinding them. This was done by 
 having on the slide-rest a revolving grindstone a 
 couple of feet in diameter, running at about 1000 
 revolutions per minute. This the men soon learned 
 to use with as much care as a turner does his cutting 
 tool. The wheels themselves were made to revolve 
 in the opposite direction from the grindstone at the 
 
48 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 rate of about 200 revolutions per minute. Great 
 truth was obtained in the wheels, and a very good 
 job made of them at very little additional cost beyond 
 turning the iron tires. This patent did not pay me 
 during the whole of its time more than between 
 ^5000 and ;6ooo, and I found so much trouble con- 
 nected with it and the false position I felt placed in 
 with our own Company, that I never took out another, 
 nor do I ever approve of engineers who have to 
 advise large Companies being themselves interested 
 in patents. I look upon the patent law as a great 
 curse to this country. It cannot be worked with 
 perfect honesty. Patents are taken out for all kinds 
 of absurd things, and by people with little or no 
 practical knowledge of the work they undertake, and 
 the really practical man in carrying out his work is 
 met at all points by the claims of some patentee. I 
 have in my practice constantly found the disadvantage 
 of the law; not that I object to reward a man for a 
 real invention ; but the real inventors are rare, while 
 the patents are counted by thousands. The absence 
 of a patent law would not retard invention. The 
 human mind will scheme and study for the pleasure 
 of the work, and the honour of being the originator 
 of a real improvement would be a sufficient stimulus. 
 I have no doubt the day is not far distant when 
 some important modification of the patent law will be 
 made. The existing law is a great improvement on 
 the old one, when a man was not obliged to disclose 
 his invention at the time of securing his patent. It 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 49 
 
 was a common practice for a man to patent a general 
 title, and then wait his six months to see what ideas 
 of other people could be picked up to put in his 
 description. 
 
 1841. The whole of the Great Western Railway 
 between London and Bristol was opened on the 
 3Oth June 1841. The question of working through 
 the Box tunnel up a gradient of I in 100 was a 
 source of much anxiety to Mr. Brunei. We had 
 found all difficulties at the Wootton Bassett incline 
 disappear, but it was much shorter than Box, and 
 was also not a tunnel. I cannot say I felt any 
 anxiety, as I had seen how well our engines took 
 their load up Wootton Bassett without the help of a 
 bank-engine, and with the assistance of a bank- 
 engine at Box, I felt we would have no difficulty. 
 Only one line of rails was complete through the 
 tunnel the day we opened, and the trains had 
 therefore to be worked on a single line. I under- 
 took to accompany all the trains through the tunnel, 
 and did so the first day and night, also the second 
 day, intending to be relieved when the mail came 
 down on the second night. At about eleven o'clock 
 that night we had a very narrow escape from a fearful 
 accident. I was going up the tunnel with the last 
 up-train, when I fancied I saw some green lights 
 placed as they were in front of our trains. A 
 second's reflection convinced me it was the mail 
 coming down. I lost no time in reversing the 
 
 D 
 
50 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 engine I was on and running back to Box Station 
 with my train as quickly as I could, when the mail 
 came down behind me. The policeman at the top of 
 the tunnel had made some blunder and sent the 
 mails on when they arrived there. Had the tunnel 
 not been pretty clear of steam, we must have met in 
 full career, and the smash would have been fearful, 
 cutting short my career also. But, as though 
 mishaps never came alone, when I was taking my 
 train up again, from some cause or other the engine 
 got off the rails in the tunnel, and I was detained 
 there all night before I got all straight again. I 
 need not say I was not sorry to get home and to 
 bed at Paddington, after two days and nights' pretty 
 hard work. Mr. Brunei was at the time living in 
 Bath, and he was very kind to me in sending me 
 plenty of good food, &c., to keep my steam up. Box 
 tunnel had a very pretty effect for the couple of 
 days it was worked as a single line, from the 
 number of candles used by the men working on the 
 unfinished line ; it was a perfect illumination, ex- 
 tending through the whole tunnel, nearly two miles 
 long. 
 
 I made at this time a number of experiments on 
 the use of peat as a fuel. Lord Willoughby D'Eresby 
 took a great interest in the matter, and we tried it 
 in various ways, some caked and some merely com- 
 pressed very hard. We were able to keep steam 
 with it, but the consumption was very large, certainly 
 four times that of ordinary coke made from coal; it 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 51 
 
 would therefore require a very large difference in the 
 value per ton to render such a fuel profitable. 
 
 On Tuesday, the 24th August 1841, I went to the 
 House of Lords to hear the Queen read her Speech, 
 and stayed there in the evening, when I had an 
 opportunity of hearing the Duke of Wellington speak. 
 He moved an amendment to the address, and I was 
 much struck with the methodical manner in which 
 he referred to his papers. He had a packet of them 
 in his hand and referred to them in turn, but always 
 putting the paper away in its proper place in the 
 packet when done with. Lord Melbourne was then 
 Prime Minister, and answered him. The result was 
 the Government was beaten and went out of office. 
 It was the only time I ever heard the great Duke 
 speak. 
 
 My son Henry was born on the 3Oth December 
 1841. 
 
 The Queen had given up travelling between London 
 and Windsor by road, and had gone by us. While 
 I held the office of locomotive engineer on the Great 
 Western, I nearly in all cases took charge of the 
 engine myself when the Queen travelled, and have 
 been so fortunate as never to have a single delay 
 with her, and she has travelled under my care a great 
 many miles. I was the first who had such a charge, 
 and it was some time before she had occasion to 
 travel on any line but the Great Western. 
 
 We started the machinery at the Swindon works 
 on the 28th November 1842. Archie Sturrock was 
 
52 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 our local manager, but the works were not put into 
 regular operation until Monday, the 2nd January 1843. 
 
 1843. During this year further portions of the 
 Great Western Railway branches and the Bristol 
 and Exeter were opened. The Great Britain steam- 
 ship, one of those large ideas of Mr. Brunei's, was 
 launched at Bristol. She was then considered a 
 monster ship, although now she is a very ordinary 
 one, and every one blamed Mr. Brunei for building 
 anything so large. I took Prince Albert down by 
 special train to the launch on the ipth July 1843. 
 It was a lovely day and the sight a beautiful one. 
 As the ship was built in a dry dock, the launch only 
 consisted in floating her out. On the down journey 
 we had some long stops for the Prince to receive 
 addresses, but having no delays on the return journey, 
 it was done in two hours four minutes. Few runs 
 over so long a distance have been made as quick as 
 this, even since. 
 
 1844. On the 1st of May in this year the railway 
 was opened throughout to Exeter. We had a special 
 train with a large party from London to go down to 
 the opening. A great dinner was given in the goods 
 shed at Exeter Station. I worked the train with 
 the " Actseon " engine, one of our /-feet class, with six 
 carriages. We left London at 7.30 A.M. and arrived 
 at Exeter at 12.30, having had some detention over 
 the hour fixed. On the return journey we left Exeter 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 53 
 
 at 5.20 P.M., and stopped at Paddington platform at ten. 
 Sir Thomas Acland, who was with us, went at once 
 to the House of Commons, and by 10.30 got up and 
 told the House he had been in Exeter at 5.20, the 
 distance 195 miles. It was a very hard day's work for 
 me, as, apart from driving the engine a distance of 390 
 miles, I had to be out early in the morning to see 
 that all was right for our trip, and while at Exeter 
 was busy with matters connected with the opening, 
 so that my only chance of sitting down was for the 
 hour we were at dinner. Next day my back ached 
 so much I could hardly walk. Mr. Brunei wrote me 
 a very handsome letter, thanking me for what I had 
 done, and all were very much pleased. 
 
 The question of the gauge of railways was be- 
 ginning again to become an important question to 
 us. As the extension of lines took place, it became 
 a fight between the broad gauge companies and 
 the narrow gauge companies as to who should 
 get possession of the various adjoining districts, 
 we contending that, as the broad gauge was best, 
 we ought to be encouraged, and, as will be seen, 
 for the next few years my time and thoughts were 
 nearly entirely directed to this fight. From what 
 I saw on the occasion of this trip to Exeter, I 
 felt we might safely put on a regular train that 
 would perform the distance between London and 
 Exeter in four and a half hours, and advised the 
 directors to do so as an express train at higher 
 fares. This was shortly after done, and was the 
 
54 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 beginning of that important system of express trains 
 which has given so much comfort and accommodation 
 to the public. I may therefore, I think, claim to be 
 the father of express trains. 
 
 During the year 1844 I tried the experiment of 
 using corrugated copper fire-boxes on an engine, 
 thinking by that means I would greatly enlarge the 
 heating surface. Experience showed me that per- 
 haps a little more reflection might have told me 
 beforehand that it did no good ; the temperature 
 of the gases escaping from the chimney was not 
 higher than it ought to be, and therefore as all 
 the heat given out by the fire was already taken 
 up, I did not obtain any benefit, as I did not increase 
 the bulk of the fire. It made a strong box, but was 
 a very costly one, and I only put it to two engines. 
 
 Louis Philippe, King of the French, was at Windsor 
 in October 1844, and travelled on our line. 
 
 On the nth of December the Great Britain steam- 
 ship was ready for trial, and I went down to Bristol 
 to go out to sea with her. When she entered the 
 lock leading into the river, she caught the copings on 
 each side and could not get through. Fortunately, 
 they were very quick in hauling her back, or she 
 would have been a fixture, and have probably been a 
 wreck. She was, however, got free and back into the 
 dock, and the lock walls were lowered and we got 
 out the next tide, and the following day went into 
 the Channel with her, where she performed admirably. 
 She soon after began her voyages to America from 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 55 
 
 Liverpool, and after a few voyages was run aground 
 in Dundrum Bay, on the coast of Ireland, where she 
 lay a whole winter exposed to the action of the sea, 
 but stood it well, and was then got off. She was a 
 heavy loss to the shareholders, as she was then sold 
 to Messrs. Gibbs of Liverpool for a very small sum. 
 They took her engines out and made sundry changes 
 in her, and she has since been employed profitably in 
 the Australian trade. The engines, as constructed 
 originally, drove the screw by a pitch chain from a 
 large wheel worked by the engines to a smaller one 
 on the screw shaft. I think the proportions were 
 about 3 to I. Although at the time of her first 
 going to sea she was considered too large for any 
 trade or port, she is now a very ordinary-sized ship. 
 I think her tonnage is about 3500. 
 
 1845. This year began our hardest gauge fight. 
 The Great Western went to Parliament for a line from 
 Oxford through Worcester to Wolverhampton, then 
 known as the Oxford, Worcester, and Wolverhampton 
 line. This was to be on the broad gauge, and it was 
 strongly opposed by the London and Birmingham 
 Company. I had to give evidence on the bill, and had 
 prepared very elaborate tables showing the speed and 
 economy of the broad gauge. The Committee of the 
 House of Commons sat on it rather over three weeks, 
 and gave us the bill on the 4th June. We met in a" 
 temporary committee-room, and the crowd and heat 
 was excessive. Sitting in this heat all day, and 
 
56 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 working most of the night in preparing evidence for 
 the witnesses, almost broke me down. I will never 
 forget the passion George Stephenson got into when 
 the decision of the Committee was announced. He 
 gave me his mind very freely for righting the broad 
 gauge against the narrow, in which he said I had 
 been reared. I was not only fighting for my convic- 
 tions, but also for my employers, who expressed 
 themselves well satisfied with what I had done. 
 The London and North- Western and Grand Junction 
 started express trains to Liverpool on the 1st of May 
 during this fight. I went by the first ones, so as to be 
 able to make use in my evidence of any facts I could 
 pick up. When the bill was reported to the House, 
 the narrow gauge interests moved a resolution on the 
 2Oth June, as follows : " That a humble address be 
 presented to Her Majesty to give a Commission to 
 inquire whether, in all future Acts for the construction 
 of railways, provision ought to be made for securing 
 an uniform gauge, and whether it would be practi- 
 cable and expedient to bring existing lines of railway 
 in Great Britain, and lines now in course of construc- 
 tion, into uniform gauge, and if so, to report on the 
 best mode of carrying these objects into effect in the 
 present session of Parliament." 
 
 The motion was lost by a majority of 2 to I, and 
 our bill passed. The bill also got passed safely 
 through the Lords without very much difficulty. It 
 was afterwards moved by Mr. Cobden in the House 
 of Commons that a Commission should be appointed 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 57 
 
 in pretty much the words of the former resolution, 
 which was carried unopposed. 
 
 The commissioners appointed were Sir F. Smith, 
 R.E. ; Professor Airy, the Astronomer Royal ; and 
 Professor P. Barlow. 
 
 When it is considered that the fight was to be 
 between one railway company on the broad gauge 
 and the host of narrow-gauge companies, it would 
 have been well to put some more practical men 
 on the Commission. For one witness we could 
 call, the narrow-gauge interests could call a dozen. 
 Mr. R. Stephenson, Mr. Locke, and Mr. Bidder were 
 the three engineers of highest standing who were 
 opposed to us. 
 
 The commissioners met for the first time on the 
 6th August 1845. After the Parliamentary fight was 
 over, Mr. Brunei and Mr. Saunders, Secretary and 
 General Manager of the Great Western Railway, went 
 abroad, and the question before the commissioners 
 was left to me alone, a responsibility I did not much 
 like ; but it was to be, so I undertook the task. Mr. 
 R. Stephenson was the first witness called ; he was 
 followed by Mr. Locke and a host of others, officers 
 and engineers of narrow-gauge lines. The general 
 principles laid down by them against the broad 
 gauge were : First, that the engines were too large 
 and heavy, and the large wheels used were not 
 necessary, as the small wheels and engines of the 
 narrow-gauge companies were able to run at as high 
 speeds as it was safe for the public to work the 
 
58 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 trains ; second, that the broad-gauge carriages were 
 too large the public did not like to sit four abreast ; 
 third, that the cost of working was greater. A 
 reference to the detailed evidence in the blue book 
 will show that these were the chief points attempted 
 to be made by the narrow-gauge companies. I may 
 also say the question of the disadvantage of break 
 of gauge was dwelt upon. I gave my evidence on 
 the 1 7th and 2ist of October, putting in a number 
 of tables and calculations to disprove the above 
 assertions, and to show that the broad gauge could 
 carry traffic at a higher speed and at a less cost 
 than the narrow gauge. Mr. Brunei and Mr. 
 Saunders were examined on their return from the 
 Continent at the end of November. As it was clear 
 the commissioners were unable to make up their 
 minds upon the question from the contradiction of 
 the two opposing factions, we prepared to bring the 
 matter to a practical test by direct experiment, and 
 proposed that we should each work trains of various 
 weights over long lengths of railway to test the 
 speed as well as cost. The narrow-gauge parties 
 made great objections to this, although they had been 
 getting new engines built of larger dimensions (but 
 very faulty in construction) for the purpose of trying 
 to work their express trains at our speed. They 
 constructed the boilers of great length, without 
 getting any more heating surface in the fire-box, and 
 allowed this exceptional length to overhang the 
 wheels at each end. The " White Horse of Kent," 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 59 
 
 on which I had a number of experiments made, 
 was so unsteady that it was necessary to be tied on 
 to make experiments on the smoke-box temperature, 
 and the tube surface was carried to so great an 
 extent, that the heat in the smoke-box was less than 
 the temperature of the steam used, so that one end 
 of the engine was actually acting as a condenser. 
 After much trouble, however, it was at last settled 
 to make experiments ; but not, as we proposed them, 
 over a long length of railway, as from London to 
 Bristol and back, as against London to Birmingham 
 and back, where there would be a variation in the 
 gradients, and the engine would be required, as in 
 ordinary work, to take in cold water on the road ; 
 but it must be on a piece of short local line, and the 
 narrow - gauge parties selected the piece between 
 York and Darlington, a practical level also, against 
 about the same length of our line out of London, or 
 46 miles. Experiments were to be made with trains 
 of 50, 60, 70, and 80 tons passenger, and 200 and 
 400 tons with goods. We made our experi- 
 ments with our old engines, having no new ones 
 built for the purpose ; the " Ixion " was used for 
 the passenger work, and the " Sampson " for the 
 goods. Our experiments were gone through on 
 the days and at the hours fixed, and we were un- 
 fortunate on two of the days in having a high 
 wind on one, and a small drizzling rain on the 
 other, making us slip. When it came to the time 
 of the 50-ton train, the narrow-gauge party would 
 
Co DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 not have it worked, saying after the result of the 
 others it was unnecessary. 
 
 \_The performances of the narrow-gauge trains are 
 narrated in a graphic manner in a passage here 
 omitted.~\ 
 
 We all returned to London on the 3rd January 
 1846 to make our reports, and the commissioners 
 were allowed to prepare their report upon such data 
 as they had got. The conclusion they arrived at 
 was that the narrow gauge should be the national 
 gauge ; but, in referring to the experiments, they 
 said, " That we consider them as confirmatory of the 
 statement and results given by Mr. Gooch in his 
 evidence, proving as they do that the broad gauge 
 engines possess greater capabilities for speed with 
 equal loads, and, generally speaking, of propelling 
 greater loads with equal speed, and, moreover, that 
 the working of such engines is economical when very 
 high speeds are required, or when the load to be 
 conveyed requires the full power of the engine." It 
 was a hard fight, and there is no doubt, so far as 
 the evil of break of gauge was concerned, we had a 
 weak case, although everything possible was done to 
 strengthen it. A machine was constructed at Pad- 
 dington by which loads could be easily transferred 
 from one gauge to another, by changing the body of 
 waggon, load and all, or by lifting the narrow-gauge 
 waggons complete upon a broad gauge platform. 
 We also schemed a waggon with telescope axles, 
 adapted to run on either gauge, but I never had any 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 61 
 
 faith in any of these plans as workable in practice. 
 A break of gauge meant the unloading one set of 
 waggons and putting the goods into another. This 
 has since been done in practice with a platform 
 between the two lines of waggons. The cost of this, 
 apart from delay, is about threepence per ton on an 
 average, and this may be taken as the maximum of 
 the cost. The other points contended for by the 
 narrow gauge during this fight they have since in 
 practice given up ; for they now make their engines 
 quite as heavy as the broad gauge ; their carriages 
 are also as heavy, and they put four people abreast, 
 and they do run high speeds with express trains, 
 without any particular danger to the public. 
 
 While the Commission was sitting, I went to 
 France and Belgium in September for ten days, to 
 see the plan adopted by the French for transfixing 
 the body of the diligences upon railway trucks. 
 
 A very carefully prepared answer to the commis- 
 sioners' report was prepared by Mr. Brunei, Mr. 
 Saunders, and myself. We had some good fun over 
 it. We met at Mr. Saunders' house for a few hours 
 each day until it was complete, and we of course 
 proved that the commissioners had come to quite 
 a wrong conclusion, as will be seen in the printed 
 papers or blue book, to which I refer those who take 
 an interest in the question for all the details. 
 
 1846. On the 1 5th January the directors of the 
 Great Western sent for me to the board-room, and 
 
62 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Mr. Russell, after very kindly speaking of what I 
 had done in the gauge fight, presented me with a 
 cheque for 500, and increased my salary by 300 
 a year. When I first joined the Great Western, 
 it was fixed at 300, but when the line opened it 
 was increased to 550, and in January 1841 to 
 700. The increase now made it ^"1000. It was 
 raised on the 1st January 1851 to 1500, at which it 
 stood until I left the service. 
 
 The experiments and results of the gauge contest 
 before the commissioners induced us to build some 
 larger engines, and I prepared one with 1 8-inch 
 cylinders, 2-feet stroke, and 8-feet wheels. This 
 engine was ordered by the Board, and, as it was 
 important to get it to work before the next session 
 of Parliament, when a renewal of the fight would take 
 place, I arranged for night and day work upon her, 
 and had her finished in thirteen weeks from the day 
 of getting the order, probably as quick a job as was 
 ever done. She was first tried at the end of April 
 1846, and on the I3th June we made a sensational 
 trip with her to Bristol with a load of 100 tons. 
 Mr. Russell, and the directors, and Mr. Brunei went 
 down ; a dinner was given to a large party at Bristol, 
 and a good deal of speech-making took place. We 
 attained a steady speed of 62 miles per hour with 
 this load. The distance to Swindon was done in one 
 hour eighteen minutes, and to Bristol in two hours 
 twelve minutes, including stoppages. Mr. Russell 
 called this a " great fact," and it was a great fact. 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 63 
 
 Had we had this engine ready in time for the gauge 
 experiments, how different would the results have 
 been, although I don't suppose it would have altered 
 the report. We called the engine the " Great Britain ; " 
 she was built on six wheels, but rinding the weight 
 too much on the leading wheels, I put another pair 
 forward. 
 
 My third son, Alfred, was born on the 2nd March 
 of this year, 1846. 
 
 1847. The passing of the direct line from Oxford 
 to Birmingham again raised the question of gauge, as 
 the Gauge Act, passed on the recommendation of the 
 Gauge Commission, required that all future lines should 
 be made on the narrow gauge, without Parliament's 
 sanction to its being broad ; and the House of Lords 
 on the 25th June 1847 ordered an inquiry by the 
 Railway Commissioners of the Board of Trade as to 
 the accommodation of the lines between London and 
 Birmingham, and whether it is expedient to lay the 
 broad gauge to Birmingham, &c., such report to be 
 made to the next session of Parliament. 
 
 The Railway Commissioners, in carrying out these 
 instructions (these were not the Gauge Commissioners, 
 but the Board of Trade), sent out a series of printed 
 questions to the London and North- Western Company 
 and the Great Western. These questions referred 
 chiefly to the resistance of railway trains and con- 
 struction of locomotives. On the part of the London 
 and North-Western a joint answer was given by 
 
64 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Mr. R. Stephenson, Mr. Locke, Mr. M'Connell, and 
 Mr. Trevithick, the two latter gentlemen being the 
 locomotive superintendents of the London and North- 
 Western Company. Mr. Brunei sent in his answer, 
 and I sent in mine separately, on behalf of the Great 
 Western. To enable me to do this satisfactorily, I felt 
 a complete series of experiments was required, and 
 having the authority of the Board to spend what was 
 necessary, I designed and constructed an indicator to 
 measure and accurately record the speed the train 
 was moving, and also on the same paper to record 
 the traction power used by the engine measured 
 by a spring, also on the same paper the force and 
 direction of the wind. To check the traction I also 
 at the same time took indicator cards from the 
 cylinder of the engine so as accurately to measure 
 the power exerted there. It also gave me the power 
 expended in moving the engines. I made a great 
 number of experiments over a level piece of line 
 on the Bristol and Exeter line, at various rates of 
 speed and loads. They gave me results very different 
 from those obtained by the narrow gauge, which, 
 however, were done more by calculation than by 
 actual experiment. I read a paper at the Institu- 
 tion of Civil Engineers on these experiments in April 
 1848, and a good deal of discussion took place on 
 them for a couple of nights. I still keep the original 
 records of these experiments. They cost me a vast 
 amount of labour, both in calculations and in making 
 the experiments. It was rather a difficult task to sit 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 65 
 
 on the buffer beam of the engine, and take indicator 
 cards at speeds of 60 miles per hour. 
 
 Mr. Stephenson endeavoured to show before the 
 Board of Trade that it would be dangerous to have 
 a mixed gauge, that is, three lines of rails, and pro- 
 duced some plans to show the number of points and 
 crossings. Many years' experience has since proved 
 him wrong. The report of the commissioners was in 
 favour of extending the broad gauge to Birmingham, 
 and making it a mixed gauge line. This was the 
 last of the real gauge fights. Nothing has since 
 transpired to raise the point again, and it may be 
 said from all the evidence and reports, that a differ- 
 ence in the gauge of the railways in this country, now 
 they have so covered its surface, and so large an 
 interchange of traffic has to take place, is an evil, and 
 is now to be regretted, but that, were the whole ques- 
 tion now open to be decided, the broad gauge is safer, 
 cheaper, more comfortable, and attains a much higher 
 speed than the narrow, and would be the best for 
 the national gauge. But as the proportion of broad 
 to narrow is so small, there is no doubt the country 
 must submit to a gradual displacement of the broad, 
 and the day will come when it will cease. The 
 fight has been of great benefit to the public ; it has 
 pricked on all parties to exertion ; the competition 
 of the gauges has introduced high speeds and great 
 improvements in the engines, and was of great prac- 
 tical use to all those who were actively mixed up in 
 the contest, as they were forced to think and experi- 
 
 E 
 
66 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 ment. It was not allowed to them to rest quietly on 
 speeds of twenty to thirty miles per hour. I know 
 it was of great value to me by the practical informa- 
 tion I obtained in investigations. 
 
 The South Devon line was opened in July this 
 year, 1847, between Newton and Totness, over gra- 
 dients of I in 42. I never saw Mr. Brunei so anxious 
 about anything as he was about this opening. Rely- 
 ing upon the Atmospheric principle, 1 he had made 
 these steep inclines, and he feared there might be 
 difficulties in working them. These difficulties dis- 
 appeared with the day of opening. All our trains 
 went through very well, and at night it seemed a 
 great relief to Mr. Brunei to find it was so. He 
 shook hands with me and thanked me in a very kind 
 manner for my share in the day's work. He never 
 forgot those who helped him in a difficulty. 
 
 During the latter part of 1846 and this year, 1847, 
 I had been building my present house in Warwick 
 Road, Paddington, and got it finished, so that I could 
 get into it at the end of September, which I did. 
 My youngest boy, Frank, was born in the old house 
 on the 20th July 1847. 
 
 Up to this time I had looked upon the Great 
 Western as an employment for life, and had refused 
 a good offer from Mr. Locke in 1842 to go to the 
 Grand Junction, and also from Alderman Thompson 
 
 1 An account of the trial of the Atmospheric System on the South 
 Devon Railway will be found at pp. 131-170 of the "Life of I. K. 
 Brunei" (London, 1870). 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 67 
 
 to go to Italy, both at much higher salaries than I 
 was getting ; but I felt that a rolling stone gathers no 
 moss, and was unwilling to leave a service in which 
 I was comfortable and well treated. But now I felt 
 it was not safe to rely upon the permanency of such 
 a state of things, and I therefore determined to make 
 myself in some degree independent of the railway, 
 and for this purpose saw the chairman, Mr. Russell, 
 and obtained his consent to my doing any other 
 work, so long as I did not neglect the Great Western. 
 Acting on this principle, I found no difficulty in 
 making money by professional services in other ways, 
 and it is thus what fortune I have realised has been 
 obtained. 
 
 I was made a Freemason on the I4th of February 
 1850 by Mr. Luxmore in the St. George's Lodge, 
 Exeter. Many ridicule the Society of Freemasons, 
 saying there is no secret, and the only object is good 
 dinners. Writing now eighteen years after I was 
 made, and during which time I took a very active 
 part, passing the chair of several lodges, and getting 
 high rank in the craft, being now Deputy Grand 
 Master of Wilts, I look back on my connection with 
 Masonry as a very useful and a very pleasant part of 
 my life. I have made many kind friends in the craft, 
 and have met with much kindness, and have never 
 regretted the day I was initiated into its mysteries. 
 
 1851. This year is chiefly remarkable for the 
 first of those great Exhibitions that have since be- 
 
68 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 come rather common. The one held in Hyde Park 
 this year was a charming building, and being the 
 first of the kind, the impression made upon the 
 mind was stronger than with the following ones. 
 The Great Western Company sent a locomotive, the 
 " Lord of the Isles," one of our large class of pas- 
 senger engines, and I am safe in saying she was a 
 beautiful job, and has ever since done her work on 
 the line satisfactorily. 
 
 1856. In the early part of this year I formed the 
 Ruabon Coal Company. The circumstances were 
 these. It had been found impossible to get a regular 
 coal trade on our line, and I proposed to my com- 
 pany to have some collieries of their own, and went 
 to Wrexham to look at those belonging to Mr. Henry 
 Robertson, and also some property of Sir Watkin 
 W. Wynn's, where a colliery might be sunk. Hav- 
 ing obtained the best information I could, I advised 
 the directors to buy up Robertson's works, as they 
 were in operation, and could be made available for 
 our purpose at once. This was finally agreed upon 
 by the directors, and the price settled, but at this 
 time a decision in regard to a similar plan in opera- 
 tion on the Eastern Counties Railway showed it not 
 to be within the powers of the Company, and stopped 
 our plan. Mr. Walpole, our chairman, then asked me 
 if I could find private parties to form a company, 
 and enter into an agreement with the Great Western 
 Company to send a large fixed quantity of coal over 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 69 
 
 their line. This I agreed to do, and took a large 
 stake in the coal company myself, and was to be 
 the chairman. Feeling that this might conflict with 
 my position as an officer of the railway company, I 
 placed my resignation in the hands of Mr. Walpole ; 
 but he and the directors did not think it right to 
 accept it. I, however, left it in their hands to accept 
 at any time, should circumstances make it desirable. 
 I felt there were interests in the coal trade amongst 
 the shareholders of the railway, who would no doubt 
 object to what had been done ; and such proved 
 to be the case. For two or three half-years after- 
 wards it was the cause of a row at our meetings, 
 and some parties went to the Court of Chancery to 
 put an end to the agreement. In this they failed, 
 and the Court expressed themselves strongly that 
 what had been done was perfectly legal and right. 
 I thus got a great deal of abuse by trying to do 
 a good turn to the shareholders of the railway, and 
 risking a good deal of money in doing so. The 
 colliery has, however, been a very good investment, 
 and has done good to both parties to the arrangement. 
 Mr. Walpole acted very well to me in this matter, as 
 he never flinched from what he had told me, but did 
 his best to carry out the arrangement, and support 
 those who had gone into it at his request. 
 
 1859. In the March of this year I bought Clewer 
 Park, or rather bought the lease of it from Mrs. 
 Ashley, and afterwards purchased the freehold from 
 
70 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Dr. Proctor. I had been long looking out for a 
 house in the neighbourhood of Windsor. I had 
 spent my summer at Windsor for five or six years 
 before, taking lodgings, and I was very fortunate to 
 get a place so suitable for me in every respect as 
 Clewer. When I went down to look at it, a large 
 bed of violets took my fancy very much, and I saw 
 that the timber, &c. ; was very fine, and that the faults 
 I saw in the grounds might be easily remedied. I 
 therefore had no difficulty in making up my mind to 
 take it. 
 
 On the 1 5th September 1859 I lost my oldest and 
 best friend in the death of Mr. Brunei. He had 
 been far from well for two or three years past, and 
 during that time had been much worried by the Great 
 Eastern steamship. This was his last great work ; 
 not satisfied with the size of the Great Britain, he 
 conceived and designed this noble ship. By his 
 death the greatest of England's engineers was lost, 
 the man of the greatest originality of thought and 
 power of execution, bold in his plans, but right. 
 The commercial world thought him extravagant, but 
 although he was so, great things are not done by 
 those who sit down and count the cost of every 
 thought and act. He was a true and sincere friend, 
 a man of the highest honour, and his loss was deeply 
 deplored by all who had the pleasure to know him. 
 He had a curious accident many years before his 
 death. Playing with a child, he managed to swallow 
 a half sovereign, which went into his chest, and 
 
THE BROAD-GAUGE ENGINES. 71 
 
 many attempts were made to get it out, without 
 success. He himself suggested the plan which suc- 
 ceeded. He had a frame made swinging like a look- 
 ing-glass on the centre, to which he was fastened, 
 and then suddenly turned with his head downwards. 
 They failed at first to get it out, but another attempt 
 succeeded, and it was a great joy to his medical men 
 and all with him to see it fall on the floor. 
 
 I shall ever feel a deep sense of gratitude to Mr. 
 Brunei for all his kindness and support, from the day 
 I first saw him in 1837. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE "GREAT EASTERN" STEAMSHIP AND THE 
 ATLANTIC CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 
 
 (1860-1865.) 
 
 1860. The shareholders of the Great Eastern 
 steamship, being out of humour with their directors, 
 at the meeting in February determined to turn them 
 all out and elect a new board. I was requested to 
 form one of the new board, and was elected. After 
 our election we determined to complete the ship fit 
 for sea, and send her a voyage to America as early 
 as we could. I went down to Southampton and took 
 the direction of all the engineering department of the 
 ship. Very many alterations and additions were 
 required both in the general fittings and machinery, 
 the Board of Trade requirements being very large. 
 We raised ; 100,000 by debentures, and worked hard 
 to get her ready to sail in June. The former captain 
 of the ship, who had been looking after her building 
 (Captain Harrison), was drowned early in the year 
 in Southampton Water, and we had to appoint a 
 new man. We selected Captain Hall. All was suf- 
 ficiently complete for us to take our departure in 
 

THE "GREAT EASTERN." 73 
 
 June. I had settled to go with her and take my 
 wife and Harry. We joined the ship at Southampton 
 on Thursday the 1 4th June. We sailed on the Sun- 
 day morning with about twenty passengers, so that 
 we had plenty of room. Two of the other directors 
 went with me, Mr. Barber and Captain Carnegie. 
 All went on most comfortably on our voyage, the 
 weather was very fine, and the ship as steady as an 
 island, so much so that the game of skittles was played 
 every day. One of the passengers, oddly enough, 
 took some skittles on board with him, and assumed 
 the name of Skittles ; a sister he had with him also 
 went by the name of Miss Skittles. We had one 
 sharp gale on the passage, lasting a great part of one 
 night, making the ship roll a little. Our general run 
 per day was about 330 knots. We arrived off Sandy 
 Hook very early in the morning of the 28th June, and 
 came to anchor to wait the tide. By ten o'clock craft 
 of all kinds began to arrive from New York to look 
 at us, and our agents came off to us. The scene 
 soon became very exciting, and the day was a lovely 
 one. When we began to run up to New York, we 
 were accompanied by hundreds of yachts, steamers, 
 &c., and it was certainly a grand and exciting scene. 
 As we passed up through that beautiful entrance to 
 the Hudson, the banks were lined with thousands 
 of people, and the forts and American men-of-war 
 saluted us as we passed, so that it was one continual 
 firing of guns and shouting of thousands of people all 
 the way up to New York, and when we came close 
 
74 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 to that town the scene was wonderful. The wharfs, 
 house-tops, church towers, and every spot where 
 a human being could stand and get a sight of the 
 ship, were crowded. We reached the wharf where 
 we were to lie about five o'clock, and I was very glad 
 when it was time for bed. I did not go ashore. 
 It had been a really hard day's work. I will, how- 
 ever, never forget the beauty of the scene. I now 
 had to undertake a new kind of life that was to 
 become a showman, as we expected to earn a very 
 large sum of money by exhibiting the ship. We 
 therefore had to advertise and organise our plans, 
 and I cannot say, now it is all over, that we were 
 very clever at our work. 
 
