noon
There was a farmyard also , where cattle were regularly turned out for exercise ; there were goats which were allowed to go free about the decks , and chickens which took the liberty of doing so , sometimes , without leave ; there were parrots being taken home by the sailors which shrieked their opinions noisily ; and there were numerous monkeys , which gambolled in mischievous fun , or sat still , the embodiment of ludicrous despair ; while , intermingling with the general noise could be heard the rattle of the paying-out wheels , as the cable passed with solemn dignity and unvarying persistency over the stern into the sea , it seemed almost unheeded , so perfect and self-acting was the machinery ; but it was , nevertheless , watched by keen sleepless eyes -- as the mouse is watched by the cat -- night and day . The perfection not only achieved but expected , was somewhat absurdly brought out by the electrician in the cable-house at Bombay , who one day complained to the operators on board the Great Eastern that the reply to one of his questions had been from three to twelve seconds late ! It must be understood , however , that although the testing of the cable went on continuously during the whole voyage , the sending of messages was not frequent , as that interfered with the general work . Accordingly , communication with the shore was limited to a daily statement from the ship of her position at noon , and to the acknowledgment of the same by the electrician at Bombay . One of the greatest dangers in paying-out consists in changing from tank to tank when one is emptied , and a full one has to be commenced . This was always an occasion of great interest and anxiety . About midnight of the 19th the change to the fore-tank was made , and nearly every soul in the ship turned out to see it .