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 ATLANTIC 
 
 STEAM 
 
 NAVIGATION. 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRY FRY. 
 
 (^iirbtt 
 Am> Hkistoi., Kn'oi.anii, 
 
 1883. 
 
 PROVINCIAL LIBHAHf 
 VICTORIA, B. G. 
 

ATLANTIC 
 
 STEAM NAVIGATION. 
 
 Bv HxNRY Pry. 
 
 The History of Atlantic Steam Navigation is to some extent 
 the History of the Progress of the Hunan Mind, and is also a 
 proof of the fallibility of scientific men. At a Meeting of the 
 British Association for the Advancement of Science, the 
 celebrated Dr. Lardner stated, in effect, that it was impossible 
 tor any steam-ship to carry sufficient coals to stean across the 
 Atlantic, yet the thing was actually done a short time afterwards. 
 
 In previous years two attempts had been made, but in neither 
 case had the boat steamed all the way. The " Savannah " was 
 probably the first boat to use steam at all on the Atlantic. She 
 left Savannah for England, but arrived under canvas alone. 
 The '"Royal William" was built at Quebec and crossed the 
 Atlantic, part of the passage having to be made under canvas, 
 but she never returned. Both were deficient in coal capacity, 
 and probably in steam power. 
 
 In 1837 the first steam-ship built for the Atlantic Trade was 
 launched from the yard of Patterson & Mercer, Bristol. She was 
 named the "Great Western," was a paddle boat, 1300 tons 
 gross, 679 tons net ; she was the first ship built with a round 
 stern and solid bottom, and had Neptune for a figure head. She 
 sailed on her first voyage in April, 1838, and made the passage 
 in twelve and a half days out, and twelve days home ; the 
 passage money was fifty guineas, and she was alw ays full ; but 
 she did nut atteiupt to cross in the winter. It is marvellous to 
 
 199355 
 
think that in so short a space of time the progress has been 
 such that the size has increased fronn 679 tons to 13,000^ 
 the speed from ten knots to eighteen, and the capacity for 
 passengers from 150 to 1,500 souls; the time occupied has 
 diminished from twelve days to seven, and the consumption of 
 coal per horse power more than one half. The "Great Western" 
 was followed by the •' Great Britain," an iron ship of about 3000 
 tons gross, designed by Brunei, and built by William Patterson. 
 During her construction a Mr. Smith made some successful 
 experiments with a screw in the " Archimedes," which induced 
 Brunei to alter the •* Great Britain " from a paddle boat to a 
 screw ; it was driven by a very clumsy arrangement of 
 drums and leather bands, direct action being supposed to be too 
 slow ; she was a particularly handsome model. The Directors of 
 the Company, deeming that no man could be found in the 
 Merchant Navy fit to command so large a ship as the " Great 
 Western," had selected from the Navy Lieutenant James 
 Hosken, who was jiromoted to the " Great Britain." Being 
 too large to run to Bristol, she was sent to Liverpool, after an 
 amusing incident had occurred. She had a very round side 
 and drawing a little more water than was calculated, on being 
 floated out of the dock in which she was built it was found 
 impossible to get her out of the harbour, as the e.\it was 
 too narrow. Ultimately the coping stones on one side of the 
 lock had to be removed in order to release her. Leaving 
 Liverpool for New York Lieutenant Hosken navigated her so 
 carelessly that he failed to see the light on the Calf of Man, 
 and whilst gazing for it ran her ashore in Dundrum Bay on the 
 Coast of Ireland, where she remained all the winter ; this 
 accident was fatal to the Company. She was sold to Gibbs, 
 Bright, & Co., and after receiving nevy engines and masts, ran 
 for many years in the Melbourne trade, and I believe still exists 
 in Birkenhead Dock.* The " Great Western " was sold to the 
 
 * Since converted into a s:iiling ship. 
 