 One curious thing happened while we were at New 
 York. A man was to be hanged on Staten Island, 
 which is situated down the harbour. He was taken 
 from New York in a steamer, and the man in office 
 invited a party of his friends to accompany him, pro- 
 viding them with ample refreshments on board, and by 
 way of giving greater pleasure they steamed up the 
 Hudson to the Great Eastern to look at her, instead 
 of taking the poor wretch they were about to hang 
 direct to his doom. 
 
 On my return to New York, we settled to carry 
 out a pleasure trip with the big ship for two days, 
 that is, we left New York on the Monday afternoon 
 for Cape May, the mouth of the Delaware, spent the 
 next day there, and returned the following night. 
 We started with about 1500 excursionists, and a 
 
THE "GREAT EASTERN." 75 
 
 most extraordinary trip we had. The first night 
 there was no end of fun, and, as the moon was very 
 bright and weather warm, it did very well ; but as 
 the passengers had no beds to go to, they lay about 
 anywhere, and in the morning woke up very cross, 
 particularly the reporters to the press, who thought 
 they ought to have been supplied with comfortable 
 cabins, &c., &c. An indignation meeting was held by 
 them, and they went ashore, not to return. The 
 second night we did much better without them, but 
 the newspapers were full of abuse. Most of those 
 who went the trip enjoyed it very much, and passed 
 resolutions accordingly, but on the whole this trip 
 was not a success, and did not pay us, and I was 
 very glad when it was over. One thing I was glad 
 to hear. On the first night a proposal was made, 
 having reference to Mr. Brunei as the designer of 
 the ship, and some hearty cheers given in his honour. 
 We had settled to take the ship to the Chesapeake 
 for a week, and as soon as we returned to New York 
 from Cape May we prepared to start, and sailed from 
 New York on the 2nd August with about a hundred 
 passengers. We had none of the indignant press 
 gentlemen, and had therefore a very pleasant voyage. 
 We reached Point Comfort early the next morning, 
 and spent that day and night there. Thousands 
 of people crowded the little village to see the ship. 
 I went over the large fort here, and had also an 
 opportunity of seeing a number of slaves, who were 
 brought by their masters to see the ship. The 
 
76 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 kindest and most friendly feeling seemed to exist 
 amongst them, and 1 have never seen more happiness 
 expressed in the face and manner of the working 
 classes than appeared in these slaves. We left Point 
 Comfort on the morning of the 5th August for Anna- 
 polis Roads in the Chesapeake, and had a beautiful 
 sail all day. I was much amused at the disgust of 
 the owners of one of the fast steamers. He had 
 invited a large party to accompany him in the famous 
 steamer, to meet us thirty or forty miles down the 
 bay, and his programme was, he would steam round 
 us and return ahead of us to Annapolis to be ready 
 to receive us. When he met us he certainly turned 
 round, but did not succeed in keeping up with us, and 
 when we cast anchor we could just see his smoke 
 in the distance. Our ship certainly went along 
 nobly. We had it dreadfully hot while we lay here, 
 and thousands of people came from Baltimore and 
 other places to visit the ship. The President visited 
 us on the 9th. . He lunched on board, and had a 
 large party of his Cabinet with him. I had a long 
 chat with him on American trade, as it was proposed 
 to us to sail the ship between England and the South 
 with cotton. The President thought well of the 
 scheme. While here I went to Baltimore. It is a 
 large and well-built town. I returned by railway 
 from Baltimore to New York on the loth August, to 
 get matters completed there to enable us to sail for 
 England on the i6th from New York. We had 
 settled to call at Halifax, at the urgent request of 
 
THE "GREAT EASTERN." 77 
 
 the people there, so that they might see the ship, and 
 our run from New York was the quickest on record. 
 We reached Halifax on the evening of the iSth 
 August, and here we met with a little sharp practice, for 
 although we thus went out of our way to please them, 
 they charged us 350 for light dues, and, although we 
 appealed to the Governor, we failed to get it remitted. 
 This was not much encouragement for us to stop in 
 the place, so we determined to start next morning 
 and let the people see the ship in England if they 
 liked. We worked all night putting our paddle floats 
 out as far as we could, as the ship would be very 
 light before we reached England. The harbour of 
 Halifax is a very fine one, with very deep water up 
 to the edge of the quay. Our ship went within a 
 very few yards of the quay wall. 
 
 We got up our anchor at nine in the morning of 
 Sunday the iQth, and started direct for Milford Haven. 
 We had a very pleasant run home, reaching Cape 
 Clear on Sunday the 26th at 4 A.M., and we dropped 
 our anchor at Milford at 4 P.M. It was a very grand 
 sight as we steamed up Milford Haven. The Channel 
 Fleet, consisting of eleven or twelve ships, was lying 
 up the harbour in line, and, as we passed them, each 
 ship manned her yards and gave us hearty cheers, a 
 happy welcome to our home. A special train was 
 waiting to take us to London, but no one wanted to 
 leave the ship that day, and our departure was post- 
 poned until the following morning, amid the cheers 
 of the passengers. It is not often passengers wish 
 
78 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 to sleep another night on board ship after a 
 voyage; but such was the comfort of the Great 
 Eastern that all felt regret that it was time to leave 
 her. 
 
 The result of our voyage, although perfectly satis- 
 factory as proving the speed and comfort of the ship, 
 was not a profitable one. We carried very few 
 passengers in either direction and no goods, and the 
 heavy expenses in America used up all the money we 
 took for exhibiting her. Although this was our first 
 voyage, yet we were not stopped one moment on 
 account of any defect in the machinery. I was glad 
 I had accompanied her, although I will not again 
 undertake the duties of a showman either of big ships 
 or anything else. 
 
 The Great Eastern was laid up at Milford for the 
 winter, and put on the gridiron there. A good deal 
 was done to her. 
 
 1 86 1. We had been hard at work on the Great 
 Eastern all the winter at Milford, getting her ready 
 for another trip to America. We had some difficulty 
 in getting her off the gridiron. It was an awfully 
 wet and rough night, and, by some blundering of the 
 pilot, her anchors were not let go in time, and she 
 went into a man-of-war, doing her damage to the 
 extent of 350, which we had afterwards to pay. 
 She sailed in May and made a good voyage, return- 
 ing to Liverpool. She had about 7000 tons of 
 cargo on her return trip, chiefly corn, and the earn- 
 
THE "GREAT EASTERN." 79 
 
 ings of the voyage more than covered the expenses. 1 
 We sent her away again from Liverpool with a good 
 lot of passengers in September. We were in capital 
 spirits about her, and I arranged, after she sailed, to 
 go to Mr. Baker's house near Worcester, who was 
 at the time chairman of the Ship Company, to talk 
 over our future, believing a bright one was in store 
 for us. I went there, and we had just finished dinner, 
 and were preparing to close in near a comfortable fire 
 and have our chat, when the servant came in with a 
 telegram saying the ship was off the Irish coast. 
 This spoilt our wine and our hopes, and, instead of 
 discussing her future, we had to speculate upon the 
 cause of her return. Of course this led us to no 
 result, and we went to bed hoping to hear more the 
 following day. I had not been very long asleep, 
 when a knock at my door awoke me, and poor Baker 
 walked into my room with a fresh telegram in his 
 hand. I will never forget his appearance as he 
 stood at the foot of my bed to read the telegram, 
 wrapped up in a white flannel dressing-gown, and 
 one of the old-fashioned night-caps on his head, a 
 lamp in one hand, and the telegram in the other. 
 This telegram did not give us more information ; 
 so I went to sleep again, but in a short time 
 another telegram arrived, and a similar scene was 
 gone through. Next day we had full particulars, the 
 ship had got into a heavy gale and her rudder-head 
 
 1 It should be recorded here that in June 1861 the ship took out 
 2500 troops to Quebec. 
 
8o DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 had broken, and she was left for a couple of days to 
 the mercy of the wind and sea, until a temporary 
 arrangement could be made to steer her. She had a 
 very bad time of it, but got safely into Queenstown. 
 Both her paddles were carried away. We got her 
 over to Milford again, and put her on the gridiron 
 for repairs. These repairs were very costly, and 
 cleared away much more than our profits. We, 
 however, set about the work, and during the winter 
 got her all ready again for sea. 
 
 We started the new rail mill at Swindon in May 
 
 1 86 1. I had advised our directors to make their own 
 rails, and, at a cost of 25,000, put up a very good 
 mill. 
 
 I now began to think of retiring from the Great 
 Western. I had ample income independent of them, 
 and, in my own mind, settled to give up at the end of 
 twenty-five years' service, which would end in August 
 
 1862. I was further inclined to this by the prospect 
 of an amalgamation taking place between the three 
 companies, viz., the Great Western, the South Wales, 
 and the West Midland. 
 
 1862. I was a good deal engaged this year in 
 designing and building engines to work the Metro- 
 politan Underground Railway, as our company had 
 agreed to work it. Some years ago I tried some 
 experiments as to the distance an engine would work 
 without having any blast upon her fire, with a view 
 of making such a line of railway, where it would not 
 
THE " ORE A T EA STERN." 8 1 
 
 do to have the gases, &c., from the chimney dis- 
 charged into the tunnel. I simply made an ordinary 
 engine, but fitted it with tanks under the boiler, into 
 which I discharged the waste steam by reversing a 
 valve at the bottom of the blast-pipe, so that when 
 the engine was in open cutting, she worked like any 
 other engine, but when in the tunnel the blast was 
 stopped, and a good ash-pan damper destroyed the 
 blast. This engine I found answered very well, and 
 has been the one used. Many suggestions were 
 made. One was to fill the fire-box with red-hot 
 bricks at the end of each trip ; but such schemes 
 never would have been practicable. 
 
 Our big ship made three voyages to New York this 
 year, each time increasing the number of her passen- 
 gers. The last voyage, in August, she carried 1530 
 out, but unfortunately, as she was entering Long 
 Island Sound, she touched upon some rocks and did 
 a great deal of damage to her outer skin, one hole 
 being 80 feet long by about 10 feet wide, with three 
 other holes of less size. So little was this felt on 
 board that none of the passengers had any knowledge 
 of it until they got up in the morning at New York, 
 and then only from a list she had got from the water 
 between the skins on that side. This was a most 
 unfortunate accident for us, and I fear, to some extent, 
 a careless one. It was a fine moonlight night when 
 she struck, and she was at the time slowing speed to 
 take the pilot on board. The excuse made was that 
 these rocks were not shown in the chart. This 
 
 F 
 
82 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 accident detained the ship in New York for repairs 
 until the early part of 1863. The work was very 
 well managed without putting her on a gridiron, but 
 lost us about 70,000, and pretty well ruined us. 
 
 1863. On the 3Oth June the Great Eastern sailed 
 again for New York with a very large number of 
 passengers, and I went with her as far as Queens- 
 town ; but our funds had got so low, that on her 
 return from this trip we were obliged to lay her up, 
 and the bondholders took possession of her, all the 
 original capital having been lost. The two accidents 
 cost us not less than 130,000. 
 
 1864. In the commencement of this year a great 
 effort was being made to make another attempt to 
 lay an Atlantic cable. The Atlantic Company could 
 not find the money, and it was suggested to form a 
 strong company who would purchase Glass & Elliott's 
 works, and also the Gutta-percha Works, and, by 
 a good command of capital, be able to undertake 
 the contract with a large payment in shares and 
 bonds. I was asked to join this combination, and 
 become a director. This I did, taking 20,000 in 
 shares. Mr. Fender of Manchester was elected 
 chairman, and we had no difficulty in completing all 
 the arrangements. The Great Eastern ship was to 
 form part of the work. We had not been able to do 
 anything with her, and the company was wound up, 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF iS6j. 83 
 
 the bondholders being in possession. She was put up 
 to auction in Liverpool. Mr. Brassey, Mr. Barber, 
 and myself, being the largest bondholders (the bonds 
 in the whole amounting to 100,000), we then deter- 
 mined to buy her if she went for 80,000 or less, 
 and Mr. Barber went down to Liverpool to attend 
 the sale, when, strange to state, the ship was sold to 
 us for 25,000. We offered the bondholders the 
 option of coming in to form a new company, allowing 
 them to come in, taking shares equal to the amount 
 of their bonds as fully paid up. This the greater 
 number did, and we paid the others their proportion 
 of the 25,000 for which she sold. I then arranged 
 with the Telegraph Construction Company (the com- 
 pany we had formed for laying the Atlantic cable) 
 to charter the ship to them, taking payment in cable 
 shares to the extent of 50,000 for the work, they 
 to make all the alterations and pay all expenses. 
 I was elected chairman of the Ship Company, Mr. 
 T. Brassey, junr., 1 and Mr. Barber being the other 
 directors. Our Telegraph Construction Company was 
 formed in April 1864, an< ^ we at once set to work in 
 making preparations for the manufacture of the cable. 
 I spent a great deal of time, and took much interest 
 in it. We brought the ship from Liverpool to Sheer- 
 ness in July to fit her for the work. I came round 
 in her, and spent a few pleasant days at sea. The 
 remainder of the year was very fully occupied in 
 our preparations, and I often visited the ship at 
 
 1 Now Lord Brassey. 
 
84 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Sheerness. Putting the cable tanks in her made a 
 great havoc in her internal arrangements. 
 
 On September the 22nd, 1864, my old and good 
 friend Mr. Saunders died. He was one of the most 
 able of our railway men, and in his time had probably 
 had a greater amount of influence than any other. He 
 was a perfect gentleman, and much liked by all the 
 officers ; we presented him with a very handsome 
 testimonial in January. We had worked together for 
 nearly my whole life, and never had a disagreement. 
 He was always a good friend to his brother officers, 
 and a man of high honour. 
 
 1865. As Parliament was to be dissolved this 
 year, I had to begin my canvas, having been invited 
 to stand for Cricklade. I went to Swindon on 
 the 3rd March to meet a few of the leading work- 
 men, and appoint a committee. It was necessary I 
 should make this canvas early, as the cable work was 
 progressing fast, and I intended to go out with the 
 ship, and might not even be in England at the time 
 of the election, as happened to be the case. 
 
 I left the Great Western in September 1864, on 
 which occasion the officers and servants of the 
 company determined to present me with an address, 
 and to make a present to my wife. The 3rd of 
 June 1865 was the day fixed for my receiving it at 
 Swindon. Great preparations had been made, and 
 everything was done to show their kindly feelings 
 towards me. I hope those who succeed me will 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1863. 85 
 
 value that address more than anything I can leave 
 behind me, and also preserve the brooch and ear- 
 rings as heirlooms in the family for ever. Man 
 can receive no higher reward on earth than that 
 of the goodwill and esteem of those with whom he 
 has been associated through life, and my life had 
 been passed in daily communication, both as master 
 and brother officer, with those who gave expression 
 to their feelings on this occasion. I count this 3rd 
 of June as the brightest day in my life. 
 
 All things being ready for the cable expedition, I 
 joined the ship at Sheerness on the loth July. We 
 expected to sail on the I2th, but did not actually sail 
 until the 1 5th. The work of the ship was all ready 
 in time, but the cable department were a little behind 
 time. Captain James Anderson, of the Cunard service, 
 had been appointed our captain, and future experience 
 fully justified the choice. I found him a most able 
 man. While I was on board the ship, the election at 
 Cricklade took place. The nomination was on the 
 1 2th July; at this Lord Eliot and myself were elected 
 by show of hands. The poll took place on the I3th, 
 when Goddard polled 978, Gooch, 879, Eliot, 773. 
 
 July ith. 
 
 I begin my journal of my American trip to-night, 
 because I have now closed all my business matters, 
 and must devote my time to the great work we have 
 in hand. The work has the best wishes and prayers 
 of all who know of it ; its success will open a useful 
 
86 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 future for our noble ship, lift her out of the depression 
 under which she has laboured from her birth, and 
 satisfy me that I have done wisely in never losing 
 confidence in her ; and the world may still feel thank- 
 ful to my old friend Brunei that he designed and 
 carried out the construction of so noble a work. God 
 grant all may work together for the happiness and 
 welfare of mankind. I already begin to feel at home 
 in my cabin, and that I am severed from old England. 
 To-day I had a few lines of good wishes from some of 
 my old and kind friends. It is pleasant to feel I am 
 not forgotten. I will ever look forward to a happy 
 return to all that is dear to me in England, with the 
 hope that I may receive well-earned congratulations. 
 It is a bright starlight night. 
 
 Wednesday, July \-2th. 
 
 To-day is the nomination day at Cricklade. I have 
 often wondered how matters have passed off, and 
 wished we were in telegraphic communication with 
 Swindon, and whether my absence will have any 
 effect upon the result. Yet, if I knew it would have, 
 I am certain I would have been here all the same. 
 There is no comparison between the importance of 
 the two works. My getting into Parliament or not 
 will make no earthly difference to anybody, and to 
 myself, the not doing so will add much to my comfort, 
 and probably health ; 3>et, having made the attempt, I 
 will be disappointed if I fail. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 87 
 
 Friday night^July 
 
 Well, I sleep to-night as an M.P. Do I feel any 
 happier ? No. Has it in any way satisfied an 
 ambition ? I say no, for I do not feel I ever had 
 any particular ambition for the honour. I value it 
 chiefly for the warm-hearted feelings it has called 
 forth in those who have been associated with me for 
 a long, long time, and it is a sequel to the kind 
 reception given to me a little time ago ; but I look 
 back upon that reception as more honourable than 
 this. Having, however, taken the office, I pray God 
 it may enable me to do some good for my fellow- 
 creatures, and I will endeavour to do my duty, and 
 am grateful to those who have voted for me. What 
 a change in one's life may be produced by a few 
 hours ! All the morning my mind has been very 
 anxious, now it is at rest, and I have only one 
 anxiety left, viz., the success of the cable, the most 
 important of all. 
 
 Saturday night, July i^th. 
 
 This has been a lovely day, and put us all into 
 good spirits at so fine a start. We weighed our 
 anchor at 12.15, an< ^ have, so far, made a slow but 
 pleasant voyage. A couple of stays in one of the 
 screw-boilers gave way just before starting, and we 
 had to take out the fires to get new ones put in. As 
 we started and came along the coast large numbers 
 of pleasure parties in all kinds of craft came off from 
 
88 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 the shore to have a look at us and give us a cheer. 
 If the cheering and good wishes of the people could 
 make this ship a success, she ought to be most 
 perfect in that way. Go where she will, the voices 
 of the people are raised in her praise. It has been 
 a -most enjoyable sail down the coast, the sunset was 
 glorious, and now the sky is one blaze of light from 
 the stars. We are now off Folkestone; the lights 
 of the towns of Dover and Folkestone look very pretty 
 from the sea. All seems to go well. We left our 
 moorings drawing 28.6 feet forward and 34.6 feet 
 aft, mean 31.6 feet. The paddle engines have not 
 been making more than six and a quarter revolutions, 
 and the screw twenty-eight, our speed through the 
 water being only six knots. Before another cable is laid 
 we must have extra boilers put into the ship, as we 
 ought to have a larger margin of power. I also think 
 there is still a good deal of foulness on her bottom. 
 
 Sunday, July \>th. 
 
 We have improved our speed a little to-day, having 
 obtained seven knots, the paddles going six and a 
 quarter and the screw about thirty. 
 
 I spent all the morning sitting on the paddle-box 
 watching the gambols of that miserable Caroline? as 
 the seas break over her and wash along her decks ; 
 and one moment she is raised high in the air, and the 
 
 1 The Caroline, containing the shore end of the cable, was being 
 towed by the Great Eastern. j 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 89 
 
 next is almost lost to view down in the hollows of 
 the waters. I pity those on board, and they must 
 envy us, as we sit quietly looking at them with 
 scarcely any motion in our noble ship. 
 
 Tuesday ) July i8//, 12 P.M. 
 
 We have been on the bridge most anxiously 
 watching the Caroline : it was fearful to see her. At 
 one moment the light on her mast was lost below our 
 stern, and the next it was shooting up high into the 
 sky, at others, describing an arc of nearly one-third of 
 a circle. I trust she will weather the night safely. 
 There are about fifteen people on board of her, and 
 our expedition rests upon the shore-end of the cable 
 she has on board. If we lose this, we are done for 
 several weeks. It was a great act of folly to put it 
 into such a vessel. The night is cold, wet, and wild. 
 I envy those who are now quietly in bed in dear old 
 England : there is little rest for any one in this ship. 
 We hope to reach Valencia by 6 A.M. in the morning, 
 and I pray God the Caroline may also gain her port 
 in safety. The speed of this ship is not affected by 
 the wind, nor does the weight of the Caroline seem 
 to have any effect upon us. We are now off Bantry 
 Bay, making for the Skelling's light. I may as well 
 lie down and rest my legs, at any rate. A star 
 gleams out of the drifting clouds now and then. 
 
90 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 BEAR HAVEN, BANTRY BAY, Wednesday, July 
 We arrived off Valencia this morning at 6 A.M. 
 The night up to about 4 had continued very stormy. 
 At that time the two ropes of the Caroline chafed 
 through, and she was left to her own resources. 
 Fortunately the weather moderated, and we had the 
 great pleasure of seeing her get into harbour. The 
 two war steamers, the Sphinx and Terrible, were also 
 lying off near Valencia waiting for us. As it will take 
 a couple of days at least (even if the weather is fine 
 enough to do the work at all) to lay the shore-end, 
 the captain has determined to run into this bay and 
 wait. It is a long w r ay from our w r ork, being about 
 eight hours' steaming. We therefore, as soon as the 
 Caroline was safe, turned round and retraced our 
 steps. The day turned out beautifully fine, and it 
 was a delightful sail along the wild and beautiful coast 
 of Kerry. The Skelling rocks are very fine, one being 
 740 feet high. There are also two beautiful rocks 
 called the Bull and the Cow ; they have fine natural 
 arches through them. We arrived at our anchorage 
 here at five o'clock ; it is a well-sheltered place, but it 
 looks rather serious to see this big ship so closely 
 surrounded by land. A mountain just opposite to 
 her seems to be very high ; its top is generally capped 
 with clouds, and it rises very steep from the water. 
 Brassey and several of our party, including the press, 
 left us after dinner. They started in a large sailing 
 boat to go 17 miles up the bay to Bantry. When they 
 will get there is a very doubtful thing. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 9 1 
 
 BANTRY BAY, July loth, Thursday. 
 
 We are still lying here waiting for the laying of 
 the shore-end. The two war-steamers have joined 
 us, leaving Valencia this morning at 9 A.M., and say 
 the weather was then calm. 
 
 ATLANTIC, Sunday, July 2yd. 
 
 I had just fallen asleep last night when a loud 
 knock at my cabin door awoke me, and, after spend- 
 ing some seconds in trying to recollect where I was, 
 and endeavouring to get out of bed on the side next 
 the cabin partition, I got up and found a messenger 
 had come from Valencia Bay to say they were laying 
 the shore-end. The fires were at once lighted, and 
 we left Bantry Bay at 2 A.M., reaching the Caroline 
 at IO A.M. Steps were immediately taken to make 
 the splice, which was completed at 5.30, and we got 
 fairly away on our voyage. A glorious day, nothing 
 could have been finer, and our cable is now running 
 out at the rate of nearly six knots per hour, the Terrible 
 being on our port and the Sphinx on our starboard 
 bows, about a half-mile from us. It was a beautiful 
 and interesting scene all day as we lay together on the 
 waters of the Atlantic, about twenty-five miles from 
 the land, the two war-steamers, the Caroline and the 
 Great Eastern. Mid-day, the Hawk came off to us 
 with Canning, Sir Robert Peel, the Knight of Kerry, 
 and others, amongst them friend Barber. About 
 four o'clock matters were so near ready that the ship 
 
92 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 was cleared of visitors, and, as we started, every one 
 on board the ship thought it necessary to cheer until 
 I think their lungs must have ached. It was an 
 exciting scene. All our machinery works admirably, 
 and I see no human reason why we should not in 
 twelve days land it safely in Trinity Bay. Fine 
 weather is predicted by all, and we are now satisfied 
 it must be bad weather indeed which will seriously 
 impede our work. 
 
 Monday, July 24^/2, noon. 
 
 What a change a few hours may make in our 
 hopes, in our confidence. Last night I went to 
 bed perfectly satisfied all was going as well as it 
 was possible for anything to do, but at three this 
 morning was awoke by one of the ship's guns, and 
 on getting up to look out of my window, I found the 
 paddle engines were not going. I then made up my 
 mind something was wrong and went on deck. There 
 I learned the cable had become defective. Some 
 hours had been spent in trying to discover the place 
 where the fault is. About this there is still some 
 difference of opinion amongst the electricians. They 
 vary from about ten miles back to the shore-end. 
 The cable has been cut, and we are now getting it on 
 board again, but very slowly, and if we do not suc- 
 ceed better in getting steam, it will be the work of 
 several days. The early part of the day has been 
 wet, but it has cleared up again. This has not 
 served to raise our spirits. It is so far fortunate that 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 93 
 
 this fault has shown itself in shallow water, so enabling 
 us to pick up the cable again. After going on deck 
 this morning, I went to lay down again for a couple 
 of hours, and paid dearly for it by having a wretched 
 dream that our expedition had all gone to the bad. 
 I was so glad to wake up and find it but a dream. 
 Fortunately there is neither sea nor wind. We must 
 keep up our hearts and yet hope for the best. 
 
 10 P.M. 
 
 The hauling-in of the cable has been going on very 
 slowly, not quicker than about half- a- knot per hour, 
 but our electricians seem more confident that the fault 
 exists at the time the first intimation was given of it, 
 or about 10 or 12 miles back from the point where 
 the cable was cut ; we had gone about 78 miles from 
 the land. If the 12 miles is the extent of what we 
 have to take up, we may hope to accomplish this by 
 three or four o'clock in the morning. I trust it may 
 be so. We have telegraphed into Valencia for the 
 Hawk to come to us, and for the Caroline to go out 
 to the shore-end splice. It has been an anxious and 
 a weary day. I shall be truly glad when we have dis- 
 covered the cause of our difficulty. Our hauling-in 
 engine is not equal to the work, and hence our very 
 slow progress ; it wants at least 50 per cent, more 
 power. I can do no good on deck, and the night 
 has come on wet with a small rain, but here we have 
 been all day on the wide Atlantic, not an object 
 visible beyond the two war-steamers lying near us. 
 
94 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 We certainly are not overlooked by the public, yet I 
 can fancy if our difficulty is known in London it 
 will have a very important effect on Atlantic-cable 
 shares. This I do not care about ; I still believe our 
 work is to be done, and we will yet land the cable in 
 good working order in the bay of Heart's Content. 
 God grant it may be so, and then will our hearts 
 be indeed content. I shall now see if I can get a 
 few hours' sleep. 
 
 Tuesday, July 
 
 I do not know that I ever experienced the sensa- 
 tion of joy as I did this morning. Just as we finished 
 breakfast at 8.30 a message came down from the 
 deck to tell us the cause of the fault had come on 
 board. Oh, what happy news it was, for half-an- 
 hour before, the captain, Canning, and I, had agreed 
 it was useless to waste more time in hauling in the 
 cable ; we had only got in ten miles since yesterday 
 morning when we first began, and the electricians 
 seemed so uncertain in their calculation we thought 
 it hopeless to persevere, and had settled to cut the 
 cable and go again to our starting-point. Nay, I 
 think we would have done so then, but Canning had 
 been connecting another boiler to our hauling-in 
 engine so as to give us more power, and the steam 
 was not quite ready to try its effect, which Canning 
 wished to do in case we might need it in deeper 
 water. This slight circumstance saved us. On 
 examining the cable, the cause of the fault was found : 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1863. 95 
 
 a piece of the steel-wire used in the cable had been 
 forced into it, and had made a hole in the core. 
 The question that naturally occurred to us was : had 
 this been done wilfully, or was it an accident ? I 
 examined the wire with a magnifying-glass, and, as 
 both ends were sharp and ragged, it was clear it 
 could not have been done by a hammer, nor was it 
 possible for a man to push it in w r ith his ringers ; 
 there were no marks of a pair of pliers having been 
 used, so that we came to the conclusion, and I think 
 a correct one, that it had fallen upon the coil of the 
 cable, and the sharp end had entered the outer tarry 
 strands of the covering sufficiently to carry it through 
 the paying-out machinery, and that, in passing through 
 that, it had been forced in by the pressure of the 
 drums ; the position of it also agreed with the part of 
 the cable that passed out at the time when the fault 
 first showed itself. It was a very satisfactory thing 
 to feel this was the case, as had it been a wilful 
 injury we knew not whom to suspect, and would 
 have felt a constant dread of a repetition of it. All 
 hands were immediately set to work to get a fresh 
 splice made, and the cable carried out over the stern. 
 This was complete at 2 P.M. The captain and I 
 were standing together on the paddle-box as he was 
 straining ahead to get the ship on her proper course, 
 and just as this was finished we were coming down, 
 I to my cabin to write the account of the morning's 
 work, and had just expressed our thankfulness to 
 Providence, when we saw Canning coming towards 
 
96 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 us calling out " Stop the ship." My heart seemed to 
 sink within me, and he told us all signals through 
 the cable had stopped ; I felt as though I could have 
 jumped into the sea. Oh, what a cast down it was ! 
 We then tried all the joints on board to see if any 
 mistake had been made in making them, but no, all 
 was right. We then cut off the two tanks to see 
 if connection could be obtained through the one. 
 This did not help us, and it was necessary to begin 
 to make preparations to take the cable on board 
 again. I felt so wretched that I went down to my 
 cabin to lie down, for my head ached, and, if I 
 could only fall asleep and forget for an hour, I 
 thought it would be a relief. Sleep I found impos- 
 sible. I tried to read. This was little better, but in 
 about twenty minutes O'Niel came into my cabin and 
 said the electricians had got some signal through the 
 cable, and had hopes of doing better. I at once went 
 on deck, and, after a most anxious half-hour's sus- 
 pense, it was found all right, the cause being some 
 neglect or mistake at Valencia in not carrying out 
 the instructions. This is the excuse the electricians 
 on board make. What a miserable two hours they 
 have caused us ! But thank God, all is now perfect, 
 and we made a fresh start at 4 P.M., since when the 
 cable has been going out at about six miles per hour 
 in as satisfactory a manner as possible. The weather 
 has fortunately been very fine. There is a heavy 
 ocean swell running, but it does not affect us ; the 
 Terrible and the Sphinx dip their noses into it pretty 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF zS6j. 97 
 
 deep. Our splice to-day was made in lat. 51 58', 
 long. 12 9', or about seventy miles from the coast of 
 Ireland. The cable is reported to-night in a most 
 satisfactory state. I will endeavour not to hope too 
 strongly, and so be better prepared for disappoint- 
 ment. It was very hard work the last thirty-six 
 hours. 
 
 Wednesday, July 26tA. 
 
 All has gone on exceedingly well to-day, the cable 
 going out steadily at 6J to 7 miles per hour, and we are 
 now in deep water, or about 2000 fathoms. At noon 
 to-day we were in lat. 52 14', long. 15 n', having 
 put out 192 miles of cable. There has been a strong 
 wind all day until four o'clock. It came from the 
 south-west, with small rain, but has gradually got 
 round to the north of west, and dry weather is prog- 
 nosticated. The sea has been high, but very short, 
 so that this ship has been like an island. The 
 Terrible has been washing her decks over her bows 
 all day. The Sphinx stopped this morning to take 
 soundings, and she does not seem to be able to get 
 up to us again, as she was just visible in the distance 
 before dark. The cable tests have been very good. 
 I like our captain very much. He is calm and clear 
 in doing his work all through our troubles, though, 
 like us all, he was very anxious, yet, unlike many 
 captains, he had a cheerful and pleasant word for 
 everybody. He also seems to have complete com- 
 mand over all his officers. 
 
 G 
 
98 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Thursday, July ijth. 
 
 All has prospered with us to-day, the day having 
 been clear and bright, but a stiff breeze making the 
 walk on the paddle-box bridges rather a windy job. 
 At noon to-day we were in lat. 52 34', long. 19 i', 
 having run since yesterday 142 miles, making a total 
 distance from Valencia of 320 miles. There have 
 been 35 ij miles of cable laid, exclusive of an addi- 
 tional six miles caused by the loss of our course at 
 the fault. It is now passing out at 7J miles per hour, 
 with about 8J per cent, of slack, making the speed of 
 the ship about 6f . The poor Sphinx has not gained 
 upon us at all. She is still visible on the horizon. 
 The Terrible keeps pace with us. The ship is now 
 about in even keel. To-morrow night she will be up 
 in the stern. There is a pretty heavy sea running. 
 
 Friday, July 
 
 Everything has gone on well with us to-day. At 
 noon we were in lat. 52 48' and long. 23 16', having 
 run 155.5 miles since yesterday, and payed out 174 
 miles of cable. All the machinery for this is working 
 exceedingly well, and the cable is running out about 
 seven miles per hour. The day has been bright and fine, 
 with a strong head wind. All goes on so well, it is 
 difficult to get through the day. The night is very 
 fine, and the sun set beautifully. The moon has also 
 just gone down, but the stars shine brightly. I 
 wonder how they are in England ; whether in that 
 land of fogs (sometimes) it is clear there. Fogs or 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 99 
 
 no fogs, I should like to be able to go through our 
 cable and spend a day there. Patience, and I trust 
 this will come in due course. Now for an hour's 
 read in bed. Good night. 
 
 Saturday, July 29/72. 
 
