The Telegraph Cable to India

How all the old ways of intercourse have ceased,
Or well-nigh ceased — and we have lived to see
The word of England rapt into the East
Beneath the rolling waters! Can it be?
Yea, and thro' lawless regions which we guard
And subsidize; the Arab and the Turk
Are bound by stress of state, or gross reward,
To aid the mystic courier at its work
Twixt land and sea; soon, without wave or wind,
Our statesmen shall despatch their 'how ' and ' why '-
And charge the lightning with their policy;
Nor shall our home-affections lag behind;
For all that longs, and loves, and craves reply,
Shall move the needle on the shores of Ind.