has been 
 ) 13,000, 
 )acity for 
 ipied has 
 mption of 
 Western" 
 bout 3000 
 'atterson. 
 successful 
 h induced 
 boat to a 
 ement of 
 
 to be too 
 rectors of 
 id in the 
 e " Great 
 It James 
 Beiny 
 
 after an 
 }und side 
 on being' 
 as found 
 exit was 
 le of the 
 
 Leaving 
 d her so 
 
 of Man, 
 \y on the 
 ter ; this 
 to Gibbs, 
 lasts, ran 
 itill exists 
 }ld to the 
 
 Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, and ran to the West Indies 
 until broken up. Had the Company built three other " Great 
 Westerns " in lieu of the " Great Britain," they would probably 
 have got the Mail contract, and the great Cunard Company 
 mi^'ht never have existed I In the meantime a steam ship 
 named the " Liverpool" had been built to run between Ix>ndon 
 and New York, but proved a failure, and an old boat called the 
 ''Sirius" had made a few trips from Liverpool. Samuel 
 Cunard, of Halifax, afterwards Sir Samuel Cunard, Baronet, 
 then projected a line between Liverpool and Halifax with a 
 branch boat from Picton to Quebec, and having induced John 
 Burns, of Glasgow, and Charles Maclver, of Liverpool, to join 
 him in the enterprise, obtained from the liritish Government a 
 contract to carry the Mails once a fortnight in summer and once 
 a month in winter, the ultimate destination being Boston ! To 
 accomplish this they built the " Acadia,"' " Britannia," 
 " Caledonia,'' and " Columbia," commanded by Captains 
 Judkins, Lott, Harrison, itnd Leitch, whilst the " Unicorn " ran 
 between Picton and Quebec. They were paddle boats of about 
 1 ,800 tons gross, 1 ,000 tons net, designed by a very able man, 
 Mr. Hood, of Port Glasgow, built of wood on the Clyde, and 
 supplied with engines of about 400 horse power nominal. Both 
 hulls and engines were admirably constructed and finished, the 
 officers were all picked men, and the discipline and management 
 excellent, so that the Line was a great success from the first, 
 safety being the object rather than speed. The " Columbia " 
 was lost on Cape Sable, and was replaced by the " Hibernia," 
 no lives being lost. For over thirty years this was the only 
 loss they met with, a thing quite unparalleled in the history of 
 steam navigation. An additional boat was then built, the 
 "Cambria." the engines of which so struck an American 
 engineer that he declared they ought to be put into a glass 
 case. I think the contract ran from 1S42 to 1847. 
 
The Company then made a fresh contract with the British 
 Government for a weekly line all the year roun<l, the l)oats to 
 run alternately to Halifax and Boston, and to New York direct, 
 with branches from Halifax to Bermuda and St. Johns, New- 
 foundland, the (Jueber boat being discontinued. For this service 
 they received the enormous sum of_^ 178,000 sterling per annum, 
 or about 900,000 dollars, and they were generally believed to 
 have built all their lx)ats, after the first five, out of their profits. 
 To carry out the new contract they built the " America," 
 "Canada," Niagara," and " Europa," larger than the first 
 boats but very much of the same type, adhering in a most 
 conservative manner to the smallest details of the early boats. 
 To illustrate this I may say that as late as 1876 they had no 
 bells in staterooms and no water taps, and for thirty years they 
 never altered the old fashioned type of their bills of fare, nor 
 varied their food, but then they lost no boats and drowned no 
 passengers. At a later date they agreed to call at Queenstown 
 on Sundays, which enabled the Post Office to despatch the mails 
 on Saturday night in lieu of Friday night, and to receive the 
 homebound mails at Queenstown in lieu of Liverpool. 
 