 This has been a most anxious afternoon, having 
 had another fault in the cable. All had gone as well 
 as could be until 20 past I, when all signals with the 
 shore ceased, showing a much more serious fault than 
 the last. We were at the time laying the cable in 
 2000 fathoms water, at a depth of over two miles. 
 It was a very doubtful question whether it would be 
 possible to raise it again from that depth ; the trial, 
 however, was worth the making. Fortunately the 
 sea is perfectly smooth, so that we had that important 
 fact in our favour. At 9.30 to-night we succeeded 
 in getting the fault on board, and have good signals 
 at present from the shore ; the only difficulty now is 
 to get the splice made and the cable safely into the 
 water again. This will require three or four hours, 
 and it may be better to wait for daylight if the 
 weather keeps as calm as it is. Our good captain is 
 most anxious and attentive ; he has never left the 
 bridge since this trouble began, and will, I have no 
 doubt, remain there until all is again in work. These 
 are indeed very anxious hours, so much hangs upon 
 this little thread we are laying at the bottom of the 
 Atlantic so much of credit and so much of value in 
 the work, that my mind can, even when all is going 
 
ioo DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 well, never feel free from great anxiety. If it please 
 God to make this work a success, I shall not again 
 go out on a cable-laying expedition across the deep 
 waters of the Atlantic. It is a defect, I think, in 
 our machinery arrangements that we have not fixed 
 our hauling-in gear in the stern of the ship in fact, 
 made the paying-out gear do the double duty if 
 needed. With this ship I feel certain it might safely 
 be done, and much time and risk consequent upon 
 passing the end of the cable backwards and forwards 
 along the whole length of the ship saved. I shall go 
 to bed and get some sleep if I can until the new 
 splices are made, and trust that to-morrow we will be 
 going on all right again. It is a calm, foggy night, 
 with a small rain ; this has been the weather most of 
 the day since about ten o'clock. At noon to-day we 
 were in lat. 52 38', long. 27 40'. We have paid out 
 707 miles of cable, and have come from Valencia 
 634.4 miles, leaving us 1028.6 yet to do before 
 reaching Newfoundland. A newspaper was published 
 on board to-day edited by O'Neil ; it caused some fun 
 at lunch, but since Gur fault showed itself no one has 
 been in any spirits for fun. I think I will not let 
 fun enter my thoughts for an hour until this work is 
 either completed or a failure. Good night. 
 
 Sunday, July 30^. 
 
 The splice was made this morning at three. It 
 caught in the drum, and was so much damaged it 
 was necessary to cut it out and make another. This 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 101 
 
 was not complete until 8 A.M., when we steamed 
 ahead all right, insulation capital, and all has gone 
 on well since. We only made 25 miles progress 
 during the twenty-four hours, so that our position at 
 noon to-day was very little changed. The morning 
 was dreadfully wet, and it has been very cold all 
 day, but the rain ceased about ten. We had church 
 service this afternoon at 2.30, and I feel certain 
 many grateful hearts were there ; for no sooner had 
 the fault shown itself yesterday than the wind went 
 down and the ocean became calm as a lake, and so 
 it continued until we were again under steam this 
 morning, when a fresh breeze sprang up, and has 
 since continued. Had we had this breeze during 
 the night, there is no doubt we would have lost 
 our cable. 
 
 Monday, July 
 
 As yesterday was Sunday, we did not examine the 
 piece of cable in which the last fault occurred until 
 to-day. A piece of wire has been run quite through 
 the cable, touching one of the iron wires in the 
 coating, and also the conductor. But for these two 
 faults, we would have by to-day been nearly across, 
 and our anxiety at an end. We have had no diffi- 
 culty of any other kind. The precaution we have 
 taken is to remove from the tanks all strange men, 
 and do the best we can with the few trustworthy 
 men we have. I fear, on this trip, no more can be 
 done ; but it is a warning for the future, which I trust 
 
102 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 our engineers will not lose sight of. We are now 
 just about half way across, having paid out at twelve 
 to-day 930 miles. We are in lat. 52 9', long. 
 31 53'. The weather has been calm, and the ocean 
 as smooth as a mill-pond. 
 
 We saw a ship near us this evening. It created 
 quite a sensation, as we have not had anything to 
 look at over the mighty expanse of water. 
 
 Tuesday ) Angtist is/. 
 
 All has gone on well to-day with the cable. We 
 have paid out loSi miles, and are 946 miles from 
 Valencia, so that we have considerably passed the 
 half-way house, being now, or rather at mid-day, 
 only 717 miles from our destination. At noon the 
 lat. was 51 52' 30", long. 36 3' 30". The weather 
 has been very fine. Sea quite smooth. To-night 
 the wind has got up a little, but nothing to produce 
 the least motion in the ship. I have to go on watch 
 to-night in that wretched tank at twelve o'clock. It 
 is anything but an agreeable job to stand for two 
 hours in a tank of cable covered with tar, and, like 
 a girl with a skipping-rope, jump over the cable as 
 it runs out, say every minute, or else sit on the edge 
 of an iron bar with your legs upraised above the 
 cable. The night is cloudy and dark. The deck of 
 our ship has a very irregular look, lighted up with 
 long lines of lamps, more like the streets of a town 
 than a ship. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF iS6j. 103 
 
 Wednesday, Aligns t 2nd. 
 
 All is over, I fear, for this year, and our' cable is 
 gone. At 5- 30 this morning a fault was discovered 
 and the ship stopped. Steps were at once taken to 
 haul the cable in again. The depth was very great, 
 being over 2000 fathoms. Two miles were got in very 
 well, at 1.30 the cable broke a few yards from the 
 ship, and all our labour and anxiety is lost. We are 
 now dragging to see if we can by chance recover it, 
 but of this 1 have no hope, nor have I heart to wish. 
 I shall be glad if I can sleep and for a few hours 
 forget I live. This is indeed a sad and bitter dis- 
 appointment. A couple of more days and we would 
 have been safe. God's will be done. 
 
 Thursday, August ^rd, 11 A.M. 
 
 I went to bed at nine last night, taking a book 
 with me to read, but it was idle ; my eyes might be 
 on the page, but my thoughts w r ere at the bottom or 
 the Atlantic ; and I put out my candle, and at once 
 fell into a sound and comfortable sleep which lasted 
 until daylight this morning. Oh, what a hard and 
 bitter disappointment this is to us all, more hard 
 because so slight a matter has caused it. We have 
 not seen the third fault, and we do not know there- 
 fore if it was like either of the former ones. The effect 
 was like that of the first ; it was a puncture into the 
 copper wire, but there was no actual metallic connec- 
 tion between the copper and the iron wires. At the 
 
104 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 time of the fault, Mr. Field was in the tank, it being his 
 watch, and one of the men heard a click as if a piece 
 of projecting wire struck the ring of the crinoline, and 
 he called out " broken wire " to the man on deck. He 
 did not hear it, and the word was not passed on to 
 the men at the paying-out machinery to relieve the 
 pulleys. Immediately notice was given from the elec- 
 trician's room that the insulation was bad, and the 
 ship was stopped. At the same time that this occurred, 
 one of the men in the tank picked up off the coil a 
 short piece of the wire of the cable, about one and 
 three-quarter inches long, with one end freshly broken 
 and the rest rusted down considerably in size, form- 
 ing a taper piece of wire, quite sufficient to have 
 punctured the core of the cable, and been thrown 
 out in passing from the tank ; and as the effect on the 
 cable was such as this would produce, it is reason- 
 able to conclude that it was the cause. If so, then 
 we have three accidents, all very simple in themselves, 
 all very probable, and all very simply prevented in 
 the future. I did not know before that the fracture 
 of these steel wires was a very common occurrence 
 in the manufacture and coiling of the cable in the 
 ship, but there is no difficulty in coming to the con- 
 clusion that these solid steel wires are the mistake 
 and defect in the cable, and had they been a strand 
 of very fine material, a fracture could not have formed 
 a puncturing instrument. When they break they often 
 assume this position. 
 
 And it has been the practice to secure the end 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 105 
 
 down by a piece of sewing ; but as the fracture is 
 more likely to take place as the cable is running 
 out, no one sees it, and the result must in some 
 cases, out of the many that occur, be to drive them 
 into the cable at the paying-out machinery. We 
 have now about noo miles of cable on board; I 
 would cover this entirely with a sewing of hard cord, 
 and make any new cable, as I said, with strand, in- 
 stead of solid wire. Nor have I any doubt that 
 such a cable would be laid without any difficulty ; 
 we would have had none but for this one defect. 
 Weather having very little influence on this ship, and 
 however bad it may be, I have no doubt the only 
 effect would be to drive us a little out of our course, 
 and so consume some more cable, there is nothing 
 that can throw doubt on the possibility of laying a 
 cable across the Atlantic ; and as the insulation of 
 this cable has gradually improved as it was put into 
 deep water, until it is now twelve times better than 
 the contract standard, a cheaper material might be 
 used in the outer coatings of the core, and the whole 
 cable be laid at a much less cost. These will be all 
 matters to think over and discuss when we get back. 
 After the fault was discovered yesterday, we at once 
 got the cable round to the hauling-in machine at the 
 bows of the ship, and a little over two miles was got 
 in with great ease, the cable showing much less 
 strain upon it than we found the first time. It was 
 then cut on board to see if the fault had come in. 
 This not being the case, we began to haul in again, 
 
io6 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 but by that time, one o'clock, the wind had changed 
 and freshened a little, and it was more difficult to 
 keep the ship's head in the position wanted. The cable 
 caught on one of the projecting hawse holes and 
 across the stem. To relieve this, a man was sent down 
 to make a chain fast to the cable below it. This was 
 done and the cable freed, and the part where the 
 chain was fastened had been pulled inwards three or 
 four yards, when the cable broke. I have no doubt 
 the chain had damaged it ; it was a dangerous thing 
 to use, but I am told a rope would not hold. The 
 ship was taken back about ten miles and a few miles 
 to windward of our course, and grapnel irons lowered 
 with 2500 fathoms of line, and the ship allowed to 
 drift across the course we believed the cable to lie. 
 At daylight this morning we had drifted sufficiently 
 far to have crossed the cable, and we commenced to 
 haul up our line. One of the wheels in the machine 
 broke and delayed us some time, as it was necessary 
 to make use of the anchor capstan. We are now 
 slowly getting it up, and from the strain there is 
 good reason to hope we have hold of the cable. I 
 cannot say I have the least hope of success, but we 
 would not have been satisfied to leave it without a 
 trial ; but I fear, even if we have hold of it, the strain 
 will be too much, and the line will fail before we get 
 it on board. It is very extraordinary how the weather 
 seems to favour us ; in all our difficulties the winds and 
 sea have become calm. When I went to bed yesterday 
 morning at 2.30, it was blowing very hard, and the sea 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 107 
 
 running high in fact, as dirty a night at sea as you 
 would care to be out in ; yet by six o'clock it was 
 perfectly calm, and has remained nearly so until now, 
 and beautifully fine. The last couple of hours have 
 not been so fine ; there is both more wind and sea, 
 and the glass has gone down. It also rains, and 
 looks dirty. A few hours will tell us whether we 
 get the cable on board or not, although we will pro- 
 bably make one more attempt if this fails. There 
 will be many anxious minds in England to-day, as I 
 daresay this morning's papers would state the cable 
 was gone or in serious difficulties. How one short 
 hour has buried all our hopes, the toil and anxiety 
 of the two last years all lost ! This one thing, upon 
 which I had set my heart more than any other work 
 I was ever engaged in, is dead, and all has to begin 
 again, because it must be done, and, availing our- 
 selves of the experience of this, we will succeed. I 
 must now return to England to receive the sympathy 
 of my friends, not their congratulations, as I had 
 so fondly hoped. The cable broke in lat. 51 25', 
 long. 39 i'. 
 
 Thursday night, August ^rd. 
 
 There is no doubt we had hold of the cable this 
 morning, and raised it 700 fathoms, when the strain 
 was too much for our line, and it broke at one of the 
 shackles. This occurred about twelve o'clock. We 
 have resolved to try again, and have taken up a 
 position nearer the end of the cable. Where we 
 tried before was about twenty-five miles from the 
 
io8 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 end. We are now about seven or eight miles, but 
 unfortunately the wind has gone to the west, and as 
 this would drift us in the exact line of the cable, it 
 is no use letting down the grapnel iron, so here we 
 are waiting for a change in the wind. It would not 
 be safe to steam across it, as our speed would be too 
 much. The day has been foggy, wet, and dreary, 
 and the night is no better. I have just had a solitary 
 ramble for half-an-hour on deck, and shall get to 
 bed. Every one on board, since our accident, has 
 been very low in spirits, none more so than O'Neil. 
 I have not heard a note of music from him since, nor 
 do any of them seem inclined for a rubber at whist, 
 but they sit talking over our troubles. If we had 
 each lost a dear friend, we could not be a more 
 melancholy party. I certainly have no hope of 
 getting up the cable. Two and a half miles is a great 
 depth to fish. It takes us about two hours to get 
 the line down, and double that time to lift it. 
 
 Friday night, Augus 
 This is the night we had fully calculated upon 
 reaching sight of land, yet here we are still near the 
 end of the broken cable. It was not until twelve 
 o'clock to-day that observations could be taken to 
 determine our exact position, since which time we 
 have steamed up to this point, supposed to be exactly 
 over the cable, and about seven miles from the broken 
 end, and we have put down a buoy to mark the spot, 
 and the ship is now steaming a few miles to wind- 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 109 
 
 ward to drop our grapnel iron, and so drift across 
 the line of the cable, and see what we can do towards 
 picking it up. I have no hopes, and feel we have 
 now only one thing to do to consider what is best 
 to be done next year in the laying of another cable. 
 It must be done, and I will not rest content until 
 it is done. There is no difficulty in it, and further 
 consideration and examination convinces me that our 
 failure has arisen entirely from the solid wire in the 
 present cable. It is very vexing to be told to-day 
 by the electricians that the last fault was of such 
 a trifling character that the cable would probably 
 have worked well for many years had we left it in the 
 water and gone on. It makes one very angry to 
 think, to secure perfection we have lost the whole 
 cable ; yet I feel if the matter had been fully discussed 
 whether we should leave the cable imperfect or try 
 and repair the fault, as we had done twice before 
 with success, we would have voted on the side of 
 perfection. My own mind is quite convinced the 
 injury was not caused by any person on board, but 
 was the work of the cable itself. The day has been 
 wet and dry alternately, but a very long one. We 
 are not in spirits to get up any fun, and we go on all 
 day discussing our misfortune, until I feel more weary 
 than I would do after a hard day's work. This after- 
 noon I heard the piano again, and to-night whist is 
 being played, so that a portion of our party are 
 getting reconciled to our fate, which is certainly a 
 very hard one. 
 
no DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Monday night, August Jth. 
 
 We have had a very anxious day. When I went 
 on deck this morning, the fog had all cleared away 
 and the wind got round to the north, just in the 
 direction we wished it. Steam was immediately got 
 up, and we went away to the windward of the cable, 
 and to a point determined by the captain and Moriarty l 
 as one from which we would drift across the cable a 
 couple of miles from the end. At twelve o'clock we 
 began to lower the grapnel iron, and let out 2600 
 fathoms and allowed the ship to drift. We went on 
 all the afternoon until about seven o'clock, when the 
 increased strain on the dynamometer, which rose 
 from 42 cwt. to 63 and 65, led us to hope we had 
 hooked the cable. The ship also began to swing to it, 
 we therefore began to haul up at about 7 P.M. After 
 a very short time one of the wheels of the hauling-in 
 machine broke, making it useless ; we were therefore 
 obliged to use the capstan, which is a very slow 
 process, and will require fourteen or fifteen hours to 
 get it in. I greatly fear our tackle is not equal to 
 the work to be done, and do not allow my hopes to 
 assume so sanguine a colour. 
 
 Tuesday, August %th. 
 
 What I fully expected has happened again. After 
 hauling at our cable all night and getting it IOOO 
 fathoms from the ground, at 7.30 this morning 
 
 1 Captain Moriarty, R.N., assisted in the navigation in the expedi- 
 tions of 1865 and 1866, and was created a C.B. for his services. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1863. in 
 
 another of the shackles of the grapnel line broke. 
 The morning was very fine until middle of the day. 
 We put down another buoy to mark the spot we had 
 been lifting, and after a long consultation with the 
 captain and Canning, we determined to make one 
 more try with the best of the materials we have on 
 board, do away with all the wretched shackles, and 
 get all the additional security we can muster ; this 
 will require a couple of days. If we then fail, 
 we must at once return direct to Sheerness. The 
 time of making the trial is very uncertain, as we 
 need not only calm weather, but that the little wind 
 we want should be either from the north or the 
 south, or nearly so, to drift us over the cable at 
 right angles. The weather this afternoon has com- 
 pletely changed. It first began to rain about two 
 o'clock, and the wind gradually got up until noon. 
 It is now blowing half a gale, and the sea is rising 
 very fast. 
 
 Wednesday, Augtist 9//z. 
 
 The gale last night was a very sharp though short 
 one, and the ship was steamed 36 miles into it. Her 
 head was turned round at six this morning, when the 
 wind had very much diminished, but the sea was 
 very high. The rain cleared off, and we have, had a 
 fair day, with an occasional look at the sun fortu- 
 nately, or I do not know how we would have found 
 the buoy we put down yesterday morning. This, 
 however, was very cleverly managed by the captain 
 
ii2 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 and Moriarty, and at five o'clock we were close beside 
 it. The science of navigation is a very wonderful 
 one. To me the ocean looks only a pathless sea, yet 
 these navigators will bring you to the same spot from 
 any distance and from any quarter, as though there 
 was a huge signal-mast to direct them. The rolling 
 was pretty lively to-day, as much as five degrees each 
 way. 
 
 Thursday^ August loth. 
 
 We got our position this morning about seven to 
 drop our grapnel iron, and it was let down by 9 A.M. 
 2500 fathoms. There was a very moderate north 
 wind blowing, but a current of about a mile per hour 
 against us, so that it was necessary to set all our 
 sail to get sufficient drift upon the ship. She looks 
 very grand with the sail set. In spite of it all we 
 drifted very slowly, and without, I fear, getting hold 
 of the cable. We ought to have got it between one 
 and two o'clock, but the dynamometer showed us no 
 sign of any great increase in the strain, and at five 
 it was settled to pull up the grapnel and try again 
 to-morrow. It is now coming up slowly and steadily 
 with a strain of about 60 cwt. Some hope we have 
 the cable, but I fear not. Another five hours will get 
 the grapnel up. It is anxious and weary work, and, 
 following day after day, is very depressing. 
 
 Friday, August nth. 
 
 Our last hope has gone, if it existed, and our ship's 
 head is now turned towards home under full steam. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1863. 113 
 
 When the line came in early this morning, it was 
 found that the chain attached to the grapnel had 
 fouled it, and had been dragging it along the ground 
 the wrong way, so that there was no chance of our 
 hooking the cable. The grapnel and almost 400 
 fathoms of the line had been dragging along the 
 bottom, and came up covered with chalky - looking 
 ooze, and showing that the soundings giving 2000 
 fathoms are correct. Immediate steps were taken to 
 make another haul across the line of cable, and at four 
 o'clock the strain on the dynamometer showed we 
 had hooked it, when we immediately began to haul it 
 in. This went on very steadily and satisfactorily 
 until about 7.30, by which time 700 fathoms of line 
 had come in, and the cable was about 300 fathoms 
 from the bottom. We were all standing near the 
 capstan, speculating on the chance of a successful 
 result and our yet reaching Trinity Bay, when a loud 
 report like that of a gun, and the whiz of the end of 
 the rope, told us precisely what had happened, and 
 brought our hopes and trials to a conclusion. It was 
 a hard case, and cast a sad gloom over us for a time; 
 but there was the fact, and the conviction that even 
 if we had enough rope left for another trial (nearly six 
 miles having now been lost) it was useless. A signal 
 was at once made to the Terrible to send a boat 
 to us, and informing them of the result. Lieutenant 
 Prowse was soon on board, and we prepared as 
 quickly as we could a short account of our mis- 
 fortunes for the Terrible to take to Newfoundland, 
 
 H 
 
ii4 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 and telegraph on to the American press. Russell 
 had also kept a copy of his daily journal written up, 
 which was also sent, so that in a few days the full 
 account of our voyage will be known in America, and 
 people's minds set at rest. The weather, as was the 
 case in every instance when it was important to us, 
 had been all we could desire all day, and the sea 
 quite calm, but no sooner had the line broken, than 
 the wind began to blow hard from the south with 
 heavy rain, and in an hour the sea became covered 
 with foam, and a state of weather existed that would 
 have rendered our hauling in the cable quite impos- 
 sible. I fear the season will be too late for us to be 
 ready to pick up and complete the present cable this 
 year, and it will have to be postponed until the 
 spring. I wonder whether I will come or not ; my 
 present feeling is not to do so, yet I have a strong 
 longing to witness the completion of the work I have 
 begun. Well, we will see. I will make no present 
 resolutions ; as an M.P. I may not find it possible. 
 I expect this honour will be a great bother to me 
 and a great tie. Well, I had made up my mind to do 
 it, and do not now care how soon it is at an end. 
 
 Tuesday, August 
 How time softens all disappointment ! I begin to 
 look back upon our broken cable as a matter to be 
 regretted, but not one to discourage me in the ulti- 
 mate success of our work. It is true we have failed to 
 complete the cable to Heart's Content ; it is true we 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 115 
 
 have laid 1200 miles of the most perfect cable ever 
 laid under water ; it is, I believe, true that we can 
 come out with proper tackle and pick up the end, and 
 go on to lay the next with certainty this for a cost 
 not exceeding ^30,000. It is, therefore, no failure, 
 but a postponement of our final triumph ; we are not 
 beaten, but checked, and the final result is as certain 
 to my mind as it ever was. No doubt we were cast 
 down by the fracture ; it was very unexpected ; but 
 seeing, as we did from the first, the possibility of 
 restoring it, why should we have made ourselves so 
 miserable ? The human mind, thank God, is very 
 elastic, and soon recovers from any shock. We now 
 feel to have only one thought, viz., the best way of 
 completing our work, nothing doubting its success. 
 We have had a large amount of excitement to-day, 
 actually saw two ships; one passed close under our 
 bows, the other at some distance. Our men having 
 nothing to do, have been employed in getting the ship 
 clean and all in ship-shape order, and we certainly 
 look all the better for it ; in fact, we begin to look 
 very smart, and will be like a new ship when we 
 arrive at Sheerness. I hope we will have a good 
 stiff westerly breeze to go up Channel, that we may 
 show all the inhabitants of the towns on each side 
 that we can still cut a dash with all our sails set, 
 and show our noble old ship off to advantage. No 
 stars, but a loving good-night. 
 
ii6 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 CLEWER, Sunday ; August 2otk, 
 
 We left Brighton by the 1 1 A.M. train, and I reached 
 Paddington at one. How nice the trees and green 
 fields looked as we passed along. I left by the 
 2 P.M. train for Windsor, and found my wife had 
 not returned from Cornwall, where she had been 
 ten days with her sister. I had said I would not 
 be home until Sunday, so that she did not return 
 until last night. How nice Clewer is looking ! How 
 much I have enjoyed the quiet and beauty of this 
 place to-day ; both yesterday and to-day have been 
 very fine. 
 
 Now what has been the real result of our voyage ? 
 
 These pages will show the many hopes and fears 
 that filled my mind from day to day, and it will pro- 
 bably take many days of quiet thought to see all 
 clear and what is best for the future. Our voyage 
 has certainly not been lost to science. We have 
 gained an amount of knowledge that could only be 
 gained by such a failure as we have had. The 
 money is not, I think, ill spent. We have proved 
 to demonstration 
 
 1. That a submarine cable can be laid between 
 Ireland and Newfoundland. 
 
 2. That perfect and speedy messages at the rate of 
 five to seven words per minute can be transmitted 
 through the cable so laid. 
 
 3. That the insulation of a cable increases very 
 much after its submersion in the cold water of the 
 
CA BLE-LA YING EXPEDITION OF 1865. 1 1 7 
 
 deep Atlantic, and that its conducting power is con- 
 siderably improved thereby. 
 
 4. That the steam-ship Great Eastern, from her 
 size and consequent steadiness, and from the control 
 exercised over her by the joint use of the screw and 
 paddles, renders it safe and practicable to lay a cable 
 in any weather. 
 
 5. That the egress of a cable, in the course of being 
 laid from the Great Eastern, may be safely stopped on 
 the appearance of a fault, and with the paying out 
 machinery being strengthened and made to recover, 
 and so be used as hauling-in machinery, the fault 
 may at once be lifted from the greatest depths of the 
 Atlantic between Ireland and Newfoundland, and cut 
 out on board the ship, and the cable re-spliced and 
 laid in perfect condition. 
 
 6. That with perfect hauling-in machinery and 
 tackle a cable may be grappled for in any of these 
 depths and hauled on board the ship with certainty. 
 
 7. That with the improved telegraphic instruments 
 for long submarine lines, a speed of even eight words 
 per minute may be obtained through such a circuit as 
 the Atlantic cable of 1865. As the amount of slack 
 actually paid out did not exceed 14 per cent., and 
 as this included the additional amount caused by the 
 faults, it will be even less, making the distance 
 between Valencia and Newfoundland under 1900 
 miles. 
 
 8. That this cable, although capable of bearing a 
 strain of eight tons, was not subjected to more than 
 
nS DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 14 cwt. in paying out into the deepest water of the 
 Atlantic in which it is laid. 
 
 9. That there is no difficulty in mooring buoys 
 in the deep water of the Atlantic, and that two so 
 moored, even by a piece of the cable itself, rode out 
 a gale. 
 
 10. That more than four miles of the cable have been 
 recovered from a depth exceeding two miles, and that 
 the insulation of the gutta-percha covered wire was 
 in no way whatever impaired, either by the depth of 
 water or the strain of about 80 cwt. to which it 
 was subjected in hauling in, nor was the outer surface 
 injured. 
 
 11. That the improved construction of this cable 
 over that laid in 1858 shows an increase in the rate 
 of signalling of at least 33 per cent. 
 
 12. That the electrical testing can be conducted at 
 sea with such certainty as to discover the existence of 
 faults in less than a minute of their production. 
 
 These are facts proved by our recent experience, 
 and which may be said to have made certain that 
 which was not only doubted before, but by many 
 considered impossible. 
 
 On my return to London I was surprised at a 
 proposal made to me to take the chair of the Great 
 Western Railway. I was elected as chairman on 
 the 2nd November 1865, and took the chair at the 
 board on the i6th November. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE ATLANTIC CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION 
 OF 1866. 
 
 1866. The cable scheme occupied very much of 
 my thoughts in the commencement of the year. All 
 means of raising the capital by the Atlantic Company 
 had failed, and I saw no hopes of doing anything 
 through their powers. Mr. Cyrus Field came over 
 from America to work at it, and came to my house 
 late one Sunday night in despair. I then proposed 
 to him that we should start a new company, under 
 an agreement with the Atlantic to find the capital 
 and lay the cables, paying them any profits we might 
 get beyond a fixed amount. This scheme was at 
 once acted upon, and the Anglo-American Company 
 was formed in March 1866; but the difficulty was 
 still to raise the 600,000 required. I proposed to 
 our board at the Construction Company, that each 
 director should put his name down for 10,000 on a 
 sheet of paper at once, to show the public that we 
 had confidence in our scheme. This made some long 
 faces, but I began the list with my name, and nine 
 others added theirs, so that we had 100,000 round 
 
 the table. This good start had the required effect, 
 
 119 
 
120 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 and we succeeded in raising the capital, the Con- 
 struction Company taking a good deal of it, and set 
 to work in earnest to fit out the Great Eastern and 
 complete the new cable. Great consideration and 
 attention was given to the machinery for hauling in 
 the cable. Nothing could work better than our paying- 
 out machinery had done; but we required entirely 
 new machinery for hauling in, with good and powerful 
 engines to work them. We also put one of these 
 machines to work in connection with the paying-out 
 gear, so that, in case of a fault showing itself, the 
 cable could be at once hauled back, without cutting or 
 disturbing it, from the paying-out machinery. Every 
 other precaution we could think of from our former 
 experience was taken ; special dresses were prepared 
 for the men to be employed in the tanks, so that they 
 could not conceal any instrument by which damage 
 might be done to the cable, although I do not believe 
 the former faults were caused by wilful damage. A 
 full consideration of the matter last year convinced 
 me of this, and that the damage was caused by broken 
 wires in the cable itself, sticking out and piercing it 
 as it uncoiled from the tank. I had at one time made 
 up my mind not to go out with the expedition this 
 year, feeling unwilling to leave my duties at the 
 Great Western ; but as the time drew near, I deter- 
 mined to go, and I was afterwards very glad I did. 
 
 I took the chair at the Great Western shareholders' 
 meeting on the 2nd March for the first time, and was 
 glad to receive from the proprietors a kind and hearty 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 2866. 121 
 
 reception. It gave me confidence, and I had no 
 difficulty in stating on what principles I would man- 
 age the concern, viz., to avoid all further obligations 
 with new lines and extensions, to make as far as 
 possible friendly relations with adjoining companies, 
 and to cut down all capital expenditure to a minimum. 
 By the middle of June all matters connected with our 
 cable expedition had been nearly completed, and I 
 joined the ship at Sheerness on the 29th. 
 
 " GREAT EASTERN," Friday. June i^th. 
 Yes, I am again seated in this familiar cabin. What 
 is my present hope ? Is it the same as last year ? Do 
 I feel the same confidence ? No. The hope is as 
 strong, but not the confidence ; the experience of last 
 year showed me by what a slender thread our success 
 hung, how little might destroy all our hopes. Yet are 
 we this year provided with means we had not last 
 time, and for want of which I think our enterprise 
 failed ; yet it was a great and uncertain work, and we 
 must hope for the blessing of God upon our endea- 
 vours. This large party makes beds scarce. The day 
 has been very hot, and the night is a glorious one, the 
 moon shining so brightly over the water. I trust it is 
 the sign of a fine voyage. 
 
 THE NORE, Saturday^ June 
 
 This has been until evening a very hot day. We 
 
 left our moorings punctually at the time fixed, viz., 
 
 twelve o'clock, and the old ship was once more in 
 
122 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 motion. She moved out of the harbour beautifully, 
 amid the cheers of all who could see her in the ships 
 and on the shore, the guardship's band playing the 
 parting tune of " Good-bye, sweetheart, good-bye." 
 
 Sunday, July ist. 
 
 We passed Dover at 8.30 this evening, and there 
 discharged our pilot into a small tugboat that had 
 come out with some sightseeing people to have a look 
 at us. Several of those on board of her did not seem 
 particularly to enjoy it; it was very rough, and con- 
 tinues so ; the wind sings through our rigging, and it is 
 too rough to be on deck except under shelter. We had 
 church in the grand saloon ; Moriarty read the service. 
 Good night. 
 
 Monday , July 2nd. 
 
 The weather during last night was very rough, and 
 the wind right ahead ; we have consequently not made 
 as good progress as we expected. We were off Brighton 
 at eight in the morning, the St. Catherine's Head at 
 two, and Portland Bill at nine. It has been blowing 
 very hard all day, and we have had the satisfaction of 
 seeing that we passed all the other steamers going in 
 our direction, with the exception of the large American 
 steamer the Baltic ; she came out of Southampton, and 
 gradually got past us a few minutes ago. We had a 
 very narrow escape of a collision, just before I left the 
 deck, with a very large ship ; she seemed determined to 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 123 
 
 sail right into us, and nearly succeeded; our ship's 
 course was altered ten degrees to get out of her way. 
 I am a little disappointed with the speed of the ship. 
 Although we fancied her bottom was nearly clean, and 
 that a couple of knots per hour extra speed would be 
 obtained, we do not seem to have got it. Our distance 
 run, up to twelve to-day, was only 145 miles. Last 
 year we ran in the same time 147. I fancy the weather 
 then was quite calm, while we have had this year a half 
 gale to contend against. She has burnt only 183 tons 
 of coals this trip, as against 261 last year. I begin 
 now to get a little accustomed to the noises in the ship. 
 The first couple of nights it is not very easy to sleep ; 
 a great change from pretty Clewer in that respect. 
 As they seem to be winding up in the saloon, I will 
 also go to bed, and read for half an hour before I go 
 to sleep. Good night. 
 
 Wednesday, July 4//z. 
 
 We have not made much speed the last twenty-four 
 hours. At noon we were in lat. 50 55', long. 8, the 
 distance come since noon yesterday being 151 miles, 
 the coals burnt, 203 tons. We are now off the Fastnet 
 light, and have slowed the speed so as to spend our 
 time till daylight for going into Bantry Bay. This has 
 been a very rough day, blowing a heavy gale of wind 
 against us, the sea running mountains high. For the 
 first time, to my knowledge, the sea has come upon her 
 decks. I was on the grating at the bow, looking over 
 
124 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 to see her bottom as the sea left her, when a huge sea 
 struck her on the bow, and, mounting up her side, broke 
 over us, giving me a good wetting. Very many seas 
 struck her sponsons, and rushed up on to her paddle- 
 box on the weather side. During the night I was often 
 startled from my sleep by these seas. It sounded as 
 though the paddle-wheel was broken and was smash- 
 ing up its paddle-box. In spite of all this, the ship 
 was comparatively steady, the ladies and others sitting 
 about as though it was quite smooth. She rolled 
 through an angle of about 5, and pitched about lj. 
 It was very beautiful to see such a mass as this ship 
 rising and falling with the waves, like a yacht, only 
 slow and graceful in her movements. 
 
 BANTRY BAY, Friday morning, July 6th. 
 
 We anchored here yesterday morning about seven 
 o'clock, and are now hard at work coaling. We have 
 1 60 Irishmen assisting our own crew. 
 
 Several of our party left us to-day. I was very 
 much pleased to see the name of the steam-tug we 
 have in attendance on us. She came from Cork, and 
 is called the Brunei. It is rather a curious coincidence 
 that his name should turn up here in the midst of 
 labours in which he has performed an important part. 
 I hope it is an omen of success. Our party will be 
 further reduced to-day. We will probably by Sunday 
 settle down into our correct numbers. I am going 
 up the Bay. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 125 
 
 Sunday, July %th. 
 
 When I sit and think over the work we have on hand, 
 and all the many difficulties and uncertainties we have 
 to contend with, my heart sometimes sinks, and a cloud 
 of doubt will hang over me. God knows how we have 
 striven for success, and it will be very hard if we fail. 
 I cannot feel the same confidence I had last voyage ; yet 
 my reason and judgment tell me how much better we 
 are prepared for our task ; but the experience of our last 
 voyage has shown me how easy it is to fail, how many 
 things may occur that have not presented themselves 
 to our minds, and arranged to provide against. I will 
 try and hope that God will bless our undertaking. As 
 I look at the young fellows on board, so full of life and 
 fun, so free from care, I cannot help envying them 
 their light hearts. A messenger has just come from 
 Killarney with a message saying the shore-end was 
 laid last night, so that we may get away as soon as our 
 coaling is done. 
 
