'JUNE 17, 1869. - Here are the names of our staff in whom I expect
you to be interested, as future GREAT EASTERN stories may be full
of them: Theophilus Smith, a man of Latimer Clark's; Leslie C.
Hill, my prizeman at University College; Lord Sackville Cecil;
King, one of the Thomsonian Kings; Laws, goes for Willoughby Smith,
who will also be on board; Varley, Clark, and Sir James Anderson
make up the sum of all you know anything of. A Captain Halpin
commands the big ship. There are four smaller vessels. The WM.
CORY, which laid the Norderney cable, has already gone to St.
Pierre to lay the shore ends. The HAWK and CHILTERN have gone to
Brest to lay shore ends. The HAWK and SCANDERIA go with us across
the Atlantic and we shall at St. Pierre be transhipped into one or
the other.
'JUNE 18. SOMEWHERE IN LONDON. - The shore end is laid, as you may
have seen, and we are all under pressing orders to march, so we
start from London to-night at 5.10.
'June 20. OFF USHANT. - I am getting quite fond of the big ship.
Yesterday morning in the quiet sunlight, she turned so slowly and
lazily in the great harbour at Portland, and bye and bye slipped
out past the long pier with so little stir, that I could hardly
believe we were really off.
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