 The "Asia" and "Africa," boats of about 2,600 Ions, 
 still wooden and paddle, with engines of about 700 horse ix)wer, 
 were added, and the;^ sold gradually the first five boats. They 
 now designed two boats specially for speed. The " Arabia " 
 was the first, a wooden boat with very fine lines and engines of 
 great power, (1,000 horse nominal.) She was fast, but her 
 engines drove her under water in bad weather and tore her he!! 
 to pieces. They were therefore glad to sell the second boat on 
 the stocks to the "Royal Mail Steam Packet Company," to 
 replace their burnt '* Amazon," on a pinch. Captain Leitch had 
 to retire through ill-health, and Captains Stone, Lang, Cleland, 
 and Anderson joined. I may remark that two of their captains 
 were afterwards chosen to command the " Great Eastern," 
 Harrison and Anderson. The former was drowned in a most 
 
sinf^utar manntr in Southampton Water, anH the latter was 
 knisfhted by the Queen on the successful laying of the Atlantic 
 Cable. 
 
 At last Cunanis were driven to iron, (other companies 
 having long previously adopted it,) and in 1856 they launched 
 the celebrated "Persia," still obstinately adhering to paddle 
 engines which suiiietimes consumed 1 30 tons of coals per day, so 
 that she was so deep on starting that she made only ten knots ; as 
 she lightened, however, she gradually increased to sixteen knots 
 and thus made some rapid passages, and for years was me 
 most popular boat in the trade. She was about 3,000 tons and 
 1 ,000 horse power. Their last paddle boat succeeded her, the 
 magnificent "Siotia," nearly 4.000 tons, and 1000 horse power 
 nominal, probably the finest paddle boat ever built. Having a 
 longer floor she drew less water than the " Persia " and was 
 much faster on starting, making 12 and 12^ knots, and was a 
 great favuurite with the public. She was the Ust boat com- 
 manded by the veteran Judkins, and Lott succeeded him. Burns 
 and Maclver at last discovered that they could not compete 
 successfully agamst the screws, and reluctantly yielded ; but I 
 never found any boat equal in comfort to the "Scotia." The 
 "Persia," which must have cost them over ^^ 100,000, was sold 
 for ^10,000, and her splendid engines broken up for old iron. 
 The " Scotia " was sold to a Telegraph Construction Co., and 
 converted into a twin screw. The "Arabia" was broken up. 
 The "Niagara," "Canada," and "Asia" ran for some years 
 as sailing ships. During the Crimean War several of the boats 
 were en ployed as transports, two conveyed troops to Canada in 
 1 861-2, and three went to the Cape in 1878. The first screw 
 they ran was a purchased boat — a failure, and the most wretched 
 Ixjat I ever crossed in, the " Australasian," re-named the 
 " Calabria." She rolled like a cask, and once rolled a passenger 
 overboard, and her vibration was so great that it was hard to 
 sleep. They put new engines in her, but I do not know what 
 
berame of her ultimately. The first screw they built was a 
 very fast Ixiat for her time, the "China," followed by the 
 " CuImi " and " Java," Ixjth very tine boats ; but the introduction 
 of compound engines and incessant improvements soon made 
 their engines obsolete, and they were sold for sailing ships. 
 • Th( litnt nii7(< /iiul arrm-d when I he (iwemnunl dtclinid loioulinuc 
 the siibsidVftnid it Imaiiif nicissiirv lo sliidy economy. So long had they 
 enjoyed the carriage of the mails, and so proud were they of 
 the prestige, that they at last offered to carry them free rather 
 than be deprived of the honour. Then followed th.. ' J'.ussia," 
 a very fast and successful boat, but she too had to be .sold, and 
 went to Holland, so rapid were the changes in engines. Ix*ngth 
 of hull, too, was constantly increasing, and other companies 
 having excelled them in speed and luxury of fittings, notably the 
 " White Star" Line, with midship state-rooms, bells, and hot 
 and cold water taps, they were compelled to follow or give up 
 the racL . One company actually spent ;^8o,cxx) in lengthening 
 hull and renewing engines and boilers of one boat. They soon 
 added two very fine boats, the "Scythia" and "Bothnia," 
 selling the -'Abyssinia." Still they were beaten in speed, 
 especially by the " Wl.ite Star " boats, but never stayed their 
 hands. The " Gallia " is a considerable advance in size, speed, 
 and fittings, and is a popular boat, but she has been eclipsed by 
 their latest effort, the •' Servia '' than which probably no finer 
 boat exists. She is 8,500 tons, and 1,500 horse-power nominal. 
 Engineers seem to think that in her the limit of single .screw 
 boats has been reached. Their latest additions are the " Cata- 
 lonia " and " Cephalonia," both of smaller size than the " Servia.'' 
 Judkins died at 6g. Lott, after receiving an ovation on 
 completion of his 500th passage, had a slight paralytic stroke, 
 and was compelled to retire. Lang succumbed to the sailor's 
 great enemy, rheumatism, Stone and Anderson retired early, 
 