 Monday -, July <)th. 
 
 The day opened with a little better prospect of fine 
 weather, and by mid-day the fogs had in a great 
 degree cleared away, with the exception of long banks 
 of them hanging on the sides of the mountains. Cap- 
 tain Commerell l of the Terrible came on board, and we 
 spent some time in discussing with him the programme 
 of our proceedings. He enters heart and soul into 
 
 1 Now Admiral Sir J. E. Commerell, G.C.B. 
 
126 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 the work. In our discussions it was very wonderful to 
 hear these navigators speak of getting Greenwich time 
 every day. In the Great Eastern we will get it direct 
 from Greenwich as long as we are connected to the 
 cable, and the actual loss or difference between Green- 
 wich and Newfoundland will be only the one-twentieth 
 part of a second. It is marvellous to think of. 
 
 THE ATLANTIC, Friday, July 
 We are once more fairly at work paying out the 
 cable. We reached the buoy at the shore-end soon 
 after daylight this morning, and found the other three 
 ships waiting for us. There was a good deal of sea on, 
 with a strong southerly wind, and it took some time to 
 get into a position to pick up the buoy. This was 
 done soon after eleven o'clock, and the end of the 
 shore-end was brought on board at about twelve. The 
 splice was made, also a piece of the shore-end cut out 
 in which there was a kink, in about two and a half hours, 
 so that about three o'clock the head of the ship was 
 turned to the west, and we began to pay out the cable. 
 All seems to work remarkably well. To stand and 
 look at it, it is impossible to believe any difficulty 
 exists. The aft hauling-in machinery also worked 
 very well. There is ample power, and it is well under 
 control. We are progressing at five knots per hour. 
 The Terrible is a little ahead of us on the port side, 
 the Medway a little astern, also on the port side, and 
 the Albany is a little astern of us on the starboard 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 127 
 
 side, so that we form quite a procession crossing the 
 Atlantic. Nothing could have been more unfortunate 
 for us than the weather. It rained up to the time of 
 our starting very hard ; for a few hours it cleared up, 
 but is now a dirty wet night, inclined to be very thick. 
 It has been some amusement to see the young fellows 
 who have to go into the tanks in their fancy dress ; 
 they certainly look like convicts. We have arranged 
 that every one who goes into the tanks has to put on 
 this dress. It covers their whole person and fastens 
 up the back, and is without pockets, so that no one can 
 take anything into the tanks without its being seen. 
 The Racoon lay along side of us until we started with 
 the cable, and then steamed into Valencia with the 
 reporters and some of our friends. I earnestly hope 
 God will bless our great undertaking and permit us to 
 carry it to a successful end. The next twelve or four- 
 teen days will be most anxious ones to us all, and few 
 of us will get much sleep. I cannot see why we should 
 fail. I have tried often to find out a weak point, but 
 in vain. My friends in England will now see our daily 
 progress, and I have no doubt will look for the infor- 
 mation with great anxiety. 
 
 Saturday, July itfh. 
 
 I have now been a full fortnight on board of the ship. 
 It looks a long time since I left dear old England and 
 all it contains so dear to me. The night has been a 
 very variable one as to weather, a very thick fog during 
 the early part of it, and we had the amusement of 
 
128 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 hearing our steam-whistle constantly blowing up to 
 twelve o'clock; after which it cleared up, and this 
 morning the weather was fine and bright, with a nice 
 S.W. wind, all we could wish for cable-laying. The 
 Terrible and the Medway were under sail. The 
 Albany does not seem to value his coals, as he has 
 not put up any sails. We had a message through 
 from the shore during the night wishing us success. 
 I suppose they must have been drinking our healths 
 or their own pretty late, as it was after twelve o'clock 
 when we got the message. The answer was sent this 
 morning. We also had Greenwich time given to us 
 at II after 10 this morning, and have given it to the 
 other ships. Our position at noon was lat. 52 o', long. 
 14 o 1 . We have made 108.1 miles since making the 
 splice yesterday, and paid out 115.08 miles of cable. 
 The splice was made in about lat. 51 50', long. 11 6', 
 or a distance from Valencia of 27.5 miles, the cable laid 
 being 29.5 miles; so that we at nine to-day had run 
 from Valencia 135.5 miles and payed out 144.58 miles 
 of cable, equal 6.46 per cent, of slack, and our dis- 
 tance from Heart's Content is 1533.8 miles. We left 
 Bearhaven with 7807 tons of coals. I hear a steamer 
 passed us exceedingly close last night in the fog. She 
 must have been astonished to see so many lights. It was 
 fortunate she got through amongst us without any acci- 
 dent. We have had a very fine day, with a nice S.W. 
 breeze, and the cable has gone out beautifully. We are 
 now in deep water and all looks very well. The new 
 moon to-night was visible and looked like fine weather. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 129 
 
 The stars are also very bright ; the evening star shines 
 into my cabin window. We are a very quiet party on 
 board this year. We now have no music, nor do I see 
 any one play at cards. We, I fancy, all feel anxious 
 about our work. To-night we begin to use some of 
 the old cable, about 260 miles of it, so that for the next 
 two days I shall feel very anxious. I wish we had 
 none of it on board. I know it to be full of broken 
 wires, but hope at the slow speed we are going no 
 accident will happen. There has been no accident 
 on board to-day to give us any excitement, and our 
 principal occupation is to stand and watch the cable 
 entering the water so quietly and silently, I trust 
 never to be seen again. 
 
 Sunday, July i$th. 
 
 We, began to pay out the old cable this morning at 
 8.20; one broken wire showed itself, but otherwise it 
 has gone on quite well so far. We have slowed the 
 speed of the ship to a little under five knots per hour. 
 The position of the ship to-day, lat. 52 i' 15", long. 
 17 29', distance run since yesterday 128 miles, and 
 cable payed out 1 38.97 miles. We are 263 from Valencia, 
 and 1406 from Heart's Content, so that we are gradu- 
 ally getting on. If all goes well until next Sunday, we 
 will feel our work safe, as we will then be in shallow 
 water. 
 
130 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Monday, July i6th. 
 
 Another glorious day has passed over our heads, 
 and all has gone well with the cable ; by early to- 
 morrow morning we will have payed out all the cable of 
 last year, and I shall feel much more comfortable to 
 get to work upon the new cable. The sea to-day has 
 been one sheet of glass, reflecting the ships accom- 
 panying us in its bright mirror, not a ripple on its 
 surface, while light clouds have shaded us to some 
 extent from the hot rays of the sun. To-night I think 
 the sunset was as beautiful a scene as mortal eyes 
 could look upon ; all along the western horizon there 
 was a streak of yellow light below some dark clouds, 
 and, lighted up by the sun behind them, the effect was 
 that of a bright, beautiful country, and it was hard to 
 believe it was not land. 
 
 Tue s day ) July 17 th. 
 
 I am very glad to say we finished paying out the old 
 cable this morning at 7 A.M. It removes a great deal 
 of anxiety from my mind, as we were having an average 
 of three broken wires every watch. The speed at which 
 we payed it out no doubt saved us some trouble, as it was 
 possible for the men in the tank to examine each coil 
 before it went out, and in some cases to get a lapping 
 round the broken wire. The slow speed caused us to 
 lay more slack than we wished, but this is a small evil 
 compared with a fault. We had a great fright this 
 afternoon ; the danger bell in the tank rang, and notice 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 131 
 
 was given immediately on deck and to the engine- 
 rooms to reverse the engines and stop the ship. This 
 was all done very quickly, and in a little over her own 
 length, when it was found the cause was a careless act 
 on the part of one of the clerks in the electricians' 
 room, who, without knowing it, had put his arm on the 
 key which gave the signal. All were thankful there was 
 no real cause for danger, and the ship went on again. 
 
 Wednesday -, July iStti, 3 P.M. 
 
 When I finished my journal last night at about ten 
 o'clock, I certainly began to feel more confidence in 
 our success than I had done before, the new cable 
 appeared to be going out so well, and it hardly seemed 
 possible for anything to occur to endanger our enter- 
 prise. I went to bed more satisfied than I had done 
 before. But what poor weak mortals we are ! As I lay 
 reading only a short time after getting into bed, I 
 fancied I heard a change in the noise of the ship. I 
 listened, and hoped it arose from a lull in the wind, 
 and tried to read on, but knew not what I was read- 
 ing ; I felt that sinking of the heart as though it would 
 stop beating, and in a moment or two I was obliged to 
 get up and look out of my port, but the beating of the 
 heavy sea against the side of the ship and the roaring 
 of the wind prevented my being able to tell whether 
 the paddles were at work or not ; so I at once put on 
 my clothes and went on deck. It was pitch dark and 
 raining very hard, and blowing very roughly. I looked 
 down the paddle-engine-room and found them standing; 
 
132 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 I then went aft, and found a large quantity of the cable 
 on the deck all entangled like a piece of thread, and 
 the ship stopped, holding on by the cable with stoppers. 
 It appears that as the cable was running out of the 
 coil it had caught two of the lower coils, and pulled 
 it up with it in two long bights. All hands were hard 
 at work trying to get it unravelled, while the captain 
 was doing his best to ease the strain on the cable at 
 the stern of the ship a very difficult task, as the wind 
 blew so hard. It certainly was an awful night, and such 
 a task seemed hopeless. It took nearly two hours to 
 get the ravelled part of the cable back into the tank. 
 When it was eased gradually over the stern, the delay 
 before getting into our course again was about three 
 hours, and a most anxious time it was. All seemed 
 lost, and, from the state of the weather, had we put a 
 buoy to mark the spot, it might have drifted a consider- 
 able distance, and we of course had no chance of getting 
 any observation. The same fouling took place at six 
 o'clock this morning, but the men in the tank were 
 able to free it before it was lifted out of the tank, and 
 the ship was only stopped a few minutes. Every pre- 
 caution we can think of has been taken to prevent it for 
 the future ; but it is clear that this new cable free from 
 the tar has a tendency to spring up from the lower coil. 
 We have further reduced the speed of the ship, and if 
 we have any more of it, must have it all served out of 
 the tank by hand. A few days' delay is of no conse- 
 quence in comparison to success; but how anxious this 
 makes us all ! 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 133 
 
 10 P.M. 
 
 All has gone on well up to this time. The fog has 
 cleared away, and the wind is now due east, but there is 
 a heavy sea running and the old ship is rolling a little. 
 I have been watching the cable leaving the tanks for 
 some time this evening, and feel more comfortable at 
 the work as now going on. We have reduced the 
 speed of the ship to about 4^ knots, and I hope at 
 that speed it will not be difficult for the men in the 
 tank, particularly as we have increased their number 
 to-day, to prevent any similar accident to the one we 
 had last night. 
 
 Thursday, July 
 It is a week to-night since we lifted our anchor at 
 Bearhaven. May I hope in another week we will be 
 in sight of land on the other side. I will earnestly 
 hope and pray it may be so. Our cable work has gone 
 on very well since last night, and we were at noon 
 to-day in lat. 51 54' 30", long. 29 39', or 713 miles 
 on our way and 956 miles from the end of our journey, 
 so that we have now got the distance into three figures. 
 We made 112.2 miles since yesterday. I will not cal- 
 culate the future. Our after tank will be finished 
 to-night at about eleven o'clock, and we will change 
 into the forward one. It is a delicate operation, but 
 by stopping the ship, I hope it will be safely accom- 
 plished. 
 
134 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Friday ', July 2oth. 
 
 The cable in our aft tank was finished last night, 
 and the forward tank was commenced at 1 1 P.M. The 
 change was very well done by our men. The ship was 
 stopped while the last ten or twelve coils were paid 
 out. The weather was everything we could wish, calm 
 and smooth sea. For some time before this the sky 
 was overcast by clouds, but when I looked up into the 
 sky after watching the operation, I saw the evening 
 star shining in all its beauty a happy omen, I hope, 
 of the work to be done from the new tank. Oxford 
 Street now looks very cheerful at night. We call the 
 side of the ship where the cable runs Oxford Street. 
 The whole length of the ship is lighted with large 
 lamps about fifteen feet apart, and has quite the effect 
 of a long street, and it is a good long one, being 
 nearly one-eighth of a mile long. It was a great 
 advantage to us having such fine weather to per- 
 form so difficult an operation. All my friends in 
 England would be in bed, as we are now two hours 
 and more behind London time. This morning the 
 weather was very fine, and a ship and a whale 
 were seen ; but as I was not on deck, I had not the 
 benefit of the excitement. The sound of the bells on 
 the accompanying ships had a very pleasing sound. 
 They were very close to us this morning, and we could 
 hear them every half hour, like village bells in the 
 distance. Towards twelve o'clock it began to rain and 
 the wind gradually to rise, coming on also very cold. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 135 
 
 At one o'clock we were just half way across, and seven 
 days from making the splice off Valencia. At noon 
 we were in lat. 51 36', long. 32 47' 30", having run since 
 yesterday 117.5 miles, and payed out 127.46 miles of 
 cable. We were 830 miles from Valencia and 838 
 miles from Heart's Content. I should be glad to get 
 a good night to-night, for the last three have been very 
 bad ones, and I feel rather done up. I do not fancy 
 I am as well this voyage as I .was last ; it may be fancy, 
 but I certainly feel the anxiety more ; it is never ceasing. 
 I now hear the rumble of the cable over my head in 
 my cabin, and am constantly listening to it. This stretch 
 of the nerves day after day is hard work, and the mind 
 has no change ; morning, noon, and night it is all the 
 same cable, cable, cable. We get news every day 
 from Valencia. 
 
 Saturday, July list. 
 
 We had a much better night last night than it 
 promised. By midnight the gale had blown itself 
 out, and this morning the sea gradually went down. 
 It was some amusement to us to see our companions 
 using a patent self-acting deck-washing machine, as 
 they dipped their bows under the water and sent it 
 along their decks, while we were going along as steady 
 as a rock. During the forenoon we had some slight 
 scuds of rain, but they blew off, and the day since has 
 been beautifully fine. To-night is the first clear moon- 
 light night we have had. All has gone on well with 
 the cable. Early in the morning one of the flakes 
 
136 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 caught, but so slightly, there was no difficulty in check- 
 ing it ; yet it shows how necessary constant vigilance 
 is, and how soon our hopes may be blighted. I think 
 the feeling of confidence is rising in the ship. I hear 
 them speaking of our landing at Heart's Content. I 
 confess to something of the same feeling, but dare not 
 indulge it. As I walked along the deck this morning, 
 an old fellow, one of the men, overtook me, and looking 
 up into my face, said, " I think we are going to do it 
 this time, sir." Our telegrams from Valencia, I think, 
 bring the matter before the minds of the men. We 
 post them up written in large writing outside the 
 electrical room, and there is generally a crowd round 
 the board, some reading, others copying it down. I 
 had a telegram this morning at breakfast, giving me the 
 latest news of this morning, and Field wanted to tele- 
 graph to a person in Liverpool to ask if some informa- 
 tion as to the Newfoundland telegraphs had arrived in 
 Liverpool by the Java. The telegram was sent from 
 here, one thousand miles from the land, at 9 A.M., and 
 the answer from Liverpool came back at 2 P.M. To- 
 night we have a telegram giving us the news of the 
 defeat of the Italian fleet by the Austrians. I have 
 now been more than three weeks in the ship ; it looks 
 a long time. To-day we were in lat. 51 18', long. 
 36 l', having run 121.9 miles, and payed out 135.73 
 miles of cable. Our distance from Heart's Content is 
 716.7 miles. I remember well, as we passed over this 
 ground last year, Canning and I, on an evening like the 
 present, had a long walk on the deck, talking with per- 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 2866. 137 
 
 feet confidence of our arrival in Heart's Content, and 
 the day following all our hopes were blighted. To- 
 night we have also had a long stroll, but we tempered 
 our hopes with an " if," and looked forward to our 
 western haven as something we might attain to, but not 
 with certainty. God grant us our hopes may be realised. 
 
 Sunday, July 2 2nd. 
 
 A little before noon to-day we passed, about thirty- 
 five miles to the south, the end of our lost cable. I 
 looked to see if I could recognise the scenery in which 
 we spent so many anxious hours ; but the waves looked 
 very like what we have been passing through now for 
 some time ; the only familiar thing in the scene was the 
 old Terrible. At six o'clock we were over the deepest 
 water in the whole distance, it being 2424 fathoms. 
 We now gradually shallow as we go on. There has 
 been a good deal of talking to-day about Heart's Con- 
 tent. I will wait a couple more days before I begin to 
 paint any pictures of that happy land. I spent some 
 time to-night in the electrical room watching the signals 
 coming from Valencia. It is very beautiful to see the 
 play of that little speck of light telling you the wishes 
 of those who are sending it through 2300 miles of 
 distance. Our position at noon to-day was lat. 50 48', 
 long. 39 14', or 1075.7 miles from Valencia and 593.3 
 miles from Heart's Content. The amount of cable 
 payed out has been 133.14 miles, and altogether 1207.47. 
 There was a very beautiful sunset to-night. I hope 
 the fine weather will continue, but the moon looks a 
 
158 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 little hazy and doubtful. How enjoyable a quiet day 
 at Clewer would have been to-day ! This is my fourth 
 Sunday on 'board. If we go all right with this cable, I 
 suppose in a fortnight I will be back on this same 
 ground to try and get up the 1865 cable. Now for a 
 walk in Oxford Street, and then to bed. Good night. 
 Stars bright. 
 
 Monday, July iyd. 
 
 This is the anniversary of our start from Valencia 
 last year, and the beginning of many troubles. All 
 has gone on well with us during the last twenty-four 
 hours. The cable has continued to run over our stern 
 in a quiet and regular manner. It often makes me 
 wonder, when I go on deck, to see that same rope 
 running that I have looked on now for so many days, 
 continually on the move and working its way mile by 
 mile down deep into the dark waters of the Atlantic, 
 never to be seen more, yet full of life, and conveying 
 the thoughts and wishes of man through all that 
 mighty sea of waters. A message was sent to-day 
 and answer returned in eight minutes, the speed being 
 four and a half words per minute. This through 2400 
 miles of cable, a large portion of which is in the coils of 
 our tank, where the speed is much slower than it is 
 when stretched out in a straight line. The calculations 
 for distance reduced to the actual length of the cable 
 when laid, or say 1900 miles, and allowing for the loss 
 by the part in our coils, will give a speed of about eight 
 words a much better speed than it was considered 
 possible, as we are using the old kind of instruments. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 139 
 
 If all goes well for another thirty-six hours, we will be 
 out of danger and in shallow water. 
 
 Ttiesday, July 242/1. 
 
 Another day is gone, and one more will make us 
 quite safe ; we are now in 1 500 fathoms of water, and 
 by mid-day to-morrow it will be reduced to 500, in 
 which we can have no difficulty in dealing with the 
 cable. I am very weary to-night, and feel half ill. I 
 got no sleep last night, for I had not been very long 
 asleep when I woke up with the belief that the ship had 
 stopped. I listened a little while, but could not be 
 satisfied, so got up and looked out of my window at 
 the paddles ; they were going, but I thought slow. I 
 tried to hear the cable running along the deck, but could 
 not be sure. I then went to the grand saloon, and 
 thought I heard the rumble of the pulleys, so again got 
 into bed, but could not again sleep. Oh, what weary 
 hours these hours of the night are when you have 
 nothing to do but to paint pictures of misfortune ! I 
 was glad when a reasonable hour to get up arrived. 
 I tried to paint pictures of happiness in England, 
 recalled happy hours, but it was hard to keep my 
 thoughts on anything but the cable. I then recalled 
 the scene in the tank, and felt it must all go on well, 
 but no sleep would give me a few hours of oblivion. 
 In the daytime, when I am about and can watch the 
 cable, I then feel confidence, but night is very hard. 
 To-day all has gone on well ; the weather, with the 
 
140 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 exception of a couple of hours in the middle of the 
 day, has been a thick fog, and the steam-whistle has 
 been regularly at work, but we have made our usual 
 progress, being at noon in lat. 49 45', long. 45 21', 
 and have run a distance of 122.7 miles and payed 
 out 134.82 miles of cable. We are now 1319.6 miles 
 on our journey and have 349.4 miles to go, so that if 
 all goes well we will finish our work and land our cable 
 on Friday. The forward tank is now just empty, and 
 at eleven to-night we will change the middle tank. It 
 will be my last walk in Oxford Street, as two-thirds of 
 it will be cut off when we are paying out of the middle 
 tank. This changeable Atlantic ! When I sat down 
 to write this I could see the moon out of my window 
 through the fog, and it is now raining very hard ; I hear 
 it against my window. If it continues like this we will 
 get a good wetting when it is time to go on deck and 
 change tanks. Well, I will try and read for half-an- 
 hour and then go on deck and see the change of tanks 
 made, and will hope for some sleep afterwards. 
 
 Wednesday ) July 2^th. 
 
 Thank God, our cable is now safe ; that is, we are 
 certain to complete it, for now we are in shallow 
 water, and if any accident did occur, we could with- 
 out difficulty, and with very little loss of time, pick 
 it up, our depth now being only about 700 fathoms. 
 To-morrow early we will be in 170 fathoms, or 
 where we can drop an anchor. What a relief this is 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 141 
 
 to us all. It has been a hard fortnight; that is a 
 long time to feel that from one minute to another 
 you might be involved in misfortune. Those who are 
 on shore, and get the information once a day, make up 
 their minds that for twenty-four hours they cannot hear 
 anything more, and so are reconciled to the delay, but 
 we could not feel certain for a moment. Well, it is 
 over, and success in so great a work will amply reward 
 us. All on board have certainly done their duty like 
 Englishmen ; they have never flagged in attention and 
 zeal, nor could have behaved better ; and I say this 
 of all ship's crew, cablemen, electricians, engineers 
 in fact, every department have thrown their whole heart 
 into the work, and will greatly rejoice at the success. 
 Long may they be spared in health and happiness to 
 boast of it. We finished the forward tank last night 
 about eleven o'clock, and commenced the middle. The 
 change was made in a most satisfactory manner. The 
 night was calm, but wet, and to-day we have had 
 nothing but thick fog and heavy rain, the steam- 
 whistles going all day. I hope we may have the next 
 two days clear, to enable us comfortably and without 
 delay to make our port. The Albany will go ahead the 
 first thing in the morning to look out for the land, and 
 for a Government ship that has been stationed about 
 thirty-five miles from Heart's Content to guide us into 
 the harbour ; but if the fog is as thick as it is to-day, it 
 will not be safe to take this large ship in. If all be 
 well, we will land the shore-end on Friday, and see 
 what kind of a place it is we are going to. 
 
142 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Thursday, July ibth. 
 
 How changed is our ship to-day; every one seems 
 as though a heavy load of care and anxiety has been 
 removed from his mind. We undoubtedly, for the 
 last fortnight, have been a gloomy lot, almost afraid 
 to smile or laugh, in case the next second might turn 
 our laugh into crying. 
 
 We have achieved our great object and laid our 
 cable from shore to shore, along which the lightning 
 may now flash messages of peace and goodwill be- 
 tween two kindred nations. Is it wrong that I should 
 have felt as though my heart would burst when that 
 end of our long line touched the shore amid the boom- 
 ing of cannon, the wild half-mad cheers and shouts 
 of the men ? It seemed more than I could bear. How 
 many anxious hours has the realisation of this day cost 
 me ; yet I am rewarded. I am given a never-dying 
 thought "that I aided in laying the Atlantic cable." 
 Future years may show that many have been laid, but 
 the experience of the first, although it may and will 
 make others less difficult, can never make the task a 
 light one. It must ever be one of great risk, so little 
 can destroy it. We have now to bend our thoughts and 
 energies to picking up the old cable. 
 
 At four this morning I heard a gun fire, and went on 
 deck, when I found there was a patch of land visible on 
 our port side, but all around was fog. We were, how- 
 ever, in Trinity Bay, and could see the accompanying 
 ships. By degrees, but very slowly, the fog cleared off, 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 143 
 
 and by seven o'clock we had it pretty clear, and then 
 got a view of the land on each side. The outline of the 
 hills is very pretty, but barren, that is, of cultivation ; 
 they are covered with a small, stunted fir, and some 
 kind of undergrowth. Soon after nine we had got up 
 to the place where we had fixed to begin the heavy 
 shore-end. The paddle-box boats of the Terrible were 
 sent to us to carry the end of the cable, and prepara- 
 tions were made to cut it off from the Great Eastern. 
 This was all complete by ten o'clock, when it was cut, 
 and the work of the Great Eastern was over. I left 
 her and went on board the Medway ; soon after which, 
 the Great Eastern, turning round upon her centre by 
 the united action of the screw and paddles, to the 
 astonishment of all in the other vessels who saw the 
 operation, put on steam and went majestically off to 
 her anchorage in Heart's Content Bay. By this time 
 the day was lovely and warm, with a nice bright sun 
 and clear atmosphere. The end was then carried to 
 the Medway -, and the operation of making the splice 
 to the shore-end was begun. This occupied about 
 three hours, when we moved ahead, gradually paying 
 out the heavy cable. All went out well, and we got 
 as near the shore as we could say 100 yards 
 and dropped our anchor. Canning and I then 
 landed, to determine the best place to land the end. 
 Having fixed upon this, the cable was coiled in one 
 of the paddle-box boats, and assisted by some other 
 ship's boats, it was slowly laid into its watery bed to 
 the land. There then was the wildest excitement 
 
144 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 I had ever witnessed. All seemed mad with joy, 
 jumping into the water and shouting as though they 
 wished the sound to be heard at Washington. As 
 soon as the cable touched the land a signal from the 
 shore was made, and all the ships in the harbour fired 
 a salute. I do not know how many guns were fired, 
 but the noise was something tremendous, and the 
 smoke soon hid the ships from our view. The rever- 
 berations of the sound of the guns amongst the hills 
 round the bay was very grand. While the cable was 
 being stored in the boats and coming on shore, we had 
 employed a lot of the natives to cut the trench for it 
 up to the little wooden house now used as a telegraph 
 office. A very short time was needed to carry the end 
 up to this house. As soon as it reached there, which 
 it did at four (local time), another wild scene of excite- 
 ment took place. The old cable hands seemed as though 
 they could eat the end ; one man actually put it into his 
 mouth and sucked it. They held it up and danced round 
 it, cheering at the top of their voices. It was a strange 
 sight nay, a sight that filled our eyes with tears. 
 Yes, I felt not less than they did. I did cheer, but I 
 could better have silently cried. Well, it is a feeling 
 that will last my life ; it will be one of those thoughts 
 which will assist to bring peace to my mind when other 
 matters trouble it. I am glad two of my boys were 
 present to enjoy and glory in their part of so noble 
 a work. They may, long after I am gone, tell their 
 children of what we did. Steps were now taken to 
 couple the end with the instruments in the house, and 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 145 
 
 get ready for work. While this was being done, we 
 all went to the little wooden church in the village, the 
 clergyman having offered to perform the service. There 
 were three clergymen assembled to see the cable, and 
 all took part in the service, which was very nicely 
 done, the clergyman of the village reading the prayers, 
 a couple of hymns were sung, and we all earnestly 
 returned our thanks to God in the words of the thanks- 
 giving in the Prayer Book, " Particularly to those who 
 desire to offer up their praises and thanksgiving for 
 Thy late mercies vouchsafed to them in the perfor- 
 mance of the great work they have just completed." 
 After church was over, I then had the first telegram 
 sent through the cable from shore to shore. It was as 
 follows : 
 
 " Mr. GoocJi, Heart's Content, to Mr. Glass, Valencia, 
 July 27th, 6 P.M. 
 
 "Our shore-end has just been laid, and a most 
 perfect cable, under God's blessing, has completed tele- 
 graphic communication between England and the con- 
 tinent of America. 
 
 " I cannot find words fully to express my deep sense 
 of the untiring zeal and the earnest and cheerful manner 
 in which every one on board, from the highest to the 
 lowest, has performed the anxious and arduous duties 
 they in their several departments have had to perform ; 
 their untiring energy, and able and watchful care, night 
 and day, for a period of two weeks, required to complete 
 
146 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 this work, can only be fully understood and appreciated 
 by one who like myself has seen it. All have faithfully 
 done their duty and glory in their success, and heartily 
 join with me in congratulations to our friends in Eng- 
 land who have also laboured in carrying out this great 
 work." 
 
 I felt the first words our child ought to speak was 
 to express to those engaged in its birth its thanks for 
 their able aid; and, indeed, all have well done their duty. 
 The second message through the cable was as follows : 
 
 " D. Gooch, Heart's Content, to Lord Stanley ^ Foreign 
 Office, Whitehall, London, July 271/1, 6.30 P.M. 
 
 " Mr. Gooch has the pleasure to inform Lord Stanley 
 that the Newfoundland shore-end of the Atlantic cable 
 was laid to-day, and the most perfect telegraphic 
 communication established between England and the 
 continent of America. God grant it may be a lasting 
 source of great benefit to our country. The message 
 of Her Majesty to the President of the United States 
 has been received, and I hope the arrangements for 
 communicating across the Gulf of St. Lawrence will 
 be completed by Monday, when the message will be 
 at once forwarded." 
 
 This message reached me at breakfast time this 
 morning. It is to the following effect : 
 
 " Lord Stanley requests that the following message 
 may be forwarded immediately : 
 
 1 Now the Earl of Derby. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 147 
 
 " The Queen , Osborne, to the President of the United 
 States, Washington. 
 
 "The Queen congratulates the President on the 
 successful completion of an undertaking which she 
 hopes may serve as an additional bond of union be- 
 tween the United States and England." 
 
 As our success is now known in England, I feel 
 there will be many kind hearts that will rejoice with 
 me. How I wish I could pass over by telegraph, and 
 receive their congratulations and see their pleasure. 
 Well, that day will come after we have done something 
 more for fame, and picked up the cable of 1865. In the 
 meantime I will picture to myself all I know I would 
 receive if I could be there now, and will now conclude 
 a feeble description of a red letter day in my life. 
 
 Saturday, July 
 
 The leader of the Times on the cable, of which an 
 extract was sent, says, " It is a great work, a glory to 
 our age and nation, and the men who have achieved it 
 deserve to be honoured among the benefactors of their 
 race." 
 
 Walking along the deck after this was posted on 
 our news board, some sailors had stopped to read it ; 
 one of them after doing so said to the other, " I say, 
 Bill, we be benefactors to our race." " Yes," says Bill, 
 " we be," and he strutted along with his back straight 
 and his head at least two inches higher. 
 
148 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 HEART'S CONTENT, Wednesday, August ist. 
 It must be awfully solitary work living in such a 
 place, with only a few acres cleared around you, and 
 all the rest wild mountain and wood. We got a few 
 white roses, almost the only flowers in what they call 
 a garden, and there was only one tree of this. We 
 got back to the ship for dinner after a pleasant walk, 
 as the weather on our return had cleared up, and was 
 at any rate dry. 
 
 Friday, August yd. 
 
 A telegram was sent through the cable to-day coming 
 from Vancouver's Island, a distance of 6000 miles. All 
 is working well, and I am getting very impatient of our 
 delay here. I want to get off to the fishing ground and 
 get up the old cable, so that we may return to England. 
 It is five weeks to-day since I came to the ship, a long 
 time, and I fear it will be in any case nearly a month 
 before I get back. 
 
 Saturday, August ^th. 
 
 This has been a lovely day, and we have had a 
 strong party on board. I suppose some twenty-four or 
 twenty-five ladies have been here, and ten or twelve of 
 them are sleeping on board a pretty noise they are 
 making with their dancing and singing. I hope they 
 will not forget it is Saturday night, and let me get to 
 sleep by twelve o'clock. 
 
 The work on the cable is going on very well. Yester- 
 day we had fifty messages, paying us, I suppose, not 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 149 
 
 less than 1200. This will do as a start, as it is equal 
 to between 300,000 and 400,000 a year. If we only 
 had the line open direct to America, it will, I have no 
 doubt, increase very much ; the delay now sadly inter- 
 feres with the receipts. 
 
 BACK IN THE ATLANTIC, Thursday^ August qth. 
 We got our anchor up at twelve o'clock, and began 
 to move out of the harbour at 12.10. I hope to return 
 to it in ten or twelve days with cable No. 2. I trust 
 this will be done, and have great confidence it will be. 
 May God grant us success. I am in hopes, when we 
 reach the broken end on Sunday, we will find the 
 Terrible and the Albany have got a buoy on the cable; 
 if so, our delay there will not be long. The Medway 
 is steaming close to us. We got rid of all our party 
 out of the ship at about nine o'clock, and right glad 
 was I to see the ship cleared and the last boatload go 
 off to the Lily. We breakfasted at seven o'clock, so as 
 to get them away early, and we had hoped to start by 
 ten, but the chains of the anchors got twisted, and it 
 took some time to get them cleared. It was a lovely 
 morning, and very hot until we got out of the harbour 
 of Heart's Content, when some heavy rain came on, and 
 it has been cooler since. How strange it is to part 
 and say good-bye to people you have been seeing 
 frequently for a couple of weeks, and with whom you 
 have got up a kind of friendship, knowing well there 
 is no chance of your ever meeting again, that your 
 
150 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 good-bye is a final one. It was so with two or three 
 we saw this morning for the last time. They have 
 shown us all the kindness and hospitality in their 
 power. The Lily left at the same time we did, and 
 goes direct to St. John's. Our ship is drawing 26 feet 
 forward and 3 2 feet aft, so that she is a couple of feet 
 too deep by the stern for good trim, but we have been 
 making about nine knots per hour. I got my last news 
 from England just as we were starting, so that at twelve 
 o'clock here I had the prices and London news up to 
 twelve o'clock there. It will be some days before we 
 may hear anything new, but if we get up the broken 
 cable we will then be in communication with Valencia 
 again. I can fancy how glad some of my friends will 
 be if they hear, as they will at once, should we get 
 hold of that old end we lost twelve months ago, and 
 thus make our summer's work complete, and it will be 
 very complete, and content me with the work of cable- 
 laying. I can then with satisfaction give it up to 
 younger hands. 
 
