Sparks, as a rule, are looked upon as a race of useless and disreputable fellows. Their course is usually erratic1. They fly upward, downward, forward, and backward—here, there, and everywhere. You never know when you have them, or what will be their next flight. They often create a good deal of alarm, sometimes much surprise; they seldom do any good, and frequently cause irreparable damage. Only when caught and restrained, or directed, do sparks become harmless and helpful.
But there is one Spark in this world—a grand, glowing, gushing2 fellow—who has not his equal anywhere. He is old as the hills—perhaps older—and wide as the world—perchance wider. Similar to ordinary sparks in some respects, he differs from them in several important particulars. Like many, he is “fast,” but immeasurably faster than all other sparks put together. Unlike them, however, he submits to be led by master minds. Stronger than Hercules, he can rend3 the mountains. Fleeter than Mercury, he can outstrip4 the light. Gentler than Zephyr5, he can assume the condition of a current, and enter our very marrow6 without causing pain. His name is Electricity. No one knows what he is. Some philosophers have said that he is a fluid, because he flows. As well might they call him a wild horse because he bolts, or a thief because he lurks7! We prefer to call him a Spark, because in that form only is he visible—at least when handled by man.
Talking of that, it was not until the last century that master minds found out how to catch and handle our Spark. In all the previous centuries he had been roaming gaily8 about the world in perfect freedom; sometimes gliding9 silently to and fro like an angel of light; sometimes leaping forth10 with frightful11 energy in the midst of raging tempest, like a destructive demon—ripping, rending12, shattering all that attempted to arrest his course. Men have feared and shunned13 him since the beginning of time, and with good reason, for he has killed many of the human race.
But although uncaught and untamed by them, our Spark was not altogether unknown to the ancients. So far back as the year 600 before the Christian14 era, Thales, one of the Greek sages15, discovered that he hid himself in amber16, a substance which in Greek is named electron—hence his name Electricity; but the ancients knew little about his character, though Thales found that he could draw him from his hiding-place by rubbing him with silk and some other substances. When thus rubbed he became attractive, and drew light creatures towards him—not unlike human sparks! He also showed himself to be fickle17, for, after holding these light creatures tight for a brief space, he let them go and repelled18 them.
It was not till the days of good Queen Bess, towards the end of the sixteenth century, that a Dr Gilbert discovered that the wild fellow lay lurking19 in other substances besides amber—such as sulphur, wax, glass, etcetera. It is now known that Electricity permeates20 all substances more or less, and only waits to be roused in order to exhibit his amazing powers. He is fond of shocking people’s feelings, and has surprised his pursuers rather frequently in that way. Some of them, indeed, he has actually shocked to death!
It would take a huge volume to give a detailed21 account of all the qualities, powers, and peculiarities22 of this wild Spark. We will just touch on a few facts which are necessary to the elucidation23 of our tale.
A great event in the world’s history happened in the year 1745. It was nothing less than the capture and imprisonment24 of wild, daring, dashing Electricity. To the Dutch philosophers belongs the honour of catching25 him. They caught him—they even bottled him, like ordinary spirits, and called his prison a Leyden Jar.
From that date our Spark became the useful and obedient slave of man. Yet is he ever ready, when the smallest conceivable door, hole, or chink is left open, to dash out of the prison-house man has made for him, and escape into his native earth.
He has no hope now, however, of escaping altogether, for he cannot resist the allurement27 of rubbing, by which, as well as by chemical action and other means, we can summon him, like the genii of Aladdin’s lamp, at any moment, from the “vasty deep,” and compel him to do our work.
