All through the week the progress of the Great Eastern,
with the Atlantic cable on board, has been watched with the keenest interest, but on Wednesday there was evidently a hitch. On Thursday it had not been removed, and on Friday the most hopeful began to despair. The great ship was at noon on Wed- nesday in 51 N.L. and 39 W.L., when signals ceased, which have not since been renewed. According to the Times the tests show "dead earth," i. e., either the cable has broken or the wire has been laid bare, an accident fatal to any hope of completing the undertaking this year. It is possible in the worst event that the cable may be recovered, but underwriters are said to be refusing to assure shares at 75 per cent. The truth seems to be that the under- taking is too great for the present condition of electrical science, and the world must wait awhile. Before 1870 the land line, via St. Petersburg, Siberia, and Behring's Straits, will be in communi- cation with Washington, and replies to questions have in one instance been received from Tobolsk within an hour and a half.