 Saturday, August nth. ' 
 
 Twelve months ago to-day we left our fishing ground 
 and returned to England. To-morrow we will be on 
 the same spot, and for the same object. We are now 
 anxiously looking forward to meeting the Albany and 
 Terrible, and learning what they have done towards 
 picking up the cable. I fancy we will reach them about 
 two o'clock to-morrow, and then we will get a very good 
 notion of our chance of success. It rained very hard 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 151 
 
 all last night, and did not clear up until between nine 
 and ten this morning, when it gradually up to mid- 
 day brightened, and enabled an observation to be taken 
 at twelve. We were then in lat. 50 12', long. 44 40', 
 and had done 192 miles since yesterday. We are not 
 making the speed I hoped we would. Since mid-day 
 to-day a strong wind has sprung up, and we have put 
 some sail on the ship. This may help us a little. The 
 sea has become very angry, and it is a fine sight to 
 stand on the paddle-box and see it striking on the side 
 of the ship, and then bounding off again in a mass of 
 white foam, the wind carrying the spray some distance, 
 but the whole surface of the sea is covered with white 
 foam, and the notion is it will blow harder during the 
 night. I am glad now of anything that saves time, and 
 as the wind is in our favour, the harder it blows the 
 better for my task. I find the days get very long, and 
 I long to see the end of our voyage. There is now 
 nothing to interest one, and walking the deck and 
 reading all day becomes very monotonous and weary- 
 ing. We saw a full-rigged ship to-night in the distance. 
 The Medway is showing plenty of life. Charlie is on 
 board of her, and I fancy is wishing himself back in the 
 Great Eastern to-night. The night is cloudy and the 
 stars not visible, and I am going to bed at 9.30 to have 
 a quiet read, if I do not go to sleep. Every one in the 
 ship was complaining yesterday of not feeling well 
 some were in bad spirits, some had headache, and all 
 were weary and sleepy. I certainly felt the latter very 
 strongly, and have to-day had a heavy feel, but no 
 
152 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 headache. We do not get any telegrams now, and do 
 not know what is going on in the world, but in a few 
 days, if we have good luck, we will be able to converse 
 again through our cable. 
 
 Sunday, August 12 th. 
 
 Here we are once more in our old fishing ground, 
 lat. 51 26', long. 38 57', and a nice time we have had 
 of it the last twenty-four hours. The old ship has 
 been trying to show us what she can do in the way of 
 rolling, and has given us the benefit. The wind and 
 sea got up late last night from the south-west, and I 
 soon found it was impossible to sleep. I was rolled 
 from one side of my bed to the other like a rolling pin, 
 and heard first one thing and then another tumble down 
 on the floor. When I went on deck the sea was very 
 grand. As I looked over it I could imagine lines of 
 mountains capped with snow, and the boiling and surg- 
 ing of the waves against the side of the ship was grand 
 in the extreme. Several times they dashed up the 
 side, and the wind catching the top, carried the spray 
 of water right across the ship. The Medway, although 
 not a quarter of a mile from us, was often hidden from 
 our sight, even when standing on the top of our high 
 paddle-box. Often the waves came rushing upon us, 
 their tops higher than our decks, as though they 
 intended to swallow us up. It is an awful scene, 
 these angry waters of the Atlantic, and our old ship 
 rolled about in them as though she was a cork, instead 
 of the mighty mass she is. She rolled pretty regularly 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 153 
 
 about 36, making about five rolls per minute. We 
 have been obliged to have the fiddles on the tables all 
 day, and at lunch my chair began a rapid slide across 
 the cabin, leaving me on my hands and knees on the 
 floor. The day has been fine, with scuds of fine rain, 
 and as the wind has changed, the sea is going down, 
 so I hope we will have a better night, and a fine day 
 for our work to-morrow. We came in sight of the 
 Albany at two o'clock, and soon after saw the Terrible. 
 Our captain had steered for them well, as they were 
 right ahead in our course. At three we came up to 
 the Albany, and one of the buoys she had put down at 
 about a mile and a half from the end of the cable. She 
 told us by signal she had put another down about 
 fifteen miles to the east. She also told us she had 
 hooked and raised the cable about 150 fathoms, when 
 the chain some 30 yards from the grapnel had broken, 
 but I think there must be some mistake in the signal. 
 The sea was too high to go very near her. She was 
 uncommonly lively. I should not have liked to be in 
 either her or the Medway. As soon as we came up to 
 her we slowed speed, and got the ship's head round to 
 the wind, which relieved our rolling very much, and 
 we are now steering very slowly ahead with the wind, 
 intending to do so until about midnight, when we will 
 turn round and return to the buoy, hoping then to be 
 able to make arrangements for getting hold of the cable. 
 A couple of fine days will, I believe, enable us to get 
 it on board. I cannot see any good reason why we 
 should not do so. We ran 206 miles up to twelve 
 
154 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 to-day, and were then in lat. 5 1 26', and long. 39 40'. 
 It is pleasant to be able to get a good night's rest, so 
 good night. No stars, but a small rain. 
 
 Monday, August i^th. 
 
 We have had a nice change in the weather to-day, 
 and a very calm sea, but I fear have not done much 
 good towards getting the end of the cable. We had 
 all the early part of the day a nice breeze for drifting 
 across the cable from the north, but our grapnel was 
 not lowered until one o'clock, by which time the wind 
 had died away, and we have made no progress towards 
 the cable, a current in the water being fully a balance 
 for the power of the wind. Now we are hauling in 
 our grapnel again, intending to go to the south of the 
 cable, and take advantage of the current and any 
 southerly wind, which the captain says we are sure 
 to have next. I admit I feel some disappointment at 
 this day being lost ; the weather has been so fine, one 
 cannot but regret the loss of a whole day. 
 
 Tuesday, August 
 There is a better prospect to-night of fine weather, 
 and the men learned in nautical matters say the wind 
 will go down, and we will have a fine day to-morrow. 
 All is ready to let go the grapnel at daylight if the 
 weather suits. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 155 
 
 Wednesday, August 
 
 During last night it came on a heavy fog, and when 
 I got up this morning, instead of finding, as I hoped, 
 our grapnel down, we could scarcely see the length of 
 the ship, and of course did not know where we were, 
 nor any of our friends. A little after eight it began 
 to rain very heavily, and this continued until eleven, 
 when the fog had cleared away, and we found our- 
 selves within sight of No. I buoy, and the other ships 
 not far from us. As the wind was the way we wanted, 
 it was determined to make a trial with the grapnel, 
 and we steamed away a few miles to the south of the 
 cable, and at 12.30 began to lower it. This was com- 
 pleted by about a quarter to two. The Medway was 
 sent a couple of miles to the west to lower her grapnel 
 also. Soon after this was done the fog came on again, 
 and has shut us in ever since; although there was blue 
 sky and sun overhead, a heavy bank of fog rested on 
 the water, and a ver}' wet fog it has been, one's clothes 
 get covered with it like hoar-frost. Most of the after- 
 noon I have been watching the dynamometer. We 
 calculated that at the estimated drift of the ship we 
 would be on the line of cable about six o'clock. Soon 
 after six, when we were at dinner, an officer came down 
 to say the strain on the dynamometer had increased, 
 so we all hoped the cable was hooked. The line is so 
 heavy it is difficult to know when the cable is on, 
 but the drift of the ship stopped as though she was 
 anchored. After much discussion, it was finally settled 
 
156 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 to begin to haul up. This we did at eight o'clock, and 
 it is now slowly coming in, with strong indications that 
 we have the cable. In a short time the matter will be 
 certain. We put down 2200 fathoms of line, and are 
 raising it at the rate of half-a-mile per hour, the strain 
 on the dynamometer being about IO tons. 
 
 Thursday, August i6th, n A.M. 
 
 When I went on deck again last night I found the 
 line had been hauled in to 1600 fathoms, with a steady 
 strain of about 1 1 tons, giving clear indications that we 
 had lifted the cable about 350 fathoms from the bottom. 
 After much discussion, it was then deemed better, 
 although I did not think so, to buoy it in that position. 
 Steps were at once taken to do this. While this was 
 being done, we found No. I buoy close to our star- 
 board paddle, and it soon got under our sponson, and 
 began to thump the 'ship very hard. After much 
 difficulty it was got clear, but, as we discovered this 
 morning, at the expense of the buoy, as it is nowhere 
 visible, and has no doubt had a hole broken into it, and 
 has sunk. At one o'clock all was ready to let down 
 the buoy to hold the cable, but on easing the line out, 
 the splice of the eye pulled out, and over it went, 
 losing not only our day's work, but 1600 fathoms of 
 line. This splice must have been very badly made, or 
 it would not have given way as it did. This is very- 
 disheartening, this being the second buoy line that we 
 have lost, to say nothing of the time. Nothing more, 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 157 
 
 however, could be done', and this morning we steamed 
 to the Medway, as she had let down a grapnel yester- 
 day afternoon. We have just learned from her that 
 she has not hooked the cable, and is now lifting her 
 grapnel, and we have settled to steam off to buoy No. 4, 
 and collect the ships there, with the intention of all 
 three driving across the cable, and taking a joint pull 
 at it. 
 
 9.30 P.M. 
 
 We steamed to buoy No. 4, and the Albany and 
 Medway joined us there. It was then arranged that 
 we should each take a line to the east of this buoy, 
 about two and a half miles apart, and so cross the 
 cable, and see which of us first picked it up. We 
 began to lower our grapnel at two o'clock, and have 
 been drifting slowly, assisted by the starboard paddle, 
 the other being disconnected, and about half-an-hour 
 ago the strain on the dynamometer began to increase, 
 and we have begun to haul in. We had just concluded 
 we had missed the cable, and orders had been given to 
 take up the grapnel, with the view of going back to our 
 old position and trying again. A short time will show 
 whether we have anything or not. I am getting very 
 weary of this life, and shall be sincerely glad when it 
 is over, yet I cannot help hoping we may be able to 
 get the old cable on deck. I daresay if we do so I 
 will forget my disgust with the work. 
 
158 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Friday ', August 17 th, n A.M. 
 
 It is very, very hard and sad to hear, after a morning 
 of the most extreme anxiety, we have just had a sadly 
 bitter disappointment. After hauling upon our grapnel 
 last night for a short time we were satisfied we had 
 hooked the cable, and after lifting it about TOO fathoms 
 from the bottom, it was thought better to let the ship 
 hang to it until daylight this morning, as there was no 
 wind. Lifting commenced again this morning, and we 
 gradually got up our line, all the indications proving 
 we were lifting the cable, and at 10.30 our chain and 
 grapnel came to the surface with the cable on it, the 
 cable being hooked on two of the prongs of the grapnel, 
 and stretching out at a considerable angle east and 
 west. The boats of the Terrible had come to our bows 
 to assist in putting on the stoppers. When the cable 
 came up the whole ship resounded with cheers, but 
 how short was our joy; just as they were putting on 
 the stoppers, and not five minutes after we had raised 
 it, snap it went, and down went our joy and our heart 
 also. God knows it was a bitter feeling, and is enough 
 to dishearten us. The weather, although wet for an 
 hour between eight and nine o'clock, is all we wish, and 
 the sea has gone down very much. Well, we must 
 not despair ; the A Ibany is lifting it about two and a 
 half miles to the east of us, and the Medway, having 
 missed it last night, has let down her grapnel an hour 
 and a half ago, and I hope one of them will get it up. 
 And as we now have a broken end, at a place we know 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF iS66. 159 
 
 well, we will have less strain on the next lifts, and will 
 then hope to get it on board ; but only to lift it and look 
 on our old line again for a few minutes, and then to see 
 it once more drop into the depths of the ocean, requires 
 some philosophy to bear with fortitude. 
 
 We have got a new noise in the ship the last two 
 nights. As the paddle-engines are not working, the 
 seas move them a little, and in doing this the outside 
 bearing on the port side bellows like a great bull, and 
 you could fancy the same animal was at your bed-head 
 in a towering passion. This is not conducive to sleep, 
 but practice is now making one tolerably independent 
 of noises, and it did not prevent my having a very 
 happy dream last night. 
 
 Friday, 10 P.M. 
 
 The result of a day's talking and a morning's ex- 
 perience is that we can with certainty recover the 
 cable, but we must have patience and wait for the 
 weather, which has been sadly against us all the time 
 we have been out this year. We have now made a 
 new end, free from all the ropes that have been lost. I 
 do not know whether I mentioned that the Mcdway, a 
 couple of days ago, when she hauled in her grapnel, 
 found it broken and bent as though it had passed over 
 rocks ; the line was also worn into the wires ; she must 
 have passed over a very rough bottom. The old cable 
 we lifted to-day shows that it had sunk a very short 
 way into the mud, for one side of it was white, as 
 though coated with the ooze, the other half black as 
 
160 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 we laid it down last year. Whether the oozy side was 
 down or up we don't know, but at any rate only half 
 the cable had been buried. When the cable was hang- 
 ing on the grapnel it was very much chafed, and there- 
 by weakened. It was settled at noon to take a new 
 position and try again. The Medway was sent about 
 two and a half miles to the east to grapnel also, and by 
 two o'clock our grapnel was again down, but after a little 
 it was found that both the wind and the set of the current 
 had varied, and we could not drift across the cable. The 
 weather had also changed very much for the worse, a 
 high wind with rain, and a heavy, broken sea, getting 
 up ; so the grapnel was again lifted, and got in a little 
 before six. We then went to the Medway, and found 
 her drift was as useless as ours, and she was ordered 
 to haul up her grapnel, and, like ourselves, make them- 
 selves as comfortable as they can for the night, and 
 until a change of weather ; so here we are all in a heap, 
 keeping as near No. 4 buoy as we can without fouling 
 each other. 
 
 Saturday, August \%th. 
 
 Since last night up to mid-day to-day the weather 
 has been very bad, a*nd we have been shifting about to 
 find our buoy. The wind is still very rough, now two 
 o'clock, but the sun has come out, and I have just 
 heard that the Terrible has found the buoy, so I sup- 
 pose we will be off to her and take our chance of get- 
 ting our grapnel down if the wind goes down at sunset. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 161 
 
 It blows very cold from the east, and as the deck is so 
 uncomfortable, it is very hard to get through the time, 
 and we all groan in spirit. 
 
 10 P.M. 
 
 The lost buoy has been discovered, but the flagstaff 
 and ball had been broken off, hence the great difficulty 
 in seeing it. Another buoy was put down from this 
 ship about six miles east of it, and as the weather has 
 cleared up and the wind and sea very much gone down 
 this afternoon, there is some hopes we may be able to 
 get the grapnel down in the morning. The better the day 
 the better the deed, although Friday has got a good name 
 as the cable day, for we made our splice on a Friday, 
 landed at Heart's Content on a Friday, and raised the 
 old cable to the surface on a Friday. If we have the 
 good fortune to bring it on board to-morrow, we will 
 land the second cable on a Friday. I only hope it is 
 not to be our fate to wait here until next Friday. 
 
 Sunday, August igth. 
 
 This morning at eight o'clock we lowered our grap- 
 nel, the sea being tolerably smooth and other things 
 being favourable, and we slowly drifted all day to find 
 the cable ; this we succeeded in doing at four o'clock 
 this afternoon, and at once began to haul up. By six 
 we had hauled in 1200 fathoms, and it was then deter- 
 mined to buoy it, and get it up by degrees at another 
 lift The Albany has hooked it about a mile south-west 
 of us, and has hauled in 936 fathoms. She has now., 
 
 L 
 
1 62 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 orders to hang on as she is until the morning. How 
 far this may succeed is uncertain, as she has just tele- 
 graphed us that her grapnel is sliding along the cable 
 towards us with a strain of only four tons. We have 
 8 J tons on. The operation of buoying is rather a hazar- 
 dous one, but greater care is being taken to-night with 
 the splice at the eye than was done last time, and I 
 hope it will go all right ; but it will be an hour yet 
 before it is ready to place the buoy on board. The 
 night is not so dark as we have had it, although it is 
 cloudy ; yet the clouds are thin, and the moon is giving a 
 good light through them. A fine day to-morrow is all- 
 important to us, as, if we are to have any assistance 
 from the other ships, they are no use except in calm 
 weather. The Medway has been away between two 
 and three miles to the east, but we do not know yet 
 that she has got hold of the cable. We fancy not. 
 There has been a strong breeze all day, making a short, 
 broken sea, and the heavy swell has quite gone down. 
 
 Monday ', August 2Oth. 
 
 Oh that we could secure twenty-four hours of calm 
 weather! We would then, I think, be certain of the 
 cable. We managed to get it safely buoyed last night 
 between ten and eleven o'clock, the cable being one 
 thousand fathoms from the ground. It was fortunate 
 we settled to do this, as the wind and sea to-day have 
 both been too heavy to have enabled us with safety to 
 get the end on board. The weather has not been so 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 163 
 
 cold to-day as it was yesterday, for it was then bitterly 
 cold quite a greatcoat day. The sun has been shining 
 most of to-day, and a good observation has been taken 
 of our buoy, to which the bight of the cable is hanging. 
 It is in lat. 51 31' 30", long. 38 39' 50", and about six 
 miles from the end we broke on Friday last. 
 
 Tuesday, August 2lst. 
 
 We have been again disappointed in the weather, 
 and have not been able to make any progress with our 
 work. Here we lay, steaming a little, and then allow- 
 ing the ship to drift back again, rolling about like a 
 useless log on the ocean. It is a sad loss of time, and 
 makes one very impatient. I was in great hopes from 
 the look of things last night that we would have had 
 a calm day to-day. The day has been very fine over- 
 head, and the wind has changed to the north. This 
 has reduced the sea very much, and I think since 
 mid-day the wind has gone down a good deal ; 
 but I have just been on deck, and it is a cold and 
 cheerless night, very cloudy, so that we see no moon. 
 The evening star was, however, very bright, shining 
 through a small opening in the clouds. We had a 
 little excitement this morning ; No. 4 buoy was found 
 to be adrift, and we went to pick it up. It was no easy 
 task for the sailor who had to go down to it and hook 
 on the block. The sea kept thumping it about, and as 
 he got on to it, it turned round and let him into the 
 water. He had plenty of pluck, and succeeded at last 
 
1 64 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 in getting the hook fast, but I was very much afraid 
 he might get killed between the buoy and the side of 
 the ship, as it hit us pretty hard blows. The excite- 
 ment lasted half-an-hour, and this was something to 
 break the monotony of the day. The chain had chafed 
 through at the ring under the buoy, and so lost us 
 upwards of two miles of buoy-line. The bottom of the 
 Atlantic here will be paved with rope, as we lost 
 about six miles of it last year. It certainly is the most 
 unfortunate part of the Atlantic for us to have to per- 
 form this lifting operation, as it is notoriously the worst 
 part for weather. 
 
 Wednesday -, August 22nd. 
 
 This has been a day of much disappointment ; the 
 weather and the sea have been, if not calm, yet mode- 
 rate, yet we have failed to make any progress. Much 
 time was lost the first thing in the morning in arrang- 
 ing the programme with the other ships. The Medway 
 was then sent towards the west to grapple, the Albany 
 to the east, and the Great Eastern was to cross the 
 cable a short distance to the east of the bight buoy. 
 It was some time before the other ships had taken up 
 their positions and lowered their grapnels, and as we 
 waited for them to get hold of the cable first, it was 
 1 1. 30 before we began to lower our grapnel. When 
 it was down, we saw the Albany coming back to us to 
 say the sea was too heavy for her to grapnel, as the 
 pitching strained the line, so she gave up. We then 
 soon found that the Great Eastern would not drift in 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 165 
 
 the direction we wanted her ; the currents here seem 
 to change their direction every hour in the day. One 
 of the paddles was disconnected, but nothing would do, 
 and by four o'clock all attempt to get her across the 
 cable at the place that would be of any use to us 
 was found useless, and we began to heave up. The 
 Medway had by this time signalled to us to say she 
 had the cable. We then hoped, as it was near the 
 end, she would get it to the surface and might be able 
 to buoy it, so that we could take hold of it the first 
 thing in the morning, but at five o'clock she signalled 
 she had lost it, and so here we are just as we were 
 several days ago, not a bit advanced, as far as I can 
 see, in any way, and I begin to get very tired of it. 
 At dinner to-day we were anything but jolly ; a sense 
 of failure seemed to hang upon every one's mind, 
 although no one will admit of any doubt of success. 
 I hear remarks, " Oh, we must stay here till Christmas 
 rather than fail." But this is simple nonsense; if 
 we cannot do it now, no length of time will enable us 
 to do so. We are nearly the end of August, and bad 
 weather will be the ruling feature in this part of the 
 Atlantic. We are not likely to have any weather better 
 than we have had, and are certain to have it much 
 worse, most likely bad enough to carry away all our 
 buoys. Another of them was found to-day to be 
 adrift, and was picked up by the Albany. I am quite 
 willing to hope and try for a few days more ; but then 
 it will be time to go home if we have not got the cable. 
 
1 66 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Thursday, August iyd, 
 
 A fortnight has passed away since we left Heart's 
 Content, and we are still without our cable. It was 
 hoped the Medway had hooked it last night, but we 
 found at seven this morning that she had not done so. 
 In fact, these small ships dance about so, that it is 
 impossible to tell when they have the cable on the 
 grapnel or not ; they are, indeed, a useless expense to 
 us. When it was found she had nothing on her grapnel, 
 the Gnat Eastern took up a position to drift across 
 the cable a mile and a half east of the bight buoy, the 
 Medway was sent a couple of miles east of this, and 
 our grapnel was lowered at about nine o'clock. The 
 weather was fine, that is, the sea had gone down very 
 much, and was calmer than we have had it since 
 coming here. There was also very little wind, and we 
 hoped to make a good haul ; but we soon found the 
 current was against us, but by disconnecting the star- 
 board paddle the captain managed to drive her astern 
 slowly, in the direction we wished to go. All day we 
 have had no end of anxiety. First she would not go 
 the right way, then she would, and we might expect to 
 hook the cable at twelve o'clock. Twelve o'clock came, 
 and little progress had been made. Four o'clock came, 
 and no cable, and we kept on doing our best by the aid 
 of steam to drive her on the course until nearly seven 
 o'clock, when it was clear we were past the cable, and 
 orders were given to begin to haul in. This is now 
 going on, and nearly completed. It may be the grapnel 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 167 
 
 is foul of the chain ; we had a case of this kind last 
 year. Last night when the grapnel came up there was 
 a piece of stone fast in the grapnel-spring about six 
 inches long by three broad, and an inch thick, very 
 much like granite in appearance, but I do not think it 
 is granite. 
 
 Friday -, August 2\th. 
 
 I think when I left off writing last night we were 
 hauling in the grapnel; it came up all right, and must 
 either have jumped over the cable or we had not 
 drifted far enough. The water is deeper here than 
 where we have been grapnelling before, and as the same 
 length of line was out, or 2800 fathoms, it may be that 
 it was lifted off the ground, although I can hardly 
 think so, as the depth is not 2100 fathoms. The 
 Terrible is getting short of provisions, and sent to 
 try and get some from us, but we cannot spare any. We 
 killed our first ox to-day, but when once we begin 
 upon them they do not last long. Our poultry are 
 nearly all gone, and our sheep and pigs are rapidly 
 declining in number. How I long to be back to dear 
 friends in England and look again on my pretty house 
 at Clewer ! It is now some time since I heard any- 
 thing from them. God grant them all every blessing. 
 Good-night. 
 
 Saturday, August 2$//t. 
 
 Another day of great disappointment. During last 
 night the wind and sea went down, and gave a good 
 prospect of a very successful day's fishing ; and at six 
 
i68 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 this morning our grapnel was lowered, but in doing so 
 the line showed itself so much injured by previous work 
 from kinks and the unwinding of the rope, that after a 
 couple of hundred fathoms had been paid out, it was 
 considered better to haul it back and use another line. 
 This was done, and it was not until ten o'clock that 
 they were ready to lower again. The ship at the time 
 was drifting in the right direction. As soon as the 
 grapnel was on the ground the ship took it into her head 
 to change the direction of her drift and go exactly the 
 way she was not wanted; the starboard paddle was 
 disconnected and sail set to see if she could be forced 
 in the direction required ; but all without effect, and it 
 was found necessary to lift up the grapnel again, which 
 was done about one o'clock. The Medway had also 
 had her grapnel down to drift in the same way we 
 expected it to do, but was equally unsuccessful, and 
 she had also to haul it up. As we have none of the 
 largest buoys on board, it was determined to get one 
 from the Albany, in case we might need one at our 
 next work, and some time was occupied in getting this 
 from the Albany to our deck. This was not finished 
 until nearly four o'clock, when we steamed to the 
 south to take a drifting position in accordance with our 
 experience of the morning, the Albany and Medway 
 doing the same at about two miles apart, and soon 
 after five we began to lower our grapnel. The evening 
 is all that could be desired, a quiet sea and quite calm, 
 and the drift so far taking us in the right direction. If 
 we fail to-night I do not see what hopes we can have. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 169 
 
 Sunday, August 2.6th. 
 
 Well, I left off last night with hopes that before 
 morning we might be able to say we had made some 
 advance in our work ; the grapnel was down, and the 
 night all we could wish as to weather. The ship 
 drifted steadily in the direction we wanted, and soon 
 after two this morning the strain on the dynamometer 
 began to increase, and went up to loj tons. It was 
 then considered the cable had been hooked, but after 
 a quarter of an hour the strain suddenly fell to its 
 line-strain of /J tons, showing us we had either broken 
 the cable or had never had it. Orders were given to 
 draw it up, and the grapnel came on board soon after 
 eight o'clock this morning. The springs were all 
 flattened against the shank, and the chain and grapnel 
 were nearly polished bright, and came up without any 
 ooze on it, showing that it had been dragging upon a 
 gravel-bottom, and probably the strain was caused by 
 some large stone catching the grapnel; at any rate 
 we had not got the cable, and our time was lost. The 
 Medway signalled to us that she had hooked it on the 
 west of the bight buoy, and had lifted it six hundred 
 fathoms from the bottom, and was then hanging on to 
 it until she had orders what to do. She was told to 
 stay as she was, and it was settled for us to go up 
 to her and hook the cable a little to the west of her. 
 When we got up to her we found she was not more 
 than half-a-mile from the bight buoy ; she had drifted 
 along the line of cable. We got up to her about 
 
I 7 o DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 1 1 A.M., and having learned the position, we steamed 
 away to the south to let down our grapnel. Very 
 much delay occurred in getting this done; it was 1.30 
 before they began to lower it, and 3.30 before it was 
 down. The drift of the ship was then found to be too 
 much to the west, and so that we would pass the end ; 
 it was then attempted to drive her across the line of 
 cable to the east of the buoy, which succeeded better ; 
 but by this time we saw the Medway coming towards 
 us, and about five o'clock she came and told us that 
 at about twelve o'clock, on the occasion of the ship 
 taking a great pitch, when she rose with the sea, the 
 strain had fallen on her dynamometer from 7! to less 
 than 5, and she had either broken the cable or her 
 grapnel had become unhooked. It had no springs to it 
 to prevent its getting off. So here we were with all 
 our time lost ; and what is worse, the bight buoy had 
 changed its position three miles, so that it is either 
 free from the cable or else the end made by the 
 Medway has allowed it to drift this much. 
 
 Monday morning, August T.'jth, 10 A.M. 
 At about two o'clock this morning I was awoke by 
 the captain knocking at my door to tell me the Medway 
 has just passed our bow, firing a gun and giving three 
 cheers that the Albany 'had hooked the end of the cable, 
 and lifted it on board and buoyed it. This was good 
 news, and spoilt the rest of my night's rest, for which I 
 did not complain. I got up early, and went on deck at 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 171 
 
 seven. Temple came on board from the Albany with 
 a piece of the cable he had cut off at the bight ; it had 
 come in with a strain of three tons. This corresponds 
 with the strain we had last year. There is clearly a 
 short loose end, as the cable had twisted itself like a 
 rope, and the grapnel could only be released by cutting 
 off the bight. All the flukes of the grapnel were bent 
 out straight, and it was only the twisting of the cable 
 that made it hold. The piece of cable brought on 
 board is as perfect as the day it was laid down, the 
 wires being quite free from rust. It had chafed a little 
 on the grapnel. Now, although we have got an end 
 to work upon, I will not let my mind jump to the con- 
 clusion that our task is over ; it may be we have only 
 some of the cable broken off by the hauls we have had, 
 and that we are not in possession of the end of the 
 sound cable in connection with Valencia. It will be 
 very hard on us if this is so. God grant we are right. 
 The weather is all we could wish at least it is much 
 better than anything we have had. 
 
 Monday night. 
 
 When I went on deck I found efforts were being 
 made to tack the stern of the ship up to the buoy, 
 and the boats were rowing to it with lines for the 
 purpose of making fast to it. The wind had then 
 freshened a good deal, and all the captain could do he 
 could not get her to back as he wanted. Efforts were 
 continually made to do so, and we had talked ourselves 
 
172 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCFI. 
 
 into stirring hopes and calculations of the day we 
 would reach Heart's Content and be in England. Soon 
 after twelve Moriarty, who had got a good observation 
 at twelve o'clock, came aft with a long face to tell us 
 the ship was nearly twelve miles out of her proper 
 position, and that the buoys were also as much wrong. 
 Now, this was an awful damper on our hopes, as it 
 could only be accounted for by the cable we had got 
 hold of being a loose piece, and all had drifted together 
 to the north-east. As there seemed little chance of 
 our getting the stern of the ship to pick up the cable, 
 her head was steamed up to it and the lines without 
 difficulty made fast. When we began to haul in, the 
 cable came up double twisted together for about half- 
 a-mile, when it came single, and after getting in nearly 
 two miles the other end came in. Now, this was a 
 pleasant end to all our hopes ! However, there was 
 no help for it, we must begin again. The first end 
 that came in had no doubt been broken last year, as 
 it was old ; the last end was a fresh break. If we get 
 no other comfort out of this disappointment, we have 
 the satisfaction of seeing what perfect order the cable 
 is in just as it was laid down, even the tar on its 
 surface being good; indeed, if a piece of old and a 
 piece of new were laid down together no one could 
 tell the difference. This proves the great durability 
 of the cable when once laid. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 173 
 
 Tuesday, August -2%th. 
 
 This has been the finest day we have had. Indeed 
 all have allowed we could not wish for anything better. 
 A bright sun with a S.W. wind, warm and comfortable ; 
 a calm sea. Orders were given last night for all the 
 ships to make during the night for the single buoy. 
 We had done this, so that on finding it we might take 
 our start from it this morning and begin another haul. 
 So this morning we were all there, and a position for 
 this ship taken up, and by nine o'clock our grapnel 
 began to go down. The frequent use of our lines is 
 making them very bad, and it was nearly twelve o'clock 
 before we got it down. When Moriarty got his obser- 
 vation at twelve o'clock, he found the buoy had drifted 
 from its old position seventeen miles to the east, and 
 what we had done was no use. Now, if this would not 
 try the patience of a saint, I don't know what would ! 
 There was nothing for it but to begin pulling up again, 
 and take a new position now we know exactly where we 
 are. So we had a mark buoy lowered, and orders were 
 given for the ship to steam to the place we thought we 
 had been at. I am so sick of this work, I have insisted 
 upon giving up the attempt in this deep water and going 
 back about ninety miles east, where it is only 1650 
 fathoms. Twenty-five per cent, of gain in depth is a 
 very important one, and, in my opinion, with the 
 weather we are now pretty sure to have, is our only 
 chance. We cannot get twelve hours of really suitable 
 weather, and without it our efforts are only so much 
 
174 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 waste exertion. I am glad to say our ship's head 
 is now turned to the east, and we are making the best 
 of our way to the shallow water. It is fortunate that 
 on the ist of August last year we had a capital obser- 
 vation at this place, and can therefore go with certainty 
 to the spot. 
 
 Friday, August 
 Nothing could be better for our work than the 
 weather to-day. It has been quite calm, and what 
 little wind there was has been in the direction best for 
 us. There was until mid-day a very heavy swell. As 
 soon as it was possible to make certain by observation 
 that the buoy we put down last night had not shifted, 
 we steamed to a position so as to drift across the line 
 of the cable in a south-eastern direction, and began to 
 lower our grapnel at 10.30 ; but owing to the frequent 
 stoppages from the bad state our lines are getting 
 into, we did not get it down until 12.30, the depth being 
 about 1900 fathoms. The Medway was sent a couple 
 of miles to the west to lower her grapnel. This she 
 did about n A.M in 1950 fathoms. I wish we had 
 been eight or nine miles farther to the east, where the 
 depth is only 1650 fathoms, as we might as well have 
 taken advantage of the shallowest known part. Since 
 the grapnels were down both ships have been drifting 
 very slowly in the right direction, and we hope to hook 
 the cable between ten and eleven to-night. If we fail 
 to-night in hooking it and to-morrow in getting it up, 
 I shall certainly lose all hope of doing so at all. We 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 175 
 
 have no excuse to-day as to the weather, and I hope it 
 will keep fine over to-morrow. 
 
 Saturday, September \st, 9 P.M. 
 
 All at the present moment looks as like success as it 
 is possible for anything to do. I mentioned last night 
 that our grapnel was down. We drifted very slowly 
 until four o'clock, when the strain increased a little, and 
 we then began to heave up. An hour or so afterwards 
 the Medway signalled that she had also got the cable. 
 We kept on heaving up at the rate of about 400 
 fathoms per hour until we raised the cable about 600 
 fathoms from the ground, the strain being nearly a ton 
 more than the usual strain, so we have been speculating 
 whether we have also got hold of the cable of 1858, 
 which is close to us here. Having found the Medway 
 was lifting all right, we stopped our engine, so as to 
 enable her to get ahead of us and to break the cable 
 at her grapnel. This she is now doing. As soon as we 
 find she is a good way ahead of us we will go on, and, 
 I hope, be able to get the cable safely on board. The 
 weather is and has been all we could wish no wind 
 and a calm sea. There is a slight swell, but not 
 enough to interfere with our operations. Everything, 
 certainly, is as favourable just now as we could ask for. 
 It is a lovely night, and the sea looks like a lake. 
 
 Sunday, September 2nd, 1 1 A.M. 
 