And what sort of work, it may be asked, can this volatile28 fellow perform? We cannot tell all—the list is too long. Let us consider a few of them. If we fabricate tea-pots, sugar-basins, spoons, or anything else of base metal, he can and will, at our bidding, cover the same with silver or yellow gold. If we grow dissatisfied with our candles and gas, he will, on being summoned and properly directed by the master minds to whom he owns allegiance, kindle29 our lamps and fill our streets and mansions30 with a blaze of noonday splendour. If we grow weary of steam, and give him orders, he will drive our tram-cars and locomotives with railway speed, minus railway smoke and fuss. He is a very giant in the chemist’s laboratory, and, above all, a swift messenger to carry the world’s news. Even when out and raging to and fro in a wild state, more than half-disposed to rend our mansions, and split our steeples, and wreck31 our ships, we have only to provide him with a tiny metal stair-case, down which he will instantly glide32 from the upper regions to the earth without noise or damage. Shakespeare never imagined, and Mercury never accomplished33, the speed at which he travels; and he will not only carry our news or express our sentiments and wishes far and wide over the land, but he will rush with them, over rock, sand, mud, and ooze34, along the bottom of the deep deep sea!
And this brings us to a point. Some of the master minds before mentioned, having conceived the idea that telegraphic communication might be carried on under water, set about experimenting. Between the years 1839 and 1851 enterprising men in the Old World and the New suggested, pondered, planned, and placed wires under water, along which our Spark ran more or less successfully.
One of the difficulties of these experiments consisted in this, that, while the Spark runs readily along one class of substances, he cannot, or will not, run along others. Substances of the first class, comprising the metals, are called conductors; those of the second class, embracing, among other things, all resinous35 substances, are styled non-conductors. Now, water is a good conductor. So that although the Spark will stick to his wires when insulated on telegraph-posts on land, he will bolt from them at once and take to flight the moment he gets under water. This difficulty was overcome by coating the wires with gutta-percha, which, being a non-conductor, imprisoned36 the Spark, and kept him, as it were, on the line.
A copper37 wire covered in this manner was successfully laid between England and France in 1850. When tested, this cable did not work well. Minute imperfections, in the form of air-holes in the gutta-percha, afforded our Spark an opportunity to bolt; and he did bolt, as a matter of course—for electricity has no sense of honour, and cannot be trusted near the smallest loop-hole. The imperfections were remedied; the door was effectually locked, after which the first submarine cable of importance was actually laid down, and worked well. French and English believers turned up hands and eyes in delighted amazement38, as they held converse39 across the sea, while unbelievers were silenced and confounded.
This happy state of things, however, lasted for only a few hours. Suddenly the intercourse40 ceased. The telegraphists at both ends energised with their handles and needles, but without any result. The cable was dumb. Our Spark had evidently escaped!
There is no effect without a cause. The cause of that interruption was soon discovered.
Early that morning a French fisherman had sauntered down to the port of Boulogne and embarked41 in his boat. A British seaman42, having nothing to do but smoke and meditate43, was seated on a coil of rope at the time, enjoying himself and the smells with which that port is not unfamiliar44. He chanced to be a friend of that French fisherman.
“You’re early afloat, Mounseer,” he said.
“Oui, monsieur. Vill you com’? I go for feesh.”
“Well, wee; I go for fun.”
They went accordingly and bore away to the northward45 along the coast before a light breeze,—past the ruined towers which France had built to guard her port in days gone by; past the steep cliffs beyond Boulogne; past the lovely beach of Wimereux, with its cottages nestled among the sand-hills, and its silted-up harbour, whence Napoleon the First had intended to issue forth and descend46 on perfidious47 Albion—but didn’t; past cliffs, and bays, and villages further on, until they brought up off Cape26 Grisnez. Here the Frenchman let down his trawl, and fished up, among other curiosities of the deep, the submarine cable!
“Behold! fat is dis?” he exclaimed, with glaring eyes, uplifted brows, shoulders shrugged48, hands spread out, and fingers expanded.
“The sea-sarpint grow’d thin,” suggested the Englishman.
“Non; c’est seaveed—veed de most ’strordinair in de vorld. Oui, donnez-moi de hache, de hax, mon ami.”