 • On ihe renewal «)f their contract al a very reduced rale, they built the 
 " Algeria," " Abyssinia,' and " Parthia," iKtaUofnoKfeat »|ieed, and hardly up 
 to the time!), and they added some smaller boats for freight and steerage passengeri. 
 
and the leaders are now Cook, Haines, McMicken, and Murphy. 
 The " Tarifa " was wrecked on the Tuskar rock, and a small 
 branch boat from Havre near the Li/.ard rocks. These comprise 
 all their fatal disasters during' 40 years. What a testimony 
 to the skill, the enerjjy, and the care of builders, owners, and 
 offlnrs ! Cunard and h»: ..<»n Kdward are j^one, but Burns and 
 Mclver remain. They an. both old men, and have found it 
 necessary to convert tneir property into a " limited liability 
 company." Tht- ro. ipany have never lost their prestige for safety, 
 an<l still carry more tirst-clash passengers than any other line. 
 
 THE COLLINS LINE. 
 
 The first line subsidised by the United States Government 
 was the '* Collins '' line. It was projected by R. K. Collins, and 
 consisted of the " Atlantic" (Capt. West), the " Baltic " (Capt. 
 Comstock), the " Pacific" (Capt. Nye ), and the " Arctic " (Capt. 
 Luce.) They were built to run a^^'uinst the Cunard line between 
 New York and Liverpool, and were heavily subsidised for 
 carrying the mails. Built of wood, with powerful paddle 
 engines, thty were very fast. They had luxuriously fitted 
 drawing rooms underneath the dining saloon, music, and French 
 cooks ; but thi;y had neither the solid comfort, the discipline, 
 nor the safety of their competitors. The line had but a short 
 existence. The " Pacific " was matched against the " Persia " 
 in January, 1854, and was never seen or heard of after leaving 
 Liverpool. In the same year the " Arctic" was sunk by collision 
 with the •' Vesta " near Cape Race, with a great loss of life, 
 including Mrs. Collins, her son, and daughter. The " Adriatic " 
 had in the meantime been built, but the loss of two boats and 
 so many lives in one year was fatal. The "Adriatic" was 
 sold to the Galway line, and the " Atlantic" and " Baltic" con- 
 verted into sailing ships, sailing successfully in the Californian 
 trade. Mr. Collins was ruined, and at a later date a public 
 subscription was made for him. 
 
THE INMAN LINE 
 
 was commenced with iron screws. The " City of Philadelphia " 
 and "City of Glasgow" were, I think, the first boats. They 
 ran to Philadelphia at first, but like other lines, were ultimately 
 transferred to New York. The first was lost on Cape Race ; 
 the latter was never heard of. Other " Cities ' followed ; the 
 " City of Ikltimore," " City of New York " (lost on Daunts' Rock, 
 near Queenstown), " City of Boston " (never heard of), " City of 
 Antwerp," " City of London," " City of Dublin," " City of Bristol," 
 and the "City of Montreal." Their latest boats are another 
 "City of New York," "City of Brussels," "City of Be-'in" 
 (S,SOO tons), and "City of Rome" (8,800 tons.) Most of 
 them were built by Tod and McGregor, of Glasgow, very hand- 
 some in model, but very unfortunate in breaking their shafts- 
 The " City of Rome " was built at Barrow, and is said to be 
 quite equal to the " Servia," built by J. and G. Thomson, of 
 Glasgow. For many years they carried no mails, and depended 
 alone on goods and passengers. Recently, however, they have 
 carried mails for a very small remuneration, and have made 
 some rapid passages. The Line was commenced by Mr. William 
 Inman and friends as a private affair, but has been converted 
 into a limited liability company. Mr. Inman recently died, and 
 his son is now manager. Their heavy losses and breakdowns 
 have always prevented their possessing the confidence enjoyed 
 by the Cunard Line. 
 