 We have indeed achieved a glorious victory. What 
 will they now say in England those who told me so often 
 
1 76 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 I was mad to hope to recover last year's cable from the 
 deep Atlantic ? Under God's blessing we have recovered 
 it, and are now steering for Heart's Content with a cable 
 over our stern to complete the work we left unfinished 
 last year. How I have thought of this hour, how I 
 have longed for it, and what sacrifices I have made to 
 obtain its accomplishment ! Yet have not the feelings 
 of the past few hours amply repaid me ? Does not the 
 weary anxiety of the last three weeks pale before the 
 glorious feelings of to-day ? It has been indeed three 
 weeks of weary disappointment and harassing suspense, 
 until our task became almost hopeless. We never 
 could get suitable weather, and when we did, it lasted 
 only for a few hours ; but the last two days have been 
 all we could wish for, and I felt we were casting our 
 last die : if we failed in such weather, hope indeed would 
 become extinct. I feel now very glad I persevered in 
 carrying my point of changing our ground and coming 
 back where we did. We had less depth of water, and 
 at the old place the cable had been so much pulled 
 about with the grapnels it was impossible to say where 
 it lay, and, if we got it, whether it might not be like 
 the last, only a short piece. We have been just three 
 weeks to-day on the fishing-ground, and have put down 
 thirteen buoys and recovered all but one. We have 
 had the grapnels down in all thirty-two times, hooked 
 the cable ten times, and buoyed it four times. Our lines 
 have begun to get very bad, and it took nearly as long 
 to lower the grapnel as to get it in. 
 
 But to return to our proceedings here last night. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 177 
 
 When I went on deck a little before ten o'clock, I found 
 that the Medway had signalled that she had broken 
 the cable when between 300 and 400 fathoms from the 
 top. This was just what we wished her to do, as it 
 then gave us a loose end to the west and relieved the 
 strain on our bight. We were then hauling in slowly, 
 the ship drifting slowly towards the east, and so giving 
 us slack towards our bight buoy. The lifting was con- 
 tinued with great caution, when we had the pleasure of 
 seeing the cable at the ship's bow at 12.45 A - M - Steps 
 were immediately taken to get stoppers fixed on the two 
 sides of the bight and to free the grapnel. This was 
 successfully done by 3 A.M., when we began to haul 
 inward. It was found necessary to relieve the strain 
 by cutting away the cable to the west of us. At 3.30 
 we had got it safely on board, and the end was then 
 taken slowly along to the testing-room in the middle of 
 the ship. It had much the appearance of a funeral, a 
 lot of men carrying the cable along the deck at the 
 slow pace at which we hauled it in. Now came the 
 most anxious quarter of an hour I ever spent in my 
 life. The end was carried into the testing-room and 
 connected to the instruments; all the faces standing 
 round as though each was expecting to hear a judge 
 deliver a sentence of death or acquittal. Now we were 
 to learn whether all our labour had been in vain or 
 not. Were we in perfect electrical connection with 
 Ireland or not ? We had got up the cable. We had 
 done so before, but it would not speak to us. For 
 
178 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 nearly fifteen minutes did we bear the intense excite- 
 ment while the operators were endeavouring to get 
 the attention of those in charge at Valencia; then it 
 came, that little magic light flashed upon the scale, and 
 one wild burst of pent-up feelings was given by ringing 
 cheers, which were taken up by those outside, and oh, 
 what a load was lifted from my heart ! As soon as the 
 tests had satisfied our electricians that all was right 
 the splicing of the two ends together was commenced, 
 and at a few minutes before seven this morning the plea- 
 sant hum of the paying-out machinery was heard, and 
 our thread was again streaming away over the stern of 
 the ship. Yes, that low hum of the wheels and the 
 splashing of the break-wheels in the water-tanks in 
 which they run have been to me for a long time this 
 morning the most delicious music I ever heard, and 
 after a night's anxiety and labour soothed and calmed 
 one's feelings. The cable has come up in the most 
 perfect state in no way different from what it was 
 as laid down. We must now pay it out very slowly 
 and make sure of our work. We will, I trust, reach 
 Heart's Content on Saturday next. The Medway and 
 Albany are picking up the buoys left down, when the 
 latter will proceed direct to England. She got our 
 letters this morning. 
 
 Sunday evening. 
 
 All has gone well during the day, the cable having 
 run out steadily at a slow speed. At noon we were in 
 lat. 51 56', long. 36 50'. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 179 
 
 Monday -, September yd, 
 
 We were fortunate in getting the cable when we did, 
 as if we had not, all our previous efforts would have 
 been thrown away, for since last night it has blown a 
 gale of wind, and continues to do so, although not 
 quite so bad now as it has been during the day ; but 
 the seas have been running mountains high, and the 
 poor Medway has been having a very unquiet time of 
 it. All has gone on well with the cable, but at twelve 
 last night there was a slight alarm as the coil in the 
 tank caught the following coil and pulled it away ; the 
 men had no difficulty in freeing it, but they shouted up 
 to stop the ship, which was done for a few seconds. 
 Fortunately, I knew nothing of it until this morning, 
 and had a good night's sleep until it was time to get up 
 for breakfast at 7.30. I feel glad another day is gone, 
 as each day past lessens our risk, and it would be 
 hard to have any mishap now with the cable. On 
 Wednesday night we will be in comparatively shallow 
 water, and then we need not care. Our position to-day 
 at noon was lat. 51 34', long. 39 8', so that we have 
 only run ninety-four miles since yesterday, a poor 
 day's work. The amount of cable paid out was 
 126.64 miles. We had a lot of news to-day from 
 England. During this afternoon we have had some 
 sail set on the ship to steady her rolling, a little piece 
 of amusement she has been very much inclined to 
 practise. 
 
180 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Tuesday, September $th. 
 
 All has gone well with our cable to-day; we have 
 not made a very long run, and the amount of slack 
 payed out since we started has been very large, 
 amounting to 26.5 per cent. I know not how to 
 account for this, as the strain on the dynamometer has 
 been from 14 to 1 6 cwts. Probably it will come out 
 right in the end, as it did last time, but at the present 
 rate we will be short of cable. I, however, have no 
 fear on this score ; the slack cannot really be much in 
 excess of our usual average. 
 
 Wednesday -, September $th. 
 
 Thank God another day is gone, although it may 
 seem wrong to wish our time in this life to be short- 
 ened even by one day; yet to those who hour by 
 hour look at that small line running out at the stern 
 of this ship and feel, as I do, that each passing hour 
 brings us nearer to safety, it is a cause for relief that 
 we are now within a few hours of the time when we 
 will be in shallow water and no real harm can happen 
 to us. How glad will I be when all this work is com- 
 plete ! It is a long time to go on from hour to hour 
 in a state of anxious suspense. Weeks have accumu- 
 lated, and still the hours of anxiety have continued. 
 
 Thursday, September 6th. 
 
 Thank God we are now out of all danger and can 
 with certainty say we can lay the cable. We are now 
 in shallow water, and will land the cable on Saturday 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. i8z 
 
 afternoon. To-day has been a beautiful day, good 
 enough for grapnelling, but thank goodness we have 
 not got this operation to perform. Both the sea and 
 wind have been very calm, and all has been going on 
 as well as it is possible for it to do. 
 
 Friday, September jth. 
 
 We will make Heart's Content early to-morrow 
 morning, and, I hope, get the shore-end laid before 
 very late in the afternoon, and then we will be ready 
 for a start home on Sunday. To-day at noon we 
 were in lat. 49 S', long. 51 26', and had run 134.8 
 miles, so that we did a good day's work. The cable 
 in our main tank will be a very close fit, but I hope it 
 will take us in. We have some fifty or sixty miles 
 more, but shall be glad to avoid making a splice. 
 
 HEART'S CONTENT, Saturday, September %th. 
 I thank God we are permitted once more to dip our 
 anchor in this little harbour, and to say our two years 
 of labour and anxiety are completed. We have now 
 fulfilled the task we undertook, and our second cable 
 is safely landed on the coasts of Newfoundland amid 
 a salute of twenty-one guns from the Terrible, the 
 Lilly, and the Great Eastern, and the cheers of our 
 own people and a few besides assembled here to see 
 the cable landed. I know of nothing in the course of 
 my life in which I have taken so deep an interest 
 an interest more intense than I will now allow myself 
 
182 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 to take again in any enterprise. But I feel I am fully 
 rewarded. We have succeeded in doing what ninety- 
 nine out of one hundred people have declared to be 
 impossible. We have now completed two lines of the 
 most perfect and, I feel sure, enduring lines of tele- 
 graphic communication between England and the con- 
 tinent of America, and this under no slight difficulties. 
 And I was more than pleased to see by the papers we 
 got to-day that our efforts have been noticed by the 
 Queen in her Speech on closing Parliament. I do not 
 know if such a thing was ever done before, but in any 
 case we can have no higher praise, and I will ever 
 feel proud of the part I have acted in the matter. 
 When the instruments were connected I sent the 
 following telegram to Lord Stanley : 
 
 " September %th. 
 
 " Mr. Gooch has the pleasure to inform Lord Stanley 
 that the cable of 1865 was recovered from the bottom 
 of the Atlantic on the second of this month, and has 
 been safely landed to-day at Heart's Content, the 
 recovered cable being in the most perfect condition. 
 He also takes this opportunity of saying how much 
 all here engaged on the undertaking were grateful, on 
 receiving a newspaper to-day, to see the kind reference 
 made to their efforts in Her Majesty's Speech on the 
 closing of Parliament." 
 
 When I went on deck a little after six this morning, I 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866, 183 
 
 found the ship stopped in consequence of a fault which 
 had just shown itself in the cable. We were then 
 within eleven miles of Heart's Content; the morning 
 was very fine and calm, and the water as smooth as a 
 mirror. The fault, on test, was found to be in the tank. 
 As we had some spare cable in the aft tank, we cut it 
 away from the middle one and spliced on the other; 
 this, however, delayed us nearly three hours. We 
 then steamed on to the entrance of the harbour, where 
 the Medway was ready with the shore-end ; the cable 
 was then cut adrift from the Great Eastern and the 
 end got on board the Medway, and the splice made to 
 the shore-end; the Great Eastern in the meantime 
 steaming into the harbour and dropping her anchor. 
 This was done about eleven o'clock; the splice was 
 not completed until after one o'clock, when she steamed 
 into the harbour, and by four o'clock the end was safely 
 lodged in the electrical room on shore and our work 
 done. 
 
 Heart's Content looked quite homely to me to-day. 
 We sail to-morrow, and I suppose I will then take my 
 last look at it. Well, I will never forget it. 
 
 Thursday -, September i^th. 
 
 At noon we were in lat. 50 48' 30", and long. 
 34 41' 30", having run 227 miles. We have had all 
 sail set to do as much good as it will. I think this 
 ship is a grand sight with sail, although it is only a 
 small part of what she would need as a sailing-ship, 
 
184 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 yet from their size they are no mean spread of canvas. 
 The stars are bright to-night when not hid by clouds. 
 I have had a long walk on deck, our saloon is so hot 
 from the funnels, now we are steaming hard, that it is 
 bad to bear the heat. Well, we are now making wide 
 strides each day towards England; the line on my 
 chart grows fast, and will soon reach land on the right 
 side of the Atlantic not too soon for my taste. Good- 
 night. 
 
 Friday ', September 
 It is just eleven weeks to-day since I came on board 
 this ship, and have only been out of her one night. 
 Our progress to-day has not been quite so much as 
 yesterday, having only run 212 miles; but it looks a 
 long stretch on the chart, and puts us only 729 miles 
 from Cape Clear. We were at noon in lat. 51 i' 30', 
 long. 29 3' 30". The day has been very fine, with a 
 light fair wind, but a heavy swell from the north, 
 causing us to roll a good deal. As I write now, I am 
 obliged to spread my legs out as far as I can to prevent 
 my chair sliding about the cabin. I have not been 
 very well to-day -had a bad pain in my side and have 
 felt below par. My quoit-playing yesterday has made 
 me sore and stiff all over, and during last night I slept 
 very badly with unpleasant dreams, and so much 
 aching in my legs I could not rest, so I have taken it 
 very quietly to-day. The days are getting very short 
 now; we have lights at dinner. To-night is a very 
 pleasant night on deck. The moon has just set below 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 185 
 
 a heavy mass of clouds, and it is cloudy overhead, but 
 very much warmer than we have had it. I suppose 
 we now feel the comfort of the Gulf Stream instead of 
 the northern current in which we have spent so many 
 weeks. I begin to think of packing up now, and have 
 done a little in that way to-day. Good-night. 
 
 Saturday^ September i^th. 
 
 We have had a very lively time of it since last night ; 
 the old ship has been giving us a taste of her rolling. 
 Not a wink of sleep did I get last night. We have 
 been rolling nearly as bad all day, a most uncomfort- 
 able state of existence. It is, however, much better 
 now, and I have better hopes of to-night. There has 
 been very little wind, but a very heavy and long swell 
 from the north. There have been showers of rain 
 through the day. We met one of the Cunard steamers 
 the night before last about twelve o'clock, and a brig 
 was seen early this morning, but I have not seen any- 
 thing in the wide waste of waters since leaving Heart's 
 Content. 
 
 Sunday ', September i6fh. 
 
 This is the twelfth, and, I hope, last (for some time) 
 Sunday I have been here. My red line on the chart 
 begins now to get very near the Irish coast; a few 
 days more and I will be back at my old occupations, 
 and the past three months will look like a dream, and 
 I will then often think of the hours I have spent in this 
 cabin, and, I dare say, after a little, begin to long for 
 
i86 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 another trip, but not for so long a time. We have had 
 less rolling since last night, and I got a very good 
 night's rest. Although the sea is still very heavy, it 
 has been very beautiful and grand to-day a bright 
 sunshine on it, and the whole surface covered with 
 breakers and rainbows. We met a large steamer, sup- 
 posed to be one of the National Line between Liver- 
 pool and New York ; she seemed to feel the sea very 
 much. It has been a nice day for us, with a very 
 strong breeze in our favour. The Bishop l did service 
 for us to-day, and gave us a sermon with two services. 
 
 Monday, September 17 th. 
 
 We met two large steamers to-day, one of Cunard's, 
 the China, at breakfast-time, and one of Inman's in 
 the afternoon. This has been one of the finest days 
 we have had, and quite a treat after what we have 
 endured. At 2.30 our eyes were gladdened by the 
 sight of land ; we then saw the western coast of 
 Ireland, and it has been a pleasant occupation all the 
 afternoon to watch it gradually open out, looking very 
 like home again. The outline of the mountains on this 
 part of the coast is very beautiful, and to-day there 
 was a soft purple haze over them. Between six and 
 seven o'clock the small steamer from Crookhaven came 
 out to us for telegrams. A case containing some was 
 thrown overboard for her. The people on board of her 
 and there appeared to be a good many gave us a 
 
 1 Bishop Field of Newfoundland had been given a passage home. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1866. 187 
 
 good cheer as a welcome back. At eight o'clock we 
 were at the Fastnett light This was the evening fixed 
 for the theatricals to come off, so we dined at five to 
 enable them to prepare the saloon by nine. What 
 was acted was written by Dean and Poore ; they had 
 taken a deal of trouble to get it up, but it went rather 
 heavy, not nearly with the life the last one did. They 
 were so long between the scenes that we got rather 
 tired of sitting with our nose over some smoking oil- 
 lamps at our feet, with a large flag as a drop-curtain 
 within three or four feet of your face. The Bishop 
 seemed to enjoy it very much ; he had not seen any 
 theatricals for forty years. Well, to-morrow night, if 
 all goes well, we will be off Liverpool. The night is 
 cloudy, and does not look like a fine day to-morrow ; I 
 hope it may, as we will be a good deal in sight of land, 
 if clear weather. If we do as we hope, we will get into 
 Liverpool by the early tide on Wednesday morning, 
 and enable me to get home for dinner. As it is now 
 very late I will get to bed ; to-morrow will be a busy 
 day packing up. How long a time it seems since I 
 was unpacking ! Good-night. 
 
 Tuesday, September i%th. 
 
 Here we are once more on the shores of old Eng- 
 land ; we have just passed the lights on the Island of 
 Anglesea, and are now making for Liverpool. I sup- 
 pose in half-an-hour we will take the pilot on board. 
 Thank God our voyage is over, and we come home to 
 say we have done all we started to do. 
 
188 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Mr. Spencer H. Walpole, the Home Secretary, 
 called at my office to see me on the 2ist September, 
 but as I was not there, he wrote to ask me to go to 
 his house and spend the afternoon with him on the 
 Sunday following, the 23rd. This I did, and he then 
 told me Lord Derby had asked him to see me and 
 ask me if I would accept a Baronetcy ; and in the 
 London Gazette of the 1 3th November 1866 the follow- 
 ing appeared : 
 
 "WHITEHALL, November loth, 1866. 
 
 " The Queen has been pleased to direct Letters 
 Patent to be passed under the Great Seal, granting 
 the dignity of a Baronet of the United Kingdom of 
 Great Britain and Ireland unto Daniel Gooch, of Clewer 
 Park, in the county of Berks, Esq., and the heirs male 
 of his body lawfully begotten." 
 
 And I was a Baronet, a fate that had certainly 
 never entered my head. Any acknowledgment of 
 my services by the Government had certainly never 
 formed any part of my hopes. I had gone into this 
 matter of the cable from a desire to assist in com- 
 pleting so great a work, and would have been quite 
 content with feeling I had had success. When all 
 equally did their best, it seemed to me unfair that 
 a few should be selected for any special reward. I 
 earnestly pray that the dignity thus conferred upon 
 me by the Queen may never be disgraced by myself, or 
 those who, in the course of nature, will succeed me. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ATLANTIC CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION 
 OF 1869. 
 
 1867. The early part of this year was a time of 
 great anxiety to me in railway matters. 
 
 I had been appointed a Deputy-Lieutenant of 
 Berkshire early in the year (February 23rd), so was 
 able to attend full dress-parties in uniform. It is a 
 dreadful thing for a thin man to go in a court dress. 
 I was also appointed a magistrate for the county of 
 Berks in the summer of 1867, and attended the bench 
 a few times at Windsor. 
 
 1868. The periodical called Engineering had a 
 portrait of me in their number for 2 1st February 
 1868, and a short account of my life. 
 
 May lyd. 
 
 My wife was taken from me after a painful illness. 
 She was buried at Clewer on the 28th of this month. 
 I spent the summer at Clewer and in Ireland. 
 
 October nth. 
 
 I was appointed Prov. Grand Master for Berks and 
 Bucks yesterday, so that I must give up my office of 
 
 D.P.G. Master of Wilts, which I regret. 
 
 189 
 
190 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 CLEWER, November 24*%. 
 
 My election is over, and I have again been returned 
 for Cricklade. 
 
 S.S. "GREAT EASTERN," PORTLAND, 
 Tuesday, \%th June 1869. 
 
 Once more I am sitting in my cabin here, getting 
 ready for another Atlantic cable expedition. I well 
 remember how often in this cabin, three years ago, I 
 resolved I would not again go on such an expedition, 
 and probably will often feel the same on this trip ; but 
 I love this old ship, and cannot pay her a visit without 
 a strong longing to stay with her. I left town on 
 Tuesday morning, accompanied by the Directors of the 
 Great Western Railway, who have very kindly taken 
 advantage of this occasion to give me a dinner, which 
 was held at the Royal Hotel at Weymouth on Wednes- 
 day night. Some of the directors and officers of the 
 Bristol and Exeter, the South Devon, and the Corn- 
 wall Railway Companies came ; nothing could be more 
 gratifying than the kindness and warmth of the expres- 
 sions used towards me in the speeches. About fifty 
 sat down to dinner. Mr. Wood, 1 our deputy-chairman, 
 was in the chair. Probably to few men could a more 
 agreeable compliment be made. The men who sat 
 round that table were no strangers to me, but men with 
 whom I had been associated for many years. Some of 
 those who have left our direction were present Mr. 
 Williams of Chester, Mr. Bodenham of Hereford, and 
 
 1 Afterwards Sir Alexander Wood. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF i86g. 191 
 
 Mr. D. Ogilvie of London. They travelled a long 
 distance to show me a kindness, and I may rightly 
 feel happy in the feeling that years of steady perse- 
 verance in the line of my duty have thus obtained the 
 respect and esteem of so many old friends. I brought 
 them on board the ship in the afternoon, with which 
 they were very much pleased, and all went off very 
 well. We kept up our party until nearly twelve o'clock. 
 Yesterday the Mayor and Corporation of Weymouth 
 gave us a breakfast in a tent, but first took us in a 
 steamer to see round the harbour and Portland. Un- 
 fortunately the morning was very wet, and we could 
 not stay on deck, but by one o'clock, when the break- 
 fast-time arrived, it cleared up and was a nice bright 
 afternoon. All passed off very well, and at six o'clock 
 I bade good-bye to my friends, and came on board the 
 ship, glad to get the quiet and spare time. We are all 
 in excellent trim for our voyage. I never saw the old 
 ship in so complete a state for a start. We have been 
 a little disappointed about our coals ; one of the three 
 steamers that had to supply us with 2000 tons put 
 back from bad weather, and only arrived in the middle 
 of last night. We are taking as much out of her as 
 we can, but do not intend to delay our voyage to take 
 it all. I had a telegram yesterday night, saying the 
 shore-end was laid at Brest in the morning, so that 
 I trust we will make the splice at Brest on Sunday and 
 commence our work across the Atlantic. Great credit 
 is due to Halpin, who was first officer of the ship on 
 her two former expeditions, and now has the command 
 
192 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 He has the great, and what I call unusual, power of 
 doing things quietly, yet well. The day is very wet, 
 but I hope it may clear up in the afternoon, as we have 
 given permission to the Weymouth people to come on 
 board and see the ship. We have fixed to leave in 
 the morning at eight. 
 
 Friday night^June i%th. 
 
 We had a large party of visitors on board this after- 
 noon, but it was dreadfully wet for them until between 
 three and four o'clock, when it cleared up and has since 
 been very fine. Sir James Anderson and others came 
 on board. I hope all will be here to-night, or they 
 will stand a chance of being left behind. I have been 
 getting a cot rigged up to-day to sleep in. It will be 
 more comfortable than the fixed berth when the ship 
 rolls. 
 
 Saturday night, June iqth. 
 
 We had a lovely morning for our start from Portland, 
 and were punctual to our time, the ship being fairly 
 under weigh at 8.30. All was done in a quiet and 
 ship-shape manner, and we have had a lovely day. 
 The Scandinavia started with us and is in company. 
 Our speed has been about 6J knots, paddles making 
 6J and screw 29 revolutions. It is a great treat to 
 see the paddle-engines doing their work again. The 
 ship is drawing 27 feet forward and 34 feet aft, or a 
 mean of 30^ feet. We passed the Start Light a little 
 before five, and are now crossing over, hoping to be on 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 193 
 
 the French coast in the morning early. The weather 
 has changed this evening, as it is now raining a little, 
 and very cloudy. 
 
 BREST, Sunday night, June zoth. 
 
 We made a good run across the Channel last night, 
 and were off Ushant this morning at eight o'clock, but 
 our stupid French pilot said the land we made was not 
 Ushant, and we went off to sea again, until he was lost 
 in his own blunder, and, after wondering where we 
 were, an observation showed us that we had passed to 
 the west of Ushant. So we stood in again, and about 
 one o'clock made the same point we had been at early 
 in the morning. This was very vexing, as it has lost 
 us a tide. The ship made between eight and nine knots 
 during the night. We arrived in Brest Roads about 
 3 A.M., and found the Hazvk and Chiltern waiting for 
 us. The day has been very fine, and the scene was a 
 very pretty one as we came in, some six or seven 
 steamers having come out from Brest to meet us, but 
 we did not have any one on board, as the sea was 
 rather lively for a small boat. I cannot say I was 
 sorry at this, as we had no wish to see the ship covered 
 with a multitude of people. We had church service 
 on board this morning. I like the homely character of 
 these services. They are more impressive than in a 
 church, to me at any rate. The crew were mustered 
 in their Sunday-clothing before church, and are a 
 better looking lot of men than I thought they were 
 from seeing them about on the deck. The coast 
 
 N 
 
194 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 round here is very rocky, and not a very safe port to 
 enter, I should think ; but it is very well lighted. 
 There are large detached rocks scattered about, show- 
 ing their heads above the water ; all very well in clear 
 weather, when you can see them, but rather awkward in 
 a fog or in the dark. 
 
 The party from Paris came off in a steamer, but 
 wisely did not attempt to come on board. It would 
 not have been quite safe for landsmen ; indeed, even 
 for sailors it is not a very safe job when there is a 
 little sea on, as the boat may so easily get under our 
 side ladders and be swamped, or the people get their 
 heads crushed. I will now go on deck and see how the 
 work is getting on. 
 
 Monday morning June list. 
 
 Nothing could have been better for us than the 
 weather and everything else last night, and our splice 
 was made without difficulty, and at two this morning 
 the ship's head was turned for the Atlantic, and our 
 voyage began, not to be interrupted again, I hope, 
 until we reach its end. I went to bed about twelve, 
 after seeing that everything necessary was being done 
 to the splice, and got up again when the gun fired 
 about two this morning to signal our departure, and 
 went on deck, where I remained until 4 A.M., then 
 turned in again. There was a glorious sunrise, but a 
 red one, so we may have some rain before the day is 
 over, but it is up to this time a beautiful day, and 
 the sea like a sheet of glass. Our start has been an 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 195 
 
 admirable one in every respect, the heavy portion of 
 our cable is running out beautifully. 
 
 Monday night, June 2\st. 
 
 This is the longest day, and the end of the first day 
 of our work. All has gone on as well as we could wish. 
 There is some little hitch with the people on shore, as 
 we cannot speak to them, although they speak to us. 
 The electricians are a little puzzled with it, and say it 
 is owing to the arrangement of the cable in our tanks, 
 and that when the heavy end is all out it will be all 
 right. It cannot be any fault in the cable itself, as 
 that is perfect. At noon to-day we were in lat. 48 1 8', 
 long. 5 40', and had run 41 miles from Brest, leaving 
 about 2300 miles to St. Pierre of cable to be payed 
 out. We have seen a great many ships to-day. We 
 had some rain this afternoon for an hour; it then 
 cleared up, but will, I think, rain again before morn- 
 ing. The glass keeps high and steady, the sea is per- 
 fectly smooth, and, indeed, the weather is all we could 
 wish. I hope we shall get some news from England 
 to-morrow. We have had none to-day, and I am 
 anxious to hear what the Lords have done with the 
 Irish Church Bill. Although this is the end of our 
 first day, it looks a long time to go on paying out the 
 cable ; say 5 per cent, is done. I think I shall be glad 
 when it is done, and I am once again in England. 
 God bless all dear ones there. 
 
196 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GQOCH. 
 
 Tuesday night, June 22nd. 
 
 All has gone on to-day as well as we could wish. 
 The weather has been fine but dull, with the exception 
 of four or five hours in the middle of the day, enabling 
 good observations to be taken at noon. The shore 
 end was all paid out about one o'clock this morning, 
 and we have since been paying out the main cable ; it 
 is running out beautifully from the large tank. To- 
 night, about one, we change to the forward tank. 
 Good messages have been exchanged with the shore 
 to-day, and I was glad to learn the House of Lords 
 had read the Irish Church Bill a second time. I hope 
 they will materially alter its clauses. 
 
 Wednesday night, June 2yd. 
 
 We have had a glorious day to-day. Nothing could 
 have been finer than the weather, bright warm sun- 
 shine, enabling capital observations to be made, and all 
 has gone well with the cable. We changed from the 
 main to the forward tank this morning at 1.30, and the 
 cable is running out very well from the tank. As it 
 is now carried the whole length of the ship, our line of 
 lamps to-night looks very well, and gives a good imita- 
 tion of Oxford Street. Since the change of tanks 
 there has been a difficulty again in speaking with the 
 shore. We have got some messages, though very 
 slowly; but as they are improving, I hope by to- 
 morrow all will be right, and we shall be able to get 
 some news. 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 197 
 
 Thursday night, June 2$th. 
 
 We had a fault in the cable this morning at 3.30. 
 The ship was stopped very quickly after the signal was 
 given from the testing-room, the paying-out disc only 
 making sixty revolutions. Stoppers were put on, and 
 the cable cut forward and put upon the hauling-in gear. 
 One and a quarter miles were then hauled back before 
 the fault was got on board, at about a quarter before 
 eight. The splice was at once made, and the ship 
 again under weigh at 9.30. The depth of the water 
 was about 2200 fathoms, and it gave a strain in the 
 dynamometer of about four tons; quite enough, as a 
 good many wires were broken in the cable pulled 
 in. We held an inquest on it this afternoon, and 
 found the fault was caused by a small puncture in 
 the core, which must have been done before it was 
 covered. There is no doubt the extra strain it had in 
 paying out extended the injury sufficiently to bring it 
 to light. It is a great satisfaction to find it is not 
 caused by a broken wire in paying out, as we may 
 hope it is not likely we will find such another fault. 
 The hauling-in gear forward pulled the cable back very 
 well, but with more strain on it than if the engine had 
 been applied to the paying-out gear. As though this 
 fault and its anxieties was not sufficient for us, a false 
 alarm was given at twenty minutes to eleven of another 
 fault. The light flew off the scale and did not come back, 
 from the force with which the mirror had moved caus- 
 ing it to stick. It is supposed some one or other must 
 
198 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 have touched one of the wires by accident, giving dead 
 earth. The ship was stopped, but as the mistake was 
 quickly discovered, we went on again at once. Nothing 
 could have been more favourable for dealing with such 
 an accident as we had this morning than our weather ; 
 indeed, the sea has been like glass, and the day hot 
 and lovely. A swallow came on board yesterday, and 
 we saw some sea-birds round the ship. We have had 
 two or three ships pass us to-day. As our electricians 
 do not seem able to speak with the shore, we have not 
 sent or received any messages to-day. They seem a 
 little at sea as to the cause of this. 
 
 Saturday, June 26th, 11.30 A.M. 
 
 After the fault on Thursday, the cable went out very 
 well, and seemed going right. During yesterday between 
 10 A.M. and about 7 P.M. the cable was used for passing 
 messages. They came much better, but still very slow. 
 When Willoughby Smith, after dinner or about 7 P.M., 
 went to the test-room, he resumed the current and 
 then saw a decrease in the resistance. He took steps 
 to try and satisfy himself of the cause and the loca- 
 lity, but was quite unable to do so. About 9 P.M. he 
 told me there appeared to be a small fault or some other 
 cause on shore to account for the change in resistance, 
 but he could not say where, or whether it might arise 
 from some change in the wires on shore. We at once 
 went to Canning, and, after fully discussing the matter, 
 determined to cut off the main and after tanks from the 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 199 
 
 current, and see if any better indications could be ob- 
 tained on the shorter length. This was done, but the 
 defect still showed itself between the ship and shore. It 
 was then settled to cut off the cable remaining in the for- 
 ward tank about three hundred miles, so as still further 
 to shorten our circuit ; this was done without giving any 
 further information. A consultation was then held with 
 the engineers of the French Company at 2 A.M. I asked 
 the French engineers to give me their opinion frankly, 
 as my desire was to do that which would be best for the 
 success of the enterprise, rather than to consider the 
 interests of the Telegraph Company alone. I regretted 
 I did not get from them any decided opinion as to 
 what was best to be done; but they pointed out the 
 consequences to the shares of the French Company if 
 the cable was constructed with the slightest fault in 
 it. None of them could give me the slightest idea of 
 where the fault might be ; indeed, Mr. Jenkins said it 
 might be a ship had injured the cable in Brest. There 
 appeared to be only three courses open to us. One, 
 to go on and try to complete the cable ; all seemed 
 to agree that the fault was so slight, it might not for 
 very many years interfere with the working of the 
 cable (Varley said an indefinite time), and should the 
 fault develop itself afterwards, it might then be located 
 and repaired. Another, to begin and pick up the cable 
 in the hopes of recovering the fault. The third, to 
 cut and go back to the shallow water, and lift the cable 
 and test it there, and if there found good to the shore, 
 to splice on to it and go on to lay as much cable as 
 
200 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 might be left in the ship, buoying the end until more 
 cable could be made and sent out from England 
 to complete it. This third plan appeared to be too 
 uncertain ; the second also was a very hopeless task, 
 to begin pulling back cable without the slightest idea 
 whether it was twenty or three hundred miles we 
 might have to recover, and the almost certainty, if it 
 became a work of many days, we would break it in 
 2400 fathoms of water from weather. I therefore de- 
 cided to go on. In this view I was supported by all 
 our staff, and we at once began to make the splices 
 and started the ship at 5 A.M. this morning. As 
 though we had not had anxiety enough for one night, 
 a very sad fault showed itself at eight. The ship was 
 at once stopped and the cable pulled in. After getting 
 in three-quarters of a mile the fault was retraced. An 
 examination of this fault shows it to be a clean and 
 sharp puncture of a very similar character to the 
 former one, only this had not the appearance of age 
 about it the other had. The yarn over the hole was 
 discoloured, but it was impossible to say whether it 
 was an old fault or not. The splice was made and the 
 ship started at 1 1 A.M. These faults are quite a new 
 feature in cable-laying. In 1865 our faults could be 
 accounted for by broken wires, as the piece of wire 
 was found in each, but here is simply a clean hole, 
 and, if done wilfully, we know not how many we may 
 have. It is very trying and enough to turn one's 
 head grey. The weather continues all we could wish 
 and the sea quite smooth. A large number of ships 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 201 
 
 passed us yesterday ; at one time fourteen were in 
 sight; we spoke to three and reported them. It is 
 just a week this morning since we left Weymouth. 
 
 Saturday night, June 2.6th. 
 
 What an up-and-down life is this cable-laying ! For 
 the last twenty hours I have believed we could not 
 now lay a perfect cable on account of the small fault 
 reported in it, and on which some 100,000 depends 
 to the Construction Company. At four this afternoon 
 I was agreeably surprised by Willoughby Smith coming 
 to my cabin and telling me the fault had disappeared 
 suddenly, and up to the present time it remains all 
 right. I trust, therefore, it has only been caused by 
 some derangement of the wires on shore, but what 
 anxiety has it cost me ! I will, however, not be too 
 sanguine until another day has passed. I may now 
 be glad I decided as I did last night, not to pick up in 
 search of this fault ; we might have lost the cable, and 
 would certainly have lost our time and labour. At 
 present the cable is perfect, and, as I am very tired 
 and weary, I hope I will get a long comfortable sleep 
 to-night. I stood in the paddle-box to-night to watch 
 a beautiful sunset, the first we have had in the Atlantic; 
 the sight is very grand. 
 
