The
Great Eastern steaming up Milford Haven about twenty-five years ago
between two lines of the channel fleet of old--two and three decked
wooden line-of-battle ships--the whole fleet saluting with yards
manned, was a sight to be remembered. More than this, that ship, with
all her mournful career, has been a useful lesson and a useful warning
to all naval architects who seriously study their profession--a lesson
of what can be done in the safe construction of huge floating
structures, and a warning that the highest flights of constructive
genius may prove abortive if not strictly subordinated to the
practical conditions and commercial requirements of the times. The
Sirius and Great Western crossed the Atlantic in 1838, and in 1840 the
first ship of the since celebrated Cunard Company made her first
voyage. This was the Britannia, which, with her sister ships, the
Arcadia, Caledonia, and Columbia, kept up the mail service regularly
at a speed of about 81/2 knots an hour. The Britannia was 207 ft. in
length between perpendiculars, and 34 ft. 4 in. extreme breadth, 22
ft. 6 in. depth of hold, 423 horse power--nominal--and 1,153 tons
burden, built of wood, and propelled by paddles. In 1860 the Collins
Line started in opposition to the Cunard, and, after a series of
disasters, collapsed in 1858.
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