 THE WHITE STAR LINE 
 
 is a more recent venture, and was a great advance in jToint of 
 size, speed, and accommodation. It commenced with the 
 "Oceanic," "Atlantic," "Baltic," "Adriatic," and "Celtic," 
 boats of about 4,500 tons, built by Harland and Wolff, of 
 Belfast, and engines of great power, by Maudslay, Son, and 
 Field, of London. From the first they were driven at a high 
 rate and made rapid passages. Their midship saloons, electric 
 
tt 
 
 bells, hot and cold water taps, &c., made them popular, but the 
 loss of the " Atlantic " near Halifax with a great sacrifice of 
 life was a heavy blow. They have added the " Republic," 
 " Britannic," '• Germanic," " Arabic," and " Coptic," but some 
 of the boats are now running between San Francisco and Japan. 
 They are largely patronised by first -class passengers, and with 
 the one exception named have been very fortunate. 
 
 THE ALLAN LINE 
 
 was started in 1853 by five brothers, Jarnes and Alexander Allan, 
 of Glasgow ; Bryce, of Liverpool ; Hugh and Andrew, of Montreal, 
 assisted by a few friends in Quebec, Montreal, and Manchester, 
 whom they afterwards bought out. The first boats were the 
 "Canadian," '^Indian," "Anglo-Saxon," and "North American,"' 
 lx)ats of about 1,700 tons and 300 horse -power. Mr, Lamont, 
 of Liverix)cl, had previously started a Line to carry the mails, 
 but it was a dead failure, and the Government cancelled the 
 contract, and gave it to the Allans in 1855. Lamont ran the 
 old " Sarah Sands," *' Cleopatra," and built the " Ottawa." The 
 Allans were singularly unfortunate at first. The " Canadian " 
 was lost in the St. Lawrence by a pilot, the "Indian" near 
 Halifax, and the " Anglo-Saxon " near Cape Race. They after- 
 wards entered into a contract with the Canadian Government to 
 run a weekly line to , uebec and Montreal, and built the " Nova 
 Scotian," " North Briton," " Bohemian," and " Hungarian," 
 boats of 2,200 tons and 400 horse-power. To show how very 
 clever men sometimes change their ideas, Hugh Allan stated at 
 a dinner given to him in Quebec in 1857 (I think) that in his 
 opinion boats of 1,700 tons were the proper size for the trade. 
 He has now got to 5,100 tons, and is building one of 6,100. 
 The " North Briton " was wrecked on Mingan Islands, the 
 " Hungarian " on Cape Sable with every soul on board, and 
 the " Bohemian " off Portland. The " Norwegian " and 
 " Hibernian " followed, but the former was lost on St. Paul's. 
 
Then came the " Canadian," lest in the ice outside the Straits of 
 Belle Isle. They bought the " Jura " from Cunards, but she 
 was wrecked entering- the Mersey. They also bought a German 
 boat, the " Hammonia," and re-named her the " Belgian." 
 Afterwards they built two very fine boats of 2,400 tons, the 
 "Peruvian" and "Moravian," both of which were sub- 
 sequently lengthened. Then came the " Scandinavian," 
 " Nestorian," and ** .Austrian," three very successful boats of 
 about 2,400 tons, followed by the '• Manitoban " and a third 
 *' Canadian." In 1871 they built a magnificent boat of 3,600 
 tons, with four cylinders, the " Sarmatian," which proved very 
 fast, and has had some celebrity in connection with the Ashantee 
 war and Princess Louise. She was followed by the " Polynesian,' ' 
 a somewhat similar boat, but longer, the " Circassian," of 3,600 
 tons, and the " Sardinian," of 4,200 tons, Their most recent 
 addition for the mail line is the *' Parisian," of 5, 100 tons, with 
 every modern improvement, and they are said to be building the 
 " Numidian,'' of 6,100 tons. They have a good share of the 
 passenger traffic, and still carry the Canadian mails. 
 