 Sunday night, June 27 'th. 
 
 I am glad to say the electrical condition of our cable 
 is excellent, and we were able to report it perfect to- 
 day. God grant it may continue so. We will finish 
 
202 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 the forward tank to-morrow night. The ship is now 
 more than seven feet by the stern. There is a very heavy 
 dew, making the decks quite wet, but the sun set like 
 a continuance of fine weather. I had a telegram 
 saying all was well in England. 
 
 Monday night, June 2%th. 
 
 The weather to-day has been bright, hot, and lovely 
 the sea like a lake. A couple of whales were alongside 
 the ship, also a sunfish and a flying-fish. It is un- 
 usual to see the latter fish so far north, and must 
 indicate fair weather. We certainly have so far been 
 wonderfully favoured with the weather. Our cable 
 has gone out very well to-day, and we have just 
 changed from the forward to the after tank between 
 ten and half-past ; the change was done in a very 
 quiet and admirable manner. Our ship is some eight 
 or ten feet down by the stern, although we have got 
 water in her bows. She will now come up quickly 
 again as the after tank empties. The supposed fault 
 has shown a loss of resistance again this morning. 
 They have been working the cable with 100 cells. 
 This has now been reduced to twenty. It is a very 
 provoking thing this defect, as we do not seem able to 
 place it at all, nor indeed do our people feel certain it 
 is a fault ; it is so small, and the same effect may be 
 produced from other causes. How difficult it is to get 
 a line 2600 miles long without so much as the prick of 
 a pin in it, and to get this safely stretched across the 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 203 
 
 ocean ! This matter showing itself again has a little 
 disheartened us, and we are not a very cheerful party 
 to-day. 
 
 Tuesday^ June 2<)th. 
 
 All has gone on well to-day in paying-out the cable. 
 The weather has been very fine, but much cooler, and 
 this evening there is a good deal of wind and rough 
 sea from the south. Some of the sailors say it is 
 going to blow, while others say not, time will show. 
 We are now a little over half way through the deep 
 water on to the southern point of the banks of New- 
 foundland ; if all goes well, another week will take us 
 there, when we have only 360 miles to lay in shallow 
 water, and then home to England. How glad I shall 
 be to see the ship's head turned in that direction, our 
 work finished ! The cable continues to improve in in- 
 sulation, although the question of a fault or no fault 
 is an open one yet between our electricians and the 
 French ones. 
 
 Wednesday morning, June y>th, 1 1 A.M. 
 Those who said it was going to blow were certainly 
 right last night ; it is now blowing a very heavy gale 
 from the south-east, and we had the additional mis- 
 fortune to have a fault at five this morning. The light 
 was seen to fly off the scale and immediately return, 
 and in five minutes it again left it not to return. The 
 ship was at once stopped and hauling in begun, but the 
 gale was too much for us, and after getting a strain 
 
204 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 in the dynamometer of five tons, the cable parted, 
 fortunately between the paying-out machinery and 
 the hauling-in gear forward. It was also very fortunate 
 that the paying-out machinery and the stoppers held 
 the end. It was at once buoyed, and now rides by 
 the buoy in the middle of the Atlantic. This is a 
 great trouble to us. I cannot understand these con- 
 stant faults, as we find nothing like broken wires to 
 account for them. It was also very singular that the 
 light left the scale five minutes before the fault was 
 again seen, as though some sharp instrument had been 
 pushed into the cable and at once withdrawn again. 
 One does not like to suspect men of such wickedness, 
 yet it is hard to believe these faults accidental, particu- 
 larly .as we had not a single one during the time the 
 cable was being manufactured and stowed into the 
 tanks. The storm is now raging in a mad way, wind 
 and rain, and a very heavy sea ; we are putting down 
 a mark buoy. The Scandinavia was told to do so 
 also, but after trying, we saw she gave up the task. 
 It is awful to see these ships with the seas running 
 clean over them ; it makes one dread every moment 
 seeing them go down. I cannot say I am sorry they 
 are out of sight. I have stood on the bridge compass- 
 house for a couple of hours watching them. I at times 
 felt that the bridge-house itself would be blown away. 
 Anderson thinks the gale is too heavy to last long; 
 the glass fell five-tenths of an inch, he says. It is a 
 very heavy gale, I have certainly not seen anything 
 like it before, although I have seen larger waves. We 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 205 
 
 must hope it will quickly subside, and that we shall be 
 fortunate in recovering our end again ; if not, I fear 
 we must grapple for it, and then our work is very 
 uncertain. It has fortunately happened in the shal- 
 lowest water we have in the mid-Atlantic, being only 
 between 1800 and 1900 fathoms. The fault was very 
 nearly in when the cable broke, but if we had got it 
 in, the gale increased so much we could not have held 
 on to it to splice. 
 
 Wednesday night, June 
 Both wind and sea have gone down a good deal, 
 but the glass is still falling, and very different opinions 
 are held as to the chances for to-night and to-morrow. 
 We saw our buoys a little before dinner, one on the 
 end of the cable and two mark buoys ; they seemed 
 all to be riding very well. We have been performing 
 the very disagreeable duty all day of driving to wind- 
 ward for ten or twelve miles and then turning round 
 and running back again. Some of these turns in the 
 cross seas gave us a very lively roll. There has not 
 been much rain since morning. The old ship has 
 behaved very well, and has as a rule been very steady. 
 We can now do nothing but look after our buoys until 
 we get fine weather. 
 
 Thursday, July is/. 
 
 The weather and sea to-day have not been such as 
 to make it safe to attempt getting the cable on board. 
 
206 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Friday ', July 2nd. 
 
 I remember when a boy being much interested in 
 reading a book called " Lights and Shadows of Scottish 
 Life." 1 If I had the skill, I think one might write 
 an equally chequered description of the lights and 
 shadows of cable-laying life. We have just started 
 on our voyage again with the cable all right over our 
 stern. The morning was all we could wish for picking 
 up the buoy, and this work was begun between four 
 and five this morning, and the end safely got on board 
 by 7.30, and by eight the fault was in, the splice made, 
 and the ship started at 10.30. We may indeed be 
 very thankful we have got so well out of our difficulty, 
 and we must only hope we have now had our share 
 of them. I have just had a telegram from Osborne 
 in answer to one I sent him a couple of hours ago ; 
 he says the French shares fell to 18 on the news of 
 our trouble. The Scandinavia and Chiltern are pick- 
 ing up our mark buoys. I had a list of the people on 
 board taken out yesterday ; there are 443. 
 
 The cable was recovered over the stern this morning. 
 All arrangements had been made to do so at the bow, 
 had the weather been at all unfavourable; but this 
 being all we could wish, it was done at the stern. 
 The long lead of the cable along the deck from the 
 machinery forward, and so on through the machinery 
 aft, has this advantage, that there is most strain on the 
 cable between these two points, and if it breaks, as it 
 
 1 By Professor Wilson (Christopher North). 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 207 
 
 did on Wednesday, it is most likely to go there, and 
 we have a little chance of securing the end before it 
 gets overboard. I am therefore of opinion that this 
 is the best arrangement, and we ought not to put the 
 steam-engine again at the stern. The leading sheaves 
 would be better, I think, if they were a good deal 
 larger, which can easily be done. 
 
 Friday night^ July 2nd. 
 
 We examined the fault this afternoon. It, like the 
 others, is a puncture, and the shape of this is exactly 
 the shape of one of the scarfs of the iron wire round 
 the cable. I have no doubt in my own mind it is 
 caused in paying out by one of these scarfs being 
 broken and sticking into the coil below it in the tank. 
 It is very provoking, as there is no kind of security 
 that we will not have a great many more of these. As 
 a precaution, we have put one of the officers of the 
 ship into the tank with each watch ; but I have given 
 up all idea of its being the result of malice. This wire 
 would hardly be put in so clean if done by a man's 
 hand it would be turned a little in the wound. We 
 must, therefore, hope for fine weather, so that, if a 
 fault does show itself, we have a better chance of 
 cutting it out. The weather has been very fine all day, 
 and there is every prospect of its continuance; the 
 sunset was beautiful. There were a number of birds 
 round the ship to-night, and some fish called skip-jacks 
 were seen. It is not usual to see them so far north. 
 They are a small fish and jump out of the water.' 
 
208 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Saturday night, July yd. 
 
 Our cable has gone out all right to-day. We have 
 put one of the officers of the ship and one of the French 
 electrical staff to watch in the tanks. Although I don't 
 think the faults were caused by a wilful act, yet it is 
 wise to take every precaution in our power, and we are 
 now coming to our deepest water in fact, the deepest 
 water in which a cable has ever been laid, or 2760 
 fathoms, or a little over three miles. I should be sorry 
 to try the experiment of having to do anything with 
 the bottom of this part. A little after 5 P.M. to-day 
 the light left the scale again for a minute, and made us 
 all very anxious. It spoiled my dinner, for I could 
 not eat. Just as we finished, Willoughby Smith came 
 down and told me he had been in communication with 
 the shore, and found one of the stupid clerks there had 
 caused it by putting his hand on a naked wire. This 
 carelessness is very vexing, as it gives us great and 
 unnecessary anxiety; but it is very satisfactory to 
 learn the cause in this case, as it no doubt explains 
 the same things which have occurred before, and been 
 the cause of much discussion and anxiety. But I wish 
 we had the careless fellow here, and we would drum 
 him round the ship. We have got sufficient real cause 
 for anxiety without being bothered with stupidity. We 
 had a good deal of news from shore to-day. I was 
 glad to learn the Great Western Bill has passed the 
 Lords. We also heard the Lords had been dealing 
 with the Irish Church Bill in a way Gladstone does 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 209 
 
 not like. We must try some better plan of joining the 
 ends of the iron wires ; the present scarf system will 
 not do. We had very heavy rain this morning from 
 about seven until eleven, when the wind got up and 
 cleared it off, and the rest of the day has been very 
 fine. Good sights were obtained at noon. Several 
 ships have been in sight to-day. We spoke one this 
 evening and have reported her. If all goes on well, 
 another week will put us out of danger. Just a fort- 
 night to-day since we left Portland. 
 
 Monday night, July $th. 
 
 All has gone well to-day with our cable, and its 
 insulation is improving very rapidly as we get it into 
 the water. The day has been fine, with a strong head 
 wind, and to-night the wind seems getting up. I hear 
 the sea pretty rough outside my cabin. Some ships 
 passed us very close this afternoon, but very few of 
 the ships we fall in with have flags enabling them to 
 speak to us. 
 
 Wednesday, July jtk. 
 
 I was unable to write last night, as the ship was 
 rolling so heavily I could not burn a lamp in my cabin, 
 and the candles hung up do not give sufficient light. 
 The gale was very heavy up to yesterday evening, 
 blowing from the N.N.W., and has left such a heavy 
 beam sea, that we are rolling in a most uncomfortable 
 manner. Getting our dinner was a task of no slight 
 difficulty. In saving a tureen of soup I got a jug of 
 
 o 
 
210 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 milk over me. I felt the comfort of a cot last night, 
 as, while no one else got a wink of sleep, I was very- 
 comfortable, and with the help of the doctor's stuff got 
 a good sleep, only disturbed at times by hearing things 
 rolling about and heavy seas breaking with the noise 
 of thunder under the paddle sponsons, making the 
 ship tremble. Some of the rolls were measured at 
 28 degrees. The gale was a very heavy one, and the 
 Scandinavia fell astern almost out of sight early in the 
 morning, but picked us up again in the middle of the 
 day. Both ships were shipping awful seas. They at 
 times disappeared in a mass of foam, and rose up again 
 on the crest of the next wave with the water pouring 
 off their decks like waterfalls. I cannot say I should 
 like to be with them. The wind went down towards 
 evening, and there is very little of it this morning, but 
 it has left a very heavy beam sea, and we are rolling 
 very heavily ; it is with difficulty I can keep my seat to 
 write. Fortunately all has gone on well with our cable, 
 although, when the ship rolls and the cable is running 
 out near the eye, it flies about a good deal and requires 
 close watching. The insulation of the cable is improv- 
 ing very much. We join on the main tank this after- 
 noon, and by about ten to-night will finish the after 
 tank. If all goes well for forty-eight hours more, we 
 will be in shallow water, and this will be a great relief 
 to us all. It is a very anxious work on this deep 
 water. Over three miles is an awful depth. There has 
 been very little increased strain on the dynamometer 
 in the deep water. We have had a good lot of shore 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 211 
 
 news the last two days. The Lords appear to be 
 making important changes in the Irish Church Bill. 
 I think I may be back yet before that question is 
 settled. I am glad the Great Western Bill has been 
 read a third time by the Lords, but regret to see so 
 small an increase in our receipts. 
 
 Thursday morning, July 8t/t. 
 
 The heavy sea continued all day yesterday and our 
 rolling also. I was unable to work at night. We had 
 a very bad time of it at dinner, for it seemed to select 
 that particular time for making its worst effects. It is 
 rather fun to see the struggle every one has to make 
 to keep his place at the table, and also to look after 
 his plate and glasses. A dreadful amount of breakage 
 takes place. The day yesterday was very fine, a nice 
 bright sun and very pleasant temperature for sitting on 
 deck. We coupled the main tank in the afternoon, 
 and changed from the after to main tank at 9.30 at 
 night. It was very well done. The engines were 
 stopped and reversed in eight seconds, and the ship 
 was stopped dead in less than loo fathoms, or her own 
 length. The sea has gone down very much during 
 the night, but there is still a good deal of roll. We 
 had heavy rain at seven this morning, but the day is 
 since fine although cloudy, and I fear we will not get 
 an observation at noon. By twilight we will get into 
 1800 fathoms water, and by daylight in the morning 
 about 800, and during to-morrow turn round the tail 
 
212 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 of the Bank of Newfoundland, so that I hope we will 
 be past all serious trouble. Our cable is running out 
 of the large tank very well. We have just had a 
 meeting in my cabin Sir James Anderson, Halpin, 
 Canning, and myself to determine the point we are to 
 make for on the tail of the Bank, and Anderson has 
 marked on my chart the course we settled. There are 
 strong symptoms of ice ahead of us. Last night the 
 temperature of the water fell from 67 degrees to 52 in 
 a couple of hours. I should like to see some good 
 large icebergs, if they were not in our way, and would 
 not come across our path in the dark. 
 
 Friday morning, July qth. 
 
 The heavy swell has continued, so that we still 
 feel the rolling of the ship too much for a lamp to 
 be quite safe on my table, so I did not write any 
 last night. The day continued very fine, and our 
 cable has run out admirably. I am very thankful to 
 say we are now getting into shallow water. By two 
 o'clock we shall be in 700 or 800 fathoms. The Chil- 
 tern has gone ahead to take soundings in the tail of 
 the Banks, and to take up a position in 500 fathoms 
 water, and we will then steer for her. We are now 
 making a point we call A., and will then alter our 
 course due west until we get to the point B., where we 
 turn up north on the west side of the big bank. I am 
 very thankful to God we have reached thus far in 
 safety, and all danger to the success of our work is 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 186g. 213 
 
 over. It has been a long and anxious operation ; the 
 cable tests are extremely high, higher than the former 
 Atlantic cables, and I hope, when we get the end 
 landed, it will be found that the supposed fault is a 
 myth. It must, at any rate, be very slight in its char- 
 acter. We have been on the look-out for ice since 
 yesterday ; the air became very cold in the afternoon, 
 the thermometer in the sun showing only 57. This 
 morning it is only 50, but there is no sun. We have 
 had a little fog in the distance, but only for a short 
 time. The wind is blowing a good breeze from the 
 north, and this is said to be the best possible wind for 
 keeping away the fogs, a very important matter to us 
 for the next few days. We have as yet had no fog, 
 a rather singular occurrence to pass so long a time in 
 the Atlantic and not have any. A large fish passed 
 very close to the ship yesterday ; I thought he would 
 go under the paddle, he missed by only about six feet, 
 but did not seem to be at all disturbed by its noise so 
 close to him. The sun seems inclined to get out. I 
 hope by twelve they may be able to get an observation, 
 and so fix our position exactly at the tail of the Bank. 
 We ought to be at St. Pierre on Sunday early, and 
 I hope we may be able to leave there for England 
 on Wednesday, and I may then get to Clewer by 
 Sunday fortnight. We have lost three days by the 
 faults. 
 
214 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Friday night, July qth. 
 
 The sun got out quite bright by twelve o'clock to- 
 day, and we were able to get capital observations. 
 We exactly made point A on the chart as arranged 
 yesterday, our most southern point, and have since 
 been running due west along the tail of the Bank. At 
 twelve to-night we shall reach point B, and then alter 
 our course north for St. Pierre. We made a good 
 distance up to twelve to-day, and we have now in- 
 creased our speed a little as we are in shallow water, 
 the cable running out at about seven knots. Our con- 
 sort ships took two soundings this afternoon, one 840 
 fathoms, and the other 620. It is quite a pleasure to 
 look at the cable running out of the large tank, and at 
 night, when the tank is lighted, the effect inside is 
 very pretty. Halpin gave us some champagne to-day 
 to celebrate our arrival in shoal water. It is a great 
 relief to every one, and they all show it in their faces 
 and conversation, like people suddenly relieved from a 
 great weight on their mind. We are most fortunate in 
 the weather ; we had every reason to expect to be in 
 fogs, and instead we have had the most lovely after- 
 noon we can imagine, and to-night the sunset was 
 most glorious, beautiful far beyond the power of words 
 to express or of painting to delineate. The sea was a 
 sheet of glass, and the sunset behind a heavy fog-bank 
 which seemed to enclose the view, making it like a 
 lake with a margin of trees and mountains. It was a 
 scene never to be forgotten. We cannot hope for such 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 215 
 
 weather to continue. I fear fogs will come, and I will 
 have the pleasure of hearing the fog-whistle just over 
 my head. We have been unable to get news the last 
 few days owing to the rolling of the ship making the 
 light fly about on the scale, but we have got some this 
 afternoon. I have never known the rolling continue so 
 long as it has this time. I think for three days we 
 have had the fiddles on the tables; to-day we did 
 without them. Beckwith has been to work getting his 
 paddle floats ready to put on ; only half the number are 
 on at present, this looks like getting toward the end of 
 our work, and I shall be very glad when we make our 
 start home. Jenkins telegraphed to-day that the cable 
 may now be considered successfully laid. 
 
 Saturday nighl^July loth. 
 
 I was awoke this morning by the sounding of the 
 steam-whistle, and when I went on deck I found it 
 pretty thick, and could have imagined myself at Pad- 
 dington Station, with the constant whistling of the 
 three steamers and the bleating of the sheep. Towards 
 ten o'clock the fog cleared away, and since then the 
 day has been beautifully fine. The sun set to-night 
 with a strong indication of wind and rain before 
 morning. Our cable has gone out very well, and at a 
 good speed of seven knots, and the ship has made a 
 good run, but an error in the compass has placed us too 
 much by about twelve miles to the S.W., and into deep 
 water or some 1200 fathoms. The compass error was 
 
2i6 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 not discovered until observations were taken this after- 
 noon, so there is no doubt our course since twelve has 
 still been too much to the S. W. We are now hauling up 
 stiff to the north, so as to strike the shallow line again. 
 The consort ships have been sounding, and will go 
 ahead and sound again to-night. As far as the cable 
 is concerned, it is an advantage to have it in deep 
 water, as it is safer than in the lOO-fathom line on the 
 Bank, but not so safe for us who are laying it. We 
 saw a very curious effect of mirage this morning. A 
 large ship on the horizon was upside down, sailing on 
 her mast-head, and her hull up in the clouds ; it is a 
 singular effect ; beyond her was a heavy fog-bank. It 
 was very easy to imagine land to-day in the distance 
 on many occasions. 
 
 Sunday night, July i \th. 
 
 I feel deeply grateful to God for His great mercy in 
 permitting us to complete our work. As I look back 
 on the voyage of now three weeks, how many difficul- 
 ties have we had to encounter, how much of discour- 
 agement ; yet we have struggled on full of confidence. 
 I never doubted we should lay the cable ; my only 
 fear was, we might lose it, and have weeks delay in 
 picking it up, and m}' only doubt was the question of 
 time, not the ultimate success. We have lost three 
 days on the road, but here we are in fifty fathoms, and 
 to-morrow will be free from the cable. It came on 
 very foggy last night, and rained in torrents, so that it 
 was difficult to steer our course; frequent soundings 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 217 
 
 were made, and so we have fished out our way to what 
 we call point B, the place where the William Cory 
 had to meet us. During the night I was called up 
 to learn that a kink had taken place in the cable as it 
 left the eye of the coil in the tank, but fortunately it 
 untwisted itself as it went over the top of the tank ; 
 had it got into the machinery, it might have given us 
 trouble. When I went on deck this morning the fog 
 was very thick, and our whistle has been anything but 
 agreeable since daylight, and has almost driven one 
 mad all the morning. We had no church this morn- 
 ing, as the officers and hands were needed on deck. 
 When we went on deck after lunch, the fog was be- 
 ginning to clear away, and by two o'clock it lifted up, 
 and, much to our joy and satisfaction, there was the 
 William Cory, not a mile ahead of us, and exactly 
 in our course. I was doubly glad of this for Captain 
 Halpin's sake, as the fact proved him to be right 
 to a yard ; nay, I doubt if he would not have run 
 the William Cory down, so exactly did he hit the 
 point where she was. Indeed, he took up her posi- 
 tion. The lifting of the fog at the moment it did was 
 a kind act of Providence. It has been quite clear all the 
 afternoon, and we have followed our pilot ships; but 
 now the fog has come on again, and we can see 
 nothing, and our whistle is hard at work, likely, I fear, 
 to interfere with one's night's rest. The completion of 
 such a work as this makes me feel very joyous. 
 
218 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Monday, July \7.th. 
 
 The fog continued very thick all night, but we fol- 
 lowed our pilot ships up to the buoy where the shore 
 end finishes. As we could not see it, we went on a 
 couple of miles beyond the distance, and then cut the 
 cable from our ship and buoyed the end at nine this 
 morning, hoping to get it clear some time during the 
 day, to make the splice and get on to St. Pierre. But 
 in this we have been disappointed, the fog never hav- 
 ing cleared up for one instant, and it has been a long 
 and weary day, nothing to do but blow our steam- 
 whistle, and occasionally fire a gun, but we have not 
 once seen any of the other ships, and have not heard 
 of the Chiltern. She would most likely make for St. 
 Pierre when she lost us. We are quite helpless in 
 this fog. Halpin tried to catch some fish this after- 
 noon, but it was a failure ; they were not to be caught. 
 When we cut the cable, there had been laid, including 
 the shore ends, 2583 miles, and we have 209 miles left 
 in the main tank, and about four miles that we picked 
 up during the faults. The slack has been 11.14 per 
 cent, on the whole distance. The course come by the 
 ship is only four miles longer than the exact distance 
 measured in the Great Circle. This is very creditable 
 to Halpin and his officers. 
 
 MlQUELON, Tuesday night, July itf/i. 
 When I had finished writing last night, I went on 
 deck a little before ten o'clock, and was astonished at 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 219 
 
 the change in the weather. I had come down only a 
 couple of hours before, leaving it enveloped in a dense 
 and very wet fog ; when I went back, all was clear, 
 and the moon and stars were shining bright. This 
 gave us great hopes for to-day, and we were not dis- 
 appointed. I got up at daylight, and found the begin- 
 ning of a lovely day. We at once made preparations 
 to give up the cable, or rather to find the two buoys. 
 This took us until eight o'clock, and they were a couple 
 of miles apart. The French engineers wanted to pick 
 up one for a distance, so as not to have so much bend 
 in the cable ; this I declined to do ; so we spliced on to 
 the shore end, and paid out from the Great Eastern a 
 couple of miles to the other buoy, so that on the main 
 cable, the first splice was made in the Scandinavia, 
 and the William Cory was sent to pick up the other 
 buoy, ready to take the end from us when we reached 
 it. On our coming up to her, we found she had got 
 the buoy but no cable; a pin in the shackle had 
 worked out, and so lost the end of the cable. This 
 was a very vexatious thing, as it was necessary to get 
 the grapnels out in two of the ships and try to recover 
 it. This was not done until three o'clock, when the 
 William Cory got it. We then buoyed one end, 
 leaving the small ship to complete the work, as Halpin 
 was anxious to get the Great Eastern anchored before 
 dark, and we had thirty-five miles to go. We therefore 
 started about four o'clock, and came on here ; it is in 
 some degree sheltered by the mainland of Newfound- 
 
220 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 land, and the islands of Great and Little Miquelon and 
 St. Pierre. There was a beautiful sunset as we came 
 in, and our anchor was dropped between 8 and 9 P.M. 
 
 Wednesday, July \^th. 
 
 The other ships finished their work about 10 P.M., 
 and then came on and anchored near us, so that we 
 formed a strong fleet this morning. The Gulnare 
 piloted us into the anchorage. The weather this morn- 
 ing was very lovely and the sea like a mirror. 
 
 ATLANTIC, 
 
 Thank God, our ship's head is now turned for 
 England and for home. The work and anxiety of this 
 expedition has been much more severe than the former 
 ones, partly from the length of time it has taken, and 
 also from the faults occurring in the cable. 
 
 Friday, July i6th. 
 
 This has been a lively and very interesting day. 
 The sea is like glass, with a nice light S.W. breeze, 
 just sufficient to fill our sails, and the old ship looks 
 splendid. It is really a beautiful sight to stand on the 
 top of the paddle-box and see her when all her sails 
 are set. She has been doing about ten knots as an 
 average, but the log shows more, as our course has not 
 been quite a straight one. Our distance has probably 
 been much more than the chart measurement. Her 
 paddles have been making 9 to 9! revolutions and 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 221 
 
 the screw 33 to 34. We were very much interested 
 during the forenoon in passing through a fleet of ice- 
 bergs. One was very large. Halpin estimated it at 
 800 to 900 feet long and very nearly as broad, and 
 about 150 feet high. The colours and brightness of 
 the ice in the bright sun were very beautiful. We 
 went within 300 yards of one good-sized one. All 
 were pretty near. The air was very cold in their 
 neighbourhood. I am very glad to have had this oppor- 
 tunity of seeing them, and under the most favourable 
 circumstances, a very bright sun and clear atmosphere 
 and smooth water. They must be very disagreeable 
 things to run into with a steamer. We also saw 
 some immense flocks of sea-birds, so thick that they 
 cast a shadow on the water. They were very close 
 to it fishing. There was a beautiful sunset and every 
 promise of a fine day to-morrow. The moon is now 
 bright and clear. 
 
 Saturday 9 July 
 
 I am a little disappointed in the distance we have 
 run to-day. I had calculated upon 240 miles instead 
 of 220. The wind has been from the south, not much 
 of it, but we have kept our fore and aft sails set, and 
 appeared to be going quickly through the water, the 
 paddle engines making about nine revolutions and the 
 screw thirty-two. The weather was very fine all day 
 and the sea smooth, but to-night it has come on a 
 heavy rain and looks like more wind. The glass is 
 falling. Yesterday the temperature of the water was 
 
222 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 only 47, while the air was 60, showing we are not 
 far from ice, but we have not seen any more ; indeed, 
 we have seen nothing all day, and it is a slow and idle 
 life, but a week of it, after the cable troubles, will do 
 me no harm. 
 
 Sunday ) July \%th. 
 
 We have only made 220 miles again to-day. The 
 night was wet and thick, and it continued so up to 
 eleven o'clock to-day, when the sun came out, and we 
 have had a lovely afternoon, with a nice fresh breeze 
 from the south-west, making all our sails draw well. 
 It would be very pleasant to get home on Saturday 
 night and have a quiet Sunday at Clewer before I 
 begin the bother of my work in London. The sea 
 is very smooth, and this gives our paddles a good 
 chance of doing their best. The speed of the engines 
 is the same as yesterday. We had church service this 
 morning as usual. 
 
 Thursday, July 22nd. 
 
 We have had another beautiful day, with fair but 
 moderate wind and a smooth sea. Our run has not 
 been quite so long, but we make good progress. A 
 ship passed within a few hundred yards of our stern. 
 It has been very enjoyable on deck, and I have spent 
 a great deal of time on our paddle-boxes. Our sailors 
 have been amusing themselves to-night by getting up 
 a rifle corps. One of the men who acted as officer had 
 a red uniform. Where he got it I don't know, and his 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF i86g. 223 
 
 men were armed with brooms and handspikes, and his 
 band consisted of an accordion, a fife, and bones. It 
 was an amusement to everybody for an hour to see 
 them do their drill and marching, and got through an 
 hour after dinner very well. The moon is very bright 
 to-night ; how beautiful the sea is with the light of a 
 full moon upon it. Saturday afternoon, if clear, we 
 shall see land ; and there is little doubt I will land 
 early Sunday morning. 
 
 Friday, Jtily 2.yd. 
 
 The weather has been all we could wish to-day, 
 although not quite so much wind, but the air has been 
 charming and very enjoyable on deck. We have been 
 looking out for the coast of Ireland this evening, as we 
 were off it but a distance of about thirty-five miles, and 
 we did not see it. To-morrow we will see the English 
 coast once more. I need not say how glad we will all 
 be, yet I don't know why we should. This week has 
 been a most enjoyable one; we could not have had 
 better weather if it had been left to our own making. 
 
 Saturday night, July itfh. 
 
 This is my last night in the ship, for this voyage at 
 any rate, and I leave her with a good deal of regret 
 mixed with pleasure in the thought of getting home, 
 where I will arrive to-morrow evening. We made the 
 Scilly Islands at twelve to-day, the Lizard at 5.30, and 
 the Eddystone a little after nine, so that we will be at 
 Weymouth by five. The day has been a very lovely 
 
224 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 one, perfectly calm, and our sails have therefore been 
 of no use to us, and our run has fallen off a little in 
 consequence. There is no doubt the sails help this 
 ship a good deal when there is a moderate breeze. 
 
 CLEWER, August i^th. 
 
 We reached Weymouth on Sunday morning, the 
 25th July, at seven in the morning, and I at once 
 proposed to land. This we did a little after eight, the 
 crew giving us some hearty cheers as we left the ship. 
 It was a lovely morning, and I left her side with feel- 
 ings of regret. 
 
 When I look back upon the results of the last cable 
 expedition, I feel the experience we have gained much 
 strengthens the opinion I had formed from former voy- 
 ages, i st. That for long, deep-sea work your chance of 
 success is very greatly enhanced by the use of such a 
 ship as the Great Eastern. It is very doubtful whether 
 with a smaller ship we would not on this occasion have 
 lost the end of the cable, and I do not think there 
 would be much chance of recovering it at two to three 
 miles depth with a small ship. It may be said, if a small 
 ship was used and a difficulty occurred in bad weather, 
 the cable could be buoyed, as we, in fact, had to do ; 
 but out of the three times we buoyed the cable, we 
 only had it done once as it should be that, fortunately, 
 in deep water. Once we lost it, and another time it 
 was very nearly lost ; probably in rough water it 
 would have been lost, so little hold had the stoppers 
 
CABLE-LAYING EXPEDITION OF 1869. 225 
 
 upon it. It is also quite clear to me that the expedi- 
 tion as a whole should be under the command of the 
 captain of the ship. He ought to be qualified by 
 experience for the task. Halpin would be able to do 
 all that could be done to lay a cable. All he would 
 need would be a staff of cable-hands, as he needs a 
 staff of engineers for his engines; but they should be 
 under his command, and not have a divided command, 
 as we have always had. There is much discussion 
 just now as to laying light, and therefore cheap, cables. 
 I do not think they could be laid across the Atlantic. 
 You need a cable of considerable strength, as diffi- 
 culties are sure to occur. A light cable would be, 
 in my opinion, sure to break; and I doubt whether 
 in great depths it could be picked up, as it would be 
 impossible to tell when the grapnel had hold of it. If 
 the experiment is tried, I will certainly take no share 
 
 in the work. 
 
 WEYMOUTH, " GREAT EASTERN" S.S., 
 
 October $oth. 
 
 The old ship is here again, taking in coal for her 
 voyage to India with the cable between Bombay and 
 Suez. Captain Halpin is going in command of her. 
 Osborne and I are down here for a couple of days to 
 see all is getting ready. It is pleasant to be on board 
 the old ship again, and I hope she will have a good 
 
 voyage. 
 
 CLEWER, Saturday, November 6th. 
 
 The Great Eastern sailed to-day from Weymouth 
 at 3.40 on her Indian voyage. She has been detained 
 since Thursday by a gale of wind. 
 
 p 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LATER YEARS. 
 
 (1870-1889.) 
 
 January 1st, 1870. 
 
 ANOTHER year has passed ; what are the records to 
 be left behind ? As regards myself and children, I 
 have much reason to be thankful, in so far as health 
 and worldly considerations are concerned. The past 
 pages will show my time has to some extent been 
 engaged in a large enterprise, in laying the line of 
 cable between France and America. This is the third 
 cable I have stretched across the Atlantic, probably 
 more than the traffic justifies, and it will take some 
 time to fill them with work. On the Great Western 
 all has gone well, a quiet but sure improvement, and I 
 look forward with confidence to the gradual growth of 
 our dividends, and the general improvement of the 
 financial condition of the Company. And now another 
 year has begun, who will live to see its end ? 
 
 Thursday ) February 
 
 We had a most important meeting to-day of the 
 
 shareholders of the Great Western Railway, for the 
 
 purpose of consolidating the stocks or shares of the 
 
 226 
 
LATER YEARS. 227 
 
 various sections forming the Company. It went off 
 very well, and was unanimously approved. I have 
 been for some weeks very anxious about it, and it is 
 a great relief to my mind now it is settled. We 
 intend to do the same with the preference stocks at the 
 general meeting on the nth of March. 
 
 The Great Eastern is now laying the British Indian 
 telegraph. She reached Bombay on the 28th January, 
 and started to lay the cable on the ist February. 1 I 
 hope all will go well with her. It is the first cable she 
 has laid without my being on board. 
 
 March nth. 
 