His friend handed him the axe49, wherewith lie cut off a small portion of the cable and let the end go. Little did that fisherman know that he had also let our Spark go free, and cruelly dashed, for a time at least, the budding hopes of two nations—but so it was. He bore his prize in triumph to Boulogne, where he exhibited it as a specimen50 of rare seaweed with its centre filled with gold, while the telegraph clerks at both ends sat gazing in dismay at their useless instruments.
Thus was the first submarine electric cable destroyed. And with the details of its destruction little Robin51 was intimately acquainted, for cousin Sam had been a member of the staff that had worked that telegraph—at least he had been a boy in the office,—and in after years he so filled his cousin’s mind with the importance of that cable, and the grandeur52 and difficulty of the enterprise, that Robin became powerfully sympathetic—so much so that when Sam, in telling the story, came to the point where the Frenchman accomplished its destruction, Robin used to grieve over it as though he had lost a brother, or a kitten, or his latest toy!
We need scarcely add that submarine cable telegraphy had not received its death-blow on that occasion. Its possibility had been demonstrated. The very next year (1851) Mr T.R. Crampton, with Messrs Wollaston, Küper, and others, made and laid an improved cable between Dover and Calais, and ere long many other parts of the world were connected by means of snaky submarine electric cables.
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1
erratic
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| adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的 | |
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2
gushing
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| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
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3
rend
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| vt.把…撕开，割裂；把…揪下来，强行夺取 | |
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4
outstrip
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| v.超过，跑过 | |
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5
zephyr
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| n.和风，微风 | |
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6
marrow
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| n.骨髓；精华；活力 | |
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7
lurks
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| n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式） | |
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8
gaily
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| adv.欢乐地，高兴地 | |
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gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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10
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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11
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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12
rending
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| v.撕碎( rend的现在分词 )；分裂；（因愤怒、痛苦等而）揪扯（衣服或头发等）；（声音等）刺破 | |
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13
shunned
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| v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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15
sages
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| n.圣人( sage的名词复数 )；智者；哲人；鼠尾草（可用作调料） | |
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16
amber
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| n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的 | |
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17
fickle
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| adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的 | |
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18
repelled
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| v.击退( repel的过去式和过去分词 )；使厌恶；排斥；推开 | |
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19
lurking
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| 潜在 | |
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20
permeates
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| 弥漫( permeate的第三人称单数 )； 遍布； 渗入； 渗透 | |
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21
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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22
peculiarities
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| n. 特质, 特性, 怪癖, 古怪 | |
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23
elucidation
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| n.说明，阐明 | |
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24
imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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25
catching
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| adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住 | |
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26
cape
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| n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风 | |
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27
allurement
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| n.诱惑物 | |
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28
volatile
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| adj.反复无常的，挥发性的，稍纵即逝的，脾气火爆的；n.挥发性物质 | |
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29
kindle
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| v.点燃，着火 | |
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30
mansions
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| n.宅第，公馆，大厦( mansion的名词复数 ) | |
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31
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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32
glide
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| n./v.溜，滑行；(时间)消逝 | |
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33
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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34
ooze
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| n.软泥，渗出物；vi.渗出，泄漏；vt.慢慢渗出，流露 | |
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35
resinous
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| adj.树脂的，树脂质的，树脂制的 | |
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36
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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37
copper
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| n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的 | |
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38
amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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39
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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40
intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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41
embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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42
seaman
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| n.海员，水手，水兵 | |
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43
meditate
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| v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想 | |
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44
unfamiliar
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| adj.陌生的，不熟悉的 | |
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45
northward
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| adv.向北；n.北方的地区 | |
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46
descend
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| vt./vi.传下来，下来，下降 | |
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47
perfidious
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| adj.不忠的，背信弃义的 | |
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48
shrugged
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| vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式） | |
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49
axe
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| n.斧子；v.用斧头砍，削减 | |
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50
specimen
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| n.样本，标本 | |
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51
robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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52
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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