 Early in their career they established a Glasgow line, the 
 " St. Andrew," " St. George," " St. Patrick," and " St. David." 
 The " St. George " was wrecked on Brazil Rock, and the " St. 
 Patrick " converted into a sailing ship, the " St. Andrew " 
 re-named " Waldensian," and "St. David" "Phoenician." 
 These boats are small, and they have added for general freight 
 business the "Buenos Ayrean,""Grecian,"" Lucerne." "Corean,'* 
 and " Hanoverian," all of about 4,000 tons, the whole line now 
 consisting of 22 boats. 
 
 The Allans first commenced business many years ago with 
 wooden sailing vessels of about 400 tons, among the first being 
 the "Canada," "Cambria, ""Caledonia,"" Albion, "&c. These 
 have now grown into iron ships up to 1,700 tons, some with four 
 masts, and form a line of 1 3 ships, viz., " Gleniffer," "Glenbervie," 
 
n 
 
 •traits of 
 but she 
 German 
 elgian." 
 ons, the 
 re sub- 
 navian," 
 boats of 
 
 a third 
 of 3.600 
 ved very 
 \shantee 
 /nesian," 
 
 of 3,600 
 it recent 
 ons, with 
 ildingc the 
 re of the 
 
 r line, the 
 :. David." 
 1 the •' St. 
 \^ndre\v '' 
 oenician." 
 al freight 
 Corean,'* 
 line now 
 
 ago with 
 first being 
 c. These 
 
 with four 
 jnbervie," 
 
 of 800 tons; "St. Patrick," 900 ; "Abeona," 1,000; "Ravens- 
 craig," •* Pomona," and " Strathblane," 1,200 ; " Strathearn," 
 " Romsdal," " Glenfinart," " Glenmorag," " Glencairn," and 
 " Ardmillan," of i ,700 tons. The " Glencairn " and " Romsdal '' 
 are four-masted ships of great length, and all very fast. 
 
 Bryce Allan died first and James has followed. Hugh 
 was knighted by the Queen about 1871, and was a very 
 able man.* The boats run through the Straits of Belle 
 Isle from July to October, and make rapid passages, calling 
 at Moville in Lough Foyle, in the North of Ireland, to land 
 and embark mails. The subsidy was at one time 1416,000 
 a year, but is now very much reduced. Sir Hugh had 
 a large family, and was anxious to have a baronetcy, but 
 Ivord Lisgar o*- the Home Government refused to give him any- 
 thing beyond a knighthood, which seems strange, inasmuch as 
 Mr. Cunard for similar services was created a baronet. Lady 
 Allan *;ook very much to heart the loss of life in the early boats, 
 and died in 1881. During all this time many new lines for 
 freight and passengers have been added, and the development 
 of steam traffic has been wonderful. There is the Guion Line, 
 now owning two of the fastest boats afloat, the " Arizona " and 
 "Alaska;" and the National Line, both from Liverpool. The North 
 German Lloyds, with a large fleet to Bremen and Hamburg 
 two French lines, Havre and Bordeaux, and one to Antwerp. The 
 Anchor Line, with some very fine boats, the Dominion Line to 
 Canada, the Philadelphia Line, the Great Western Line between 
 Bristol and New York, and the Cardiff" Line, the State Line 
 between Glasgow and New York, the Lake Line between Liver- 
 pool and Canada, the Danish Line from Copenhagen to New 
 York. Then there have long been running two lines from 
 England to the West Indies, two from England to Brazils, two 
 to Cape of Good Hope, and one to Chili and Peru. The old 
 