 At the general meeting of the Great Western share- 
 holders to-day, they agreed to the scheme for con- 
 solidation of the preference stocks, and I trust we 
 have now put the financial position of the line upon a 
 sound and satisfactory basis. There is no doubt it is 
 a most important thing for the future of the Company, 
 and I am glad it has fallen to my lot to carry through 
 so important a matter. 
 
 REGENT'S HOTEL, LEAMINGTON, 
 Sunday, September \%th. 
 
 I was married yesterday at Christ Church, Lancaster 
 Gate, London, to Miss Emily Burden 
 
 NEWCASTLE, Sunday, October 
 
 We had a carriage this morning, and started at 
 
 8.30 for Bedlington to spend the day with my old 
 
 1 This voyage was satisfactorily accomplished. 
 
228 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 playfellow George Marshall. The morning was wet 
 early, but it cleared up as we started, and we had a 
 very fine day. How familiar the road seemed to me, 
 particularly as we got towards Bedlington. I found 
 my friend very well, and a hearty welcome. We went 
 to church, where there is little change a new tower 
 has been built and afterwards walked down the vil- 
 lage and half-way to the ironworks. The village is 
 very much changed for the worse, I think, since I was 
 a boy; but perhaps this is not really so, as better 
 houses have certainly been built, but many of my old 
 landmarks are gone. The house in which I went to 
 school as a child of four years old is exactly as it was, 
 with the same pear-trees in front and the green rails. 
 I was told one of the ladies is also still living in it, 
 Miss Robson. I was very glad to pay another visit 
 to the scenes of my boyhood. We returned to New- 
 castle at night. 
 
 March 5^, 1871. 
 
 On Friday last we held our Great Western half- 
 yearly meeting and paid 3$ per cent. It is the highest 
 dividend that has been paid for eighteen years, and 
 will, I trust, be the lowest ever paid in the future. 
 The meeting went off very well, with many very 
 complimentary remarks with regard to myself. We 
 agreed to issue a million of 5 per cent, preferred stock, 
 and to alter the gauge on the line from Swindon down 
 through South Wales. It is a large expense, but I 
 feel the time has come when it must be done. My 
 
LATER YEARS. 229 
 
 Telegraph Construction meeting was last Tuesday ; it 
 went off very well, and we paid a large dividend. 
 
 January istj 1872. 
 
 The Great Western Railway has prospered to a 
 great extent. Our receipts have been very good, and 
 the shares are now at 1 1 8. A large rise since I first 
 took the chair, when they were at less than 90. Tele- 
 graphs have also done well, and have largely increased 
 in value. Upon the whole the last year has been one 
 of great prosperity. 
 
 April 7th. 
 
 The half-yearly meeting of the Great Western was 
 held on the 2Qth February, and we were able to pay 
 a good dividend of 5 per cent. It is long since the 
 Great Western divided such an amount as this, and 
 I hope we may now go on slowly improving. The 
 shareholders passed a resolution, giving me 5000 
 guineas, in very complimentary terms. 
 
 At the next meeting of the Board, held at Padding- 
 ton on the 2 1st of March, the following minutes were 
 entered on the minute book : 
 
 " March 2ist, 1872. 
 
 " Referring to the resolution voting a testimonial to 
 the Chairman, which was passed spontaneously by the 
 shareholders at the half-yearly meeting on the 2Qth ult, 
 it was proposed by Mr. Miles and seconded by Mr. 
 
230 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Ponsonby, 1 and resolved unanimously, that the follow- 
 ing minute be communicated to the Chairman : 
 
 " That we, your brother directors, avail ourselves of 
 the earliest opportunity to assure you how highly we 
 estimate your services to the Company, both before and 
 since your occupation of the chair, and we congratulate 
 you on their recognition by this act of the shareholders. 
 We feel assured that, although the words of the resolu- 
 tion require no action on the part of your colleagues, 
 you will allow us to express our warm sympathy with 
 those feelings of regard and confidence which are so 
 deservedly entertained towards you by the shareholders 
 of the Company, and which cannot fail to be most 
 gratifying to you and your family." 
 
 November 24^, 1872. 
 
 The Daily Telegraph of Christmas morning presented 
 a very wonderful list of telegrams from all parts of the 
 world sent on Christmas-Eve. It is a mighty thing that 
 has been done in a few years, and it has worked a 
 wonderful revolution. 
 
 January isf, 1873. 
 
 We have again entered upon a newyear, and in looking 
 over the past, how much reason have we to be thankful 
 to God for His many blessings. In all respects the 
 year has been a prosperous one to me. I have been 
 blessed with good health, and can look back with 
 pleasure upon the expressions of regard and confi- 
 1 Now the Earl of Bessborough. 
 
LATER YEARS. 231 
 
 dence given me by the Great Western shareholders 
 and directors. The only real anxiety in my mind is 
 the state of the working classes. I fear hard and diffi- 
 cult times must come before the present excitement as 
 to wages and time is put upon such a level as will 
 enable the trade of the country to bear it. Coals are 
 nearly double the price they were eighteen months ago, 
 and the men are earning so much in wages that they 
 will only work three or four days a week, and then 
 only do part work. So it is to a less extent with most 
 of the trades. If continued, the only result will be 
 to drive the trade from this country abroad, where 
 wages are less. May God avert so sad an evil to this 
 country, and the present year witness a change for the 
 better in the relations of master and workman. The 
 year has opened with a glorious morning, an agreeable 
 change after the constant rain and cloud. 
 
 MY OLD CABIN, " GREAT EASTERN," 
 THE NORE, May i$th, 1873. 
 
 Once more I am in my dear old cabin, where I have 
 spent so many hours of anxiety, and many of joy and 
 contentment. It seems as though I had hardly left 
 the ship, everything is so familiar. I left London 
 middle of day yesterday. We reached the ship soon 
 after four. Osborne also came down by the same 
 train. The day was a very lovely one, and the even- 
 ing has also been very charming, full moon and 
 beautifully clear. We were only a small party on 
 board. Halpin is captain, and looks as jolly as ever. 
 
232 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 After dining at seven we had a long stroll on the deck, 
 and went early to bed. I read for half-an-hour, and 
 then went to sleep, although my pillow is a very hard 
 one. This morning all were astir early in the ship, 
 getting up our anchor and casting off the moorings, 
 and by 10 A.M. all was ready to make a start. The 
 tide turned about eleven, and the last anchor having 
 been lifted, we moved slowly and grandly away from 
 our anchorage for the Nore. The day has been all 
 we could wish, and everything has gone on well, 
 and we came to anchor here about 1.30, to wait for 
 one of the moorings, and hope to start in the morn- 
 ing about ten for Weymouth. I feel little anxiety 
 about laying this cable, the third between Valentia 
 and Heart's Content ; but a much more difficult and 
 anxious task awaits the ship on her way home, viz., 
 to repair the 1865 cable, which broke a couple of 
 months ago about seven hundred miles from Ireland 
 in two thousand fathoms of water. What has caused 
 it to break is a mystery to us. Is it from being 
 stretched over a chasm and gradually weighted with 
 shellfish or weeds, or has it become rotten and so 
 broken from weakness? In the latter case, I fear 
 we will not succeed in picking it up; but every 
 effort will be made, and I feel confident, if it can 
 be done, Halpin will not fail. The present cable is 
 coated with compound, and will be less liable to decay ; 
 but, until we know the cause of the 1865 failing, we 
 are quite in the dark as to the fate of these deep-sea 
 cables. 
 
LATER YEARS. 233 
 
 " GREAT EASTERN," OFF THE ISLE OF WIGHT, 
 May I5//&, 1873, 8 A.M. 
 
 We picked up our anchor and left the Nore yester- 
 day morning at 10 A.M. Weather fine, although cloudy 
 and rather cold. The old ship steamed along very 
 steadily at about eight knots. We passed Dover at 
 six in the evening, Dungeness Light at eight, and 
 Hastings about 10.30. There were a great many 
 fishing-boats about as well as ships, and we had to 
 shift about a good deal to avoid them, one large 
 steamer went close across our bows. This morning 
 is fine but cloudy, and we expect to get comfortably 
 in Portland by one or two o'clock. I am not sure I 
 would like to go a voyage again. 
 
 Friday ', May i6//z. 
 
 We dropped our anchor yesterday about three o'clock 
 after a beautiful voyage down Channel. The day was 
 lovely, and I enjoyed it very much. We did a little 
 over eight knots in speed, and got into a quiet berth. 
 The ironclad Devastation left Portland for Milford 
 Haven soon after we came in. She is certainly a very 
 ugly looking craft, and one I should not like to sail 
 in. The after part of the hull is only about six feet 
 out of the water, and with the light sea there was on 
 yesterday the waves were constantly washing over her. 
 
 FULTHORPE, Sunday. 
 
 I came home from the ship yesterday, leaving all 
 on board in a very forward state. We never had an 
 expedition in which all our arrangements were in so 
 
234 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 forward a state ; in fact, all is quite complete, with the 
 exception of coaling. This is to begin on Monday, 
 and, as six thousand tons have to be taken in, it will 
 not be completed before the end of the month. 
 
 WEYMOUTH, June jth, 1873. 
 
 I came down here yesterday ; my wife and Charlie 1 
 came with me ; the latter is going the voyage with the 
 Great Eastern. I did not go on board the ship yester- 
 day. We took a long ramble and went on board the 
 first thing this morning, and have spent the day on 
 board, returning to the hotel for dinner. Captain 
 Osborne and Barber dined with us. It has been a' 
 lovely day, the sea as calm as a mill-pond. Everything 
 on board the ship is in admirable order, and we never 
 started an expedition so complete, not a single thing 
 left to do. Coaling all finished some days ago, and 
 the ship got clean. We had a good lunch on board. 
 
 Sunday, June %th. 
 
 We went on board the ship this morning at 9 A.M., 
 and found her all ready with steam up for a start. 
 The day has been lovely, without a ripple on the water. 
 At a quarter past ten the anchor was lifted, and we 
 moved away from the anchorage beautifully, accom- 
 panied by the Hibernian and Britannia. The National 
 Liner had sailed with the Irish shore end on Thursday. 
 We went with the ship until she turned round west, 
 
 1 Mr. Charles Gooch, Sir Daniel's second son. 
 
LATER YEARS. 235 
 
 beyond the Shambles Lightship, about seven miles, 
 and then got into the small steam tender, and watched for 
 some time the fleet pass away to the west. It was a 
 grand sight, and I trust under God's blessing the 
 commencement of a prosperous voyage. The Great 
 Eastern was deep, drawing 37 feet 4 inches aft and 
 31 feet forward, mean 34 feet 2 inches. She had 
 8296 tons of coals, and with cables, tanks, and water, 
 a total load of 16,405 tons. I felt it very hard to see 
 her steam away leaving me behind, the first time she 
 has done so in crossing the Atlantic for cable purposes, 
 and I should much like to be with her in her attempt 
 to repair the 1865 cable; but this cannot be, and I 
 must remain content. We returned to Weymouth in 
 time for lunch. 
 
 July \Wi. 
 
 The 1 873 Atlantic cable was safely landed, without a 
 single hitch as far as the Great Eastern was concerned, 
 on the 27th. The accompanying ships were driven 
 from their course and left behind by a gale. It now 
 only remains to pick up the 1865 cable, and the old 
 ship will have done a good year's work. I confess I 
 do not feel very sanguine as to this ; all will depend 
 upon the condition of the cable. 1 We went to a large 
 garden-party at Chiswick given by the Prince of Wales 
 to the Shah of Persia. The day was fine, and the 
 scene a very pretty one. The Queen and all the Royal 
 Family were there. 
 
 1 This attempt was unsuccessful. 
 
236 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 August ?$>th, 1873. 
 
 The meeting of the Great Western shareholders was 
 held to-day. We were able to pay 5f per cent, divi- 
 dend, a satisfactory result, being \ per cent, beyond 
 the corresponding half year, and as all the other large 
 companies had only paid either no increase or a 
 diminution, the meeting went off very well. 
 
 January \st> 1874. 
 
 The New Year has opened with a bright and glorious 
 sunny day. May it be the emblem of the peace and 
 happiness of England and of myself and family. I 
 have much cause for thankfulness to God for all the 
 blessings of the past year. 
 
 July \st. 
 
 We have just completed the laying of the cable to 
 Brazil. It is a long distance, and has been very suc- 
 cessfully done, with the exception of the piece between 
 Lisbon and Madeira. This was laid last year and 
 broken. The ends have been recovered in 2500 fathoms 
 of water and made good. Halpin laid the portion be- 
 tween Madeira and Brazil. It was carried in three 
 ships, so that two splices had to be made at sea. 
 Halpin tells me he does not approve of the great risk 
 of this operation, but thinks that, even at an extra cost, 
 one large ship like the Great Eastern is wiser. 
 
LATER YEARS. 237 
 
 MY OLD CABIN ON BOARD THE "GREAT EASTERN," 
 SHEERNESS, Friday, July 3157. 
 
 I left London to-day at 4.15 P.M. to join the Great 
 Eastern at Sheerness, reaching her a little after six. 
 I find the old ship looking very clean and nice, and it 
 seems very natural for me to be sitting in this cabin 
 where I have spent so many anxious and pleasant 
 hours. The anxiety and excitement of starting on an 
 Atlantic cable expedition is very different from what 
 it was in 1865; all now is simply a matter of quiet 
 business, and there is no fuss and no reporters. 
 Captain Halpin is in charge of the expedition. I 
 half wish I was going across the Atlantic with the 
 ship, but am not quite sure this feeling will last until 
 I get to Portland. 
 
 Saturday, August ist. 
 
 We got our anchor up to-day at I P.M., and at once 
 steamed out of the harbour. The early part of the day 
 was very dull and looked like rain, but the afternoon 
 cleared up, and it has been very calm and pleasant. 
 Our speed is about six knots, drawing 32 feet forward 
 and 31 feet aft. We have just passed Dover, 10 P.M., 
 but at some distance from the shore. 
 
 August $rd. 
 
 I left the ship this morning, and return to Clewer by 
 the 12.30 train, reaching home about six. 
 
238 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Sunday ', August qth, 1874. 
 
 The ship sailed from Portland to-day direct for 
 Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, as she is to lay the cable 
 this time on her return. A successful and prosperous 
 voyage to her is my sincere wish. 
 
 CLEWER, October. 
 
 During June in this year we narrowed a large part 
 of the broad gauge all south of our main line between 
 London and Bristol. It was done very well by the 
 staff. Thus is the poor broad gauge gradually dying 
 out. It now only exists on our main line between 
 London and Bristol and the Windsor and Henley 
 branches, and as we are mixing the whole of the 
 broad gauge left, by the end of this year we will have 
 narrow gauge over the whole of the Great Western 
 system. 
 
 MY OLD CABIN IN THE "GREAT EASTERN," 
 SHEERNESS, Friday night^July 23rd, 1875. 
 
 I came from London to-day to the ship. We sail 
 to-morrow for Milford Haven, where we intend to lay 
 her up, the charter with the Telegraph Construction 
 Company ending this month. It feels very natural to 
 sit in this cabin again, where I have spent so many 
 pleasant and so many anxious hours ; and it may be a 
 long time before I have a sail in the old ship again, as 
 I do not know how we are to employ her in the future. 
 But we will not give up hope that some useful work 
 may be found for her, as she is a noble ship and has 
 done good service in the past. 
 
LATER YEARS. 239 
 
 Saturday, 2^th. 
 
 We got up our anchor to-day at twelve, drawing 
 19.9 feet forward and 20.5 feet aft. As usual, the old 
 ship could not move without some excitement, and we 
 had several excursion steamers round us as we went 
 away from Sheerness with bands of music and the 
 usual cheering; also great crowds of people on the 
 shore to see us leave the harbour, which we accom- 
 plished all well, but very slow, from the dirty state of 
 the bottom of the ship. The morning was stormy, with 
 showers of rain, but the afternoon was lovely. We 
 passed the North Foreland at 6 P.M. 
 
 Sunday, 
 
 We were off Brighton this morning at 9 A.M., off 
 Sandown at 3.30 P.M., St. Catherine's Head at 5> and 
 Portland Bill at 1 1 P.M. The day has been a lovely one, 
 with a fine breeze. Paddles doing about six revolu- 
 tions, and screw twenty-four revolutions. We had a 
 fine view of the coast all the way. 
 
 Monday, 26th. 
 
 We passed the Start Lighthouse at 8 A.M., Plymouth 
 at 10, Lizard at 5.30 P.M., Land's End at 7.30. It has 
 been a bright and lovely day, and I have enjoyed it 
 very much. When we were off the Lizard there were 
 seven steamers near us, and we had to thread our way 
 with difficulty through hundreds of fishing-boats which 
 
240 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 did not care to get out of our way. When off the 
 Land's End we had a most glorious sunset, such as 
 can only be seen at sea. 
 
 NEYLAND, Tuesday, July 27 th, 1875. 
 We were off the entrance to Milford at nine this 
 morning. There was a great deal of fog early, and we 
 had to wait to go in, so that we would have the ebb- 
 tide to anchor. It was past twelve before we made a 
 start for the harbour. We were joined there by some 
 of the Great Eastern directors, who went into the 
 haven with us, and we dropped our anchor at 2 P.M. 
 opposite the town of Milford. 
 
 December. 
 
 On Friday last, the I7th, the Great Western Rail- 
 way Company took a very important step in taking 
 over the Bristol and Exeter and South Devon Rail- 
 ways. 1 
 
 June i%tk, 1877. 
 
 Our railway sustained a great loss on the 5th by 
 the death of our locomotive engineer, Mr. Armstrong. 
 His death was very sudden, he having been only a 
 couple of weeks ill. He has been a very valuable 
 servant to the Company, being an able and upright 
 man. I will also feel his loss very much. His depart- 
 ment was a very large and important one. Mr. Arm- 
 
 1 The Cornwall Railway was taken over in 1889, bringing the total 
 mileage of the Great Western Railway up to 2536 miles. 
 
LATER YEARS. 241 
 
 strong was buried at Swindon Church on Saturday the 
 9th, in the presence of an immense number of sorrowing 
 people. I and some of the directors went to the 
 funeral, and all the officers of the Company were 
 there. No man could be more sincerely esteemed. 
 
 LONDON, November 
 We went to Swindon yesterday to distribute the 
 annual prizes to the young people at the Institution. 
 This institution is working much good at Swindon, 
 and is steadily increasing in numbers. We missed our 
 old friend Armstrong. How year by year vacancies 
 occur in our Great Western ranks ! How few of those 
 who began with me are left ! One by one they drop 
 off, and the time cannot be far distant when the whole 
 of the old officers will have passed away. 
 
 LONDON, December 2%th. 
 
 The directors of the Great Western Railway pre- 
 sented me this year with a portrait of Mr. Brunei, 
 painted by J. C. Horsley, R.A., from the original 
 picture he painted during Mr. Brunei's life. Horsley 
 is brother-in-law to Mr. Brunei. I value the picture 
 very much both for the sake of Mr. Brunei and the 
 kindly feeling of our Board. 
 
 October 17 th, 1878. 
 
 I went to-day to the opening of the Severn Railway 
 Bridge. There was a large gathering, and of course 
 a feast. The day was cold and very uncomfortable. 
 
 Q 
 
242 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Yesterday at the Severn Tunnel we struck a strong 
 feeder of water on the heading under the land on the 
 Welsh side, which is more than our pumps can manage, 
 and we are drowned out until we get more power. This 
 is very unfortunate, as in a few weeks our heading 
 across the Severn would be complete, and I have been 
 looking forward to walking across next month. 
 
 March 2$tk, 1880. 
 
 Yesterday Parliament was dissolved, and I am not 
 now a member of Parliament. It is nearly fifteen years 
 since I was first elected. I have agreed to stand 
 again, much against my inclination, as I do not feel 
 equal to the worry of an election or the night-work of 
 the House. I had a meeting on the 1 5th at Swindon 
 with the principal Conservatives of the borough ; and 
 as it appeared clear that, if I did not stand, we should 
 lose both seats, little choice was left to me, and they 
 promised to take the work off my hands and relieve jne 
 from any canvas or attendance at public meetings. 
 
 May 
 
 I did not attend any public meeting nor make any 
 canvas. I met a few of my old friends in the evening 
 of the 1st April, and the polling took place on the 2nd, 
 with the following result : Maskelyne, 4,350; Gooch, 
 2,440; Neeld, 1,748. 
 
LATER YEARS. 243 
 
 November \^th. 
 
 I had a meeting to-day of the Great Eastern ship 
 directors, and resigned my position of director and 
 chairman. I did so with great regret and reluctance. 
 I have always taken a deep and warm interest in the 
 noble ship, but I do not feel equal to so many cares 
 as I have lately had upon me, and feel compelled to 
 give up some of them. I have been chairman of the 
 ship since the formation of the present company in 
 1 864, and have spent many happy hours on board of 
 her and many very anxious ones. She has done good 
 work ; I doubt but for her if we would as yet have 
 the long lines of deep-sea cables. Mr. Henry Brassey 
 took my place at the Board. 
 
 January 27 th, 1881. 
 
 I was appointed Chairman of the Railway Associa- 
 tion on the 1 3th; Mr. Moon, Chairman of the London 
 and North- Western, was appointed Deputy Chairman, 
 which office I had held for the last three years. 
 
 We lighted Paddington Station with the Brush 
 electric light at Christmas. It is a good light, but we 
 have not yet got it into certain working. I have no 
 doubt all the difficulties will be overcome. 
 
 February i^th. 
 
 We have had to excavate 1 1 1 miles of snow on the 
 line, varying from three and four feet to ten feet deep at 
 142 places. The weather has continued very bad. 
 
244 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Saturday, May 26th, 1882. 
 
 I have just heard of the death of my old and dear 
 friend, Captain Bulkeley. He is the oldest of our 
 Great Western directors, and his death will be much 
 regretted by us all. 
 
 February 8M, 1883. 
 
 We had a meeting of the Telegraph Construction 
 Company on the 6th to approve a Bill we have in 
 Parliament to enable us to extend our operations to 
 electric lighting. 
 
 To-day we held our Great Western half-yearly meet- 
 ing, paying 7^ per cent, dividend. The meeting went 
 off very well, and was held for the first time in our 
 new room, which seemed to answer very well for sound. 
 The shareholders were good enough, on the motion of 
 Mr. Adams, to pass a resolution asking the directors 
 to have a bust of myself executed, at the cost of the 
 Company, to be placed in the new room. It is pleasant 
 to feel that all my anxiety and work for the Company 
 are appreciated by the shareholders. 
 
 October loth. 
 
 The large spring, that broke out in the Severn 
 Tunnel a couple of years ago, broke out in a fresh 
 place to-day, and much greater in quantity, flooding 
 the tunnel ; and a couple of days afterwards the tide 
 rose in the Severn, covering the land and getting 
 down one of our shafts. Fortunately in the first 
 
LATER YEARS. 245 
 
 case no life was lost, but in the latter one man was 
 drowned. So high a tide has not been known for 
 a hundred years. 
 
 May tfk, 1884. 
 
 Since my return home, I have been appointed by 
 the Government on a Committee to inquire into the 
 conditions under which contracts are invited for flhe 
 building or repairing of ships, including their engines, 
 for Her Majesty's Navy, and into the mode in which 
 repairs and refits of ships are effected in Her Majesty's 
 dockyards. 
 
 July 
 
 We went to-day through the Severn Tunnel as far 
 as we could. Works all going on well. The big spring 
 not so heavy as it has been ; I hope we are now fully 
 master of it. We returned home at night. 
 
 We have finished our Admiralty Committee and 
 made our report. 
 
 October 
 
 I went this morning to the Severn Tunnel. Lord 
 Bessborough met me there before lunch, and we 
 inspected the surface work, and after lunch went be- 
 low. It fortunately happened that the headings were 
 just meeting, and by the time we had finished lunch 
 the men had got a small hole through, making the tunnel 
 open throughout. I was the first to creep through, 
 and Lord Bessborough followed me. It was a very 
 
246 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 difficult piece of navigation, but by a little pulling in 
 front and pushing behind we managed it, and the 
 men gave us some hearty cheers. I am glad I was the 
 first to go through, as I have taken great interest in 
 this great work, which is now getting fast towards 
 completion. The spring is now about 7000 gallons per 
 minute, but is fully under the control of the pump; 
 and a fresh pump is just ready to start, which will give 
 us very ample power, more than double our present 
 wants. A heading is being driven parallel with the 
 tunnel, so as to turn this water from the line of tunnel, 
 and so enable us to complete this short length of about 
 two hundred yards. The side heading will then be 
 built out. I hope by June or July next the tunnel will 
 be finished. 
 
 May i8M, 1885. 
 
 Death has been busy amongst my friends the last 
 few weeks. Mr. Samuda died suddenly. Sir Watkin 
 Williams Wynn died a week ago (May Qth), and was 
 buried yesterday. He is an old Great Western direc- 
 tor, holding his seat by Act of Parliament. Sir Watkin 
 was a kind and worthy man, very much liked by us 
 all. When I joined the Board in 1865 he resigned and 
 appointed me in his place, as a vacancy could not be 
 made until the meeting in 1867, when I was elected by 
 the shareholders and Sir Watkin resumed his position. 
 
 My old friend and brother officer on the Great 
 Western since I joined the Company, Mr. William 
 George Owen, died on the 1 4th of this month. He 
 
LATER YEARS. 247 
 
 has for some years past been the chief engineer to 
 the Company. His serious illness began in August 
 last, and he has gradually got worse since that time. 
 He resigned his position on the railway a couple of 
 months ago. He was a good and trustworthy officer, 
 and much esteemed by all connected with the Company. 
 Year after year fewer of my old friends are left. 
 
 June <^th. 
 
 Some election meetings at Cricklade have been held. 
 I had an application from the Conservative party urging 
 me to stand again, but I declined. 
 
 August i^th. 
 
 Parliament was prorogued to-day. I paid it my last 
 visit on Tuesday the nth, not sorry to feel my work 
 as a member of Parliament is at an end. 
 
 Saturday, September ^th. 
 
 I took a special train to-day through the Severn 
 Tunnel. We had a large party, and all went off well. 
 This tunnel is a big work, and has been a source of 
 great anxiety to me. The large spring of water we cut 
 on the Welsh side, a short distance from the Severn, 
 has been a great cost and trouble. I hope, now the 
 arch is finished, it will keep out any serious quantity of 
 water. It will be some months yet before we can open 
 to the public, as the permanent pumping and ventilating 
 machinery has to be arranged and fixed. 
 
248 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 The Great Western held their one hundredth half- 
 yearly meeting on the I3th August, and I have attended 
 ninety- four, or, I think, ninety-five of them a long 
 service. All passed off well. 
 
 Wednesday, November iS/ti, 1885. 
 
 The Queen dissolved Parliament to-day, so I am no 
 longer a member of Parliament, after over twenty years' 
 service. It is a great relief to me to feel I am not to 
 be mixed up in the coming contest. The House of 
 Commons has been a pleasant club. I have taken no 
 part in any of the debates, and have been a silent mem- 
 ber. It would be a great advantage to business if 
 there were a greater number who followed my example. 
 I have no doubt I will sometimes miss the attendance 
 at the House. 
 
 Saturday^ January th, 1886. 
 
 A coal-train was worked through the Severn Tunnel 
 to-day from Newport and Cardiff to Bristol and on to 
 Southampton. 1 All went well, and I hope to open for 
 goods and coal on the 1st March. This has been a 
 very anxious work for me, we have had so many serious 
 difficulties. One has felt a doubt whether we ought to 
 persevere with so large an expenditure, but I never 
 lost hope of succeeding in the end. Curiously enough, 
 
 1 The Severn Tunnel is 4 miles and 624 yards long. It is part of a 
 line of railway which connects the Great Western Railway at Bristol 
 with the South Wales Branch west of Chepstow. 
 
LATER YEARS. 249 
 
 our trouble has not been under the Severn but on the 
 Welsh side under land, where the water has been our 
 difficulty, and now we must pump a great deal more 
 than I had hoped. We had a pressure of 60 Ibs. on 
 the inch on the brickwork, and this found its way 
 through. We are now putting pumping-power to the 
 same, with a daily discharge of 30,000,000 gallons. 
 The autumn and winter have been very wet, so I hope 
 in dry weather this will be greatly reduced. 
 
 January 2oth. 
 
 The Mersey Tunnel was opened to-day by the Prince 
 of Wales. It is a big work, and may in time be of use 
 to the Great Western if there is a good central station 
 built in Liverpool. 
 
 September. 
 
 We opened our Severn Tunnel on "the 1st for goods 
 traffic. The first train that passed through was a 
 goods leaving Bristol at 6.35 P.M. Fourteen trains 
 were worked through during the night, and all was 
 most satisfactory. This has been a long and very 
 anxious and costly job. Our estimate for it was about 
 900,000. We have now spent over .1,600,000. The 
 water is still a large expense to us, but it is under 
 perfect control. I spent yesterday with Sir John 
 Hawkshaw at Sudbrook, where our chief pumping 
 machinery is. 
 
2jo DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 December ist, 1886. 
 
 We opened the tunnel to-day for passenger traffic. 
 It has been a long and very anxious work forme. But 
 I trust it will prove a very beneficial work for the 
 Company. 
 
 January 23rd, 1887. ' 
 
 The Times this morning contains the sad news of 
 the death of my oldest friend, Sir Joseph Whitworth. 
 We have lost the first mechanic of the age. I first 
 knew Whitworth in 1836, when I was about to join 
 the Hawkes in the proposed engine-works at Gateshead, 
 and I went to Manchester to order tools ; since then 
 we have been fast friends. 
 
 August 
 
 This is my Great Western Railway jubilee-day, it 
 being fifty years to-day since I entered the service of 
 that Company, a few days before I was twenty -one 
 years of age. I was very young to be entrusted with 
 the management of the locomotive department of so 
 large a railway; but I felt no fear, and the result has 
 been a success. I have seen great changes during the 
 fifty years. How few of those who entered life with 
 me, or were connected with the railway world at that 
 time, are left to us ! Yet we have a very few. God has 
 greatly blessed me in every way. 
 
LATER YEARS. 251 
 
 Sunday -, October ibth. 
 
 I have sustained a great and grievous loss in the 
 death of my friend Mr. Grierson. 1 He went to Milan 
 to attend a railway conference held there, and returned 
 home on the 2pth September, not feeling very well ; 
 but he went to Paddington from Marlow (where his 
 family have been spending the summer) on Friday, 
 returning to Marlow that night. On Saturday he was 
 very ill, and continued so until his death on Friday 
 evening, the 7th October, at 7.30 P.M. He was buried 
 at Barnes Cemetery on Wednesday the I2th October. 
 His loss to me and the railway interest cannot be 
 replaced. 
 
 May I9/7/, 1888. 
 
 Our Great Western superintendent of the line, Mr. 
 G. N. Tyrrell, retired on Saturday last. He has been 
 forty-six years in the service, and was a most excellent 
 officer and a kind and worthy man. I will miss him 
 very much. 
 
 We had a jubilee dinner, on Wednesday the nth, of 
 the opening of the first portion of the Great Western 
 Railway from London to Maidenhead on the 4th June 
 1838. It was attended by most of the directors and 
 the chief officers. We also had the pleasure of having 
 Mr. Walpole, an old Chairman of the Company, with 
 us. The dinner was at the Great Western Hotel, 
 and all went off very well a party of thirty-one. 
 
 1 General Manager of the Great Western Railway. 
 
252 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 Dean gave me a very fine photograph of the old 
 locomotive, the North Star} She was one of those that 
 opened the line, and we have kept her in a building 
 built for the purpose at Swindon, as a specimen of 
 the engine of the period. I feel a great interest in 
 this old engine, and am glad to have so good a photo- 
 graph of her. There is also a good photo of the Lord 
 of the Isles, an eight- wheel engine which was in the 
 1851 Exhibition. This was one of a new and powerful 
 class of engine I built about that period. Several of 
 them are still doing our express broad-gauge work, 
 and are equal in every respect to any we have since 
 built. The Lord of the Isles is also put away at 
 Swindon to be preserved as a specimen of this class 
 of engine. 
 
 August 26th, 1888. 
 
 A paragraph in the Standard looks like the last of 
 the grand old ship, the Great Eastern. I would much 
 rather the old ship was broken up than turned to any 
 base uses. I have spent many pleasant and many 
 anxious hours in her, and she is now the finest ship 
 afloat. Some good use might have been made of her. 
 
 November. 
 
 The Great Eastern has been sold in detail. Poor 
 old ship, you deserved a better fate. 
 
 1 See above, page 30. 
 
LATER YEARS. 253 
 
 December ntli. 
 
 The oldest officer of the Great Western Railway 
 Company died on Sunday the pth, Mr. T. Merriman 
 Ward. He entered the service in September 1833, 
 before the Act was passed, and held the position of 
 Registrar until February 1st, 1876, when he retired on 
 a pension. He was a good servant and a very worthy 
 man. 
 
 February 17 'th, 1889. 
 
 I have been very little out of the house since the 
 1 7th of last month, when I went into the city and took 
 fresh cold, getting an attack of bronchitis. On the 5th 
 I got down to the station to settle our Great Western 
 Railway report and accounts, and again on the I4th to 
 hold our half-yearly meeting. I got through it pretty 
 well, and as we paid 7J per cent, it went off very 
 well. 
 
 HASTINGS, April 
 We came down here yesterday by the 3.40 P.M. 
 South-Eastern train. On the 4th March I was attacked 
 with gout in my left foot, and a week after in my right 
 foot, and I have been laid up ever since. I can now 
 walk a little but very little and am sent down here 
 to effect a cure. 
 
 Saturday, April 27///. 
 
 We left Hastings to-day by the 2.30 P.M. train. 
 The South-Eastern gave us a saloon carriage, so we 
 made our journey very comfortably. I do not find 
 
254 DIARIES OF SIR DANIEL GOOCH. 
 
 my visit to Hastings has done me much good. I 
 hope I will feel the benefit of the change now I have 
 got back to my home. 
 
 The hopes expressed in this, the last sentence of 
 Sir Daniel Gooch's Diary, were not destined to be 
 realised. 
 
 After many weeks of suffering, patiently borne, he 
 died on October I5th, 1889, and was buried in Clewer 
 Churchyard, adjoining the pleasant gardens of that 
 home to which his thoughts had so often turned. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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