That a private gentleman should have such a machine at his command was not likely.

Where, when, and how was it built?
and how could its construction have been kept secret?
Certainly a Government might possess such a destructive machine.

And in these disastrous times, when the ingenuity of man has multiplied the power of weapons of war, it was possible that, without the knowledge of others, a State might try to work such a formidable engine.
But the idea of a war machine fell before the declaration of Governments.

As public interest was in question, and transatlantic communications suffered, their veracity could not be doubted.

But how admit that the construction of this submarine boat had escaped the public eye?
For a private gentleman to keep the secret under such circumstances would be very difficult, and for a State whose every act is persistently watched by powerful rivals, certainly impossible.
Upon my arrival in New York several persons did me the honour of consulting me on the phenomenon in question.