M 
 
 Peninsular and Oriental maintains its high reputation to Indta^ 
 China, and Japan, as does the Messageries Imperial from France. 
 There are also several lines trom London and Glasgow to 
 Calcutta and China, and the Orient Line to Melbourne. This 
 passage has been reduced to 34 days rm the Cape, and the 
 " Stirling Castle" just built to run between Glasgow and China 
 has attained the extraordinary speed of 187 knots. It is thus 
 evident that the days of sailing ships are over, and that with the 
 exception perhaps of a few trades, such as the wood and guano, 
 steam will be universal. But in all probability the days of steam 
 as a motive power are nearly over. Electricity will certainly 
 take the place of coal, if not of steam, within a very few years, 
 and the great difficulty is the constant changes going on as 
 science advances, and consequently the rapid depreciation of 
 shipping property. Compound engines is an example. The 
 substitution of the screw for the paddle at once rendered all the 
 latter useless, and such magnificent specimens as the " Persia " 
 and " Scotia '' were reduced to the value of so much aid iron, 
 hardly worth the cost of breaking up. The next change will 
 probably be from steam to electricity, and will be a very sweeping 
 one, though it may be hoped that the existing ships may be 
 easily converted, for it is possible to build iron ships almost 
 indestructible, witness the " Great Britain," r • over 40 years 
 old. The introduction of double bottoms has added much to 
 their safety, though water ballast tanks in the bottom have 
 caused the loss of several, making them top heavy, witness the 
 *• George Cairns " and " Escambia." It is probable that in the 
 first instance electricity will be applied to existing boilers as a 
 heating power, and that it will be long ere it is made a substitute 
 for steam. If this is the case the loss will be light. It is, how- 
 ever, a very serions question, as the cost of a modern steamship 
 is very large, the " Servia " for instance probably costing a 
 million of dollars, and the " City of Rome " as much. 
 
MKtt 
 
 to India, 
 I France, 
 isgow to 
 le. This 
 and the 
 nd China 
 t is thus 
 with the 
 id guano, 
 of steam 
 certainly 
 2W years, 
 ng on as 
 ciation of 
 (le. The 
 ;d all the 
 Persia " 
 1 old iron, 
 ange will 
 sweeping 
 s may be 
 ps almost 
 40 years 
 much to 
 torn have 
 ritness the 
 hat in the 
 )ilers as a 
 substitute 
 t is, how- 
 steamship 
 costing a 
 
 The " Great Eastern " was designed by Brunei, and built 
 on the Thames by Russell about 18S9. She is 18,000 tons 
 gross, 1 3,000 net, 680 feet long, with paddle and screw. Losing 
 or breaking her rudder, she became unmanageable, and was a 
 failure as a mercantile speculation, but succeeded in laying cables. 
 Brunei was always ahead of his age, and his ideas were too 
 grand to allow his creations to pay. He designed the Great 
 Western Railway from London, and instead of going round Box 
 Hill he bored through it a tunnel of two miles long. He 
 frightened the directors with proposals to build a 9 feet gauge, 
 with engines weighing 80 to 100 tons, with 10 feet driving 
 wheels and a speed of 80 miles an hour. They, however, 
 compelled him to adopt a 7 feet gauge (altered after his death 
 to 4 feet 6 inches), and 9 feet wheels, but his express engines 
 weighed 80 tons (Iron Duke, Lord of the Isles, «ic.) and reached 
 a speed of 65 miles an hour. The " Great Eastern " has done 
 but little work, and was resold at about one-sixth of her original 
 cost. In a few years her size will excite no wonder, and there 
 will probably be many such with twin screws. She has laid two 
 Atlantic cables. Brunei's father, Isambard, designed and carried 
 out the Thames Tunnel under the river, but it did not pay, and 
 is now I believe used by a railway line. He was an Italian, 
 and the work twice nearly cost him his life through the river 
 breaking in. 
 

 UKISTOI, : 
 SF.ARGEANT ANn RENNRTT, STEAM HRINTEKS. 
 

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