The "Cunard Line" of transatlantic steamers was established in the year 1840. The first of the line--the Britannia--sailed from Liverpool for New York, July 4th of that year, and was followed, on regular sailing-days, by the other three of the four ships with which the company commenced business. These four vessels had an aggregate tonnage of 4,600 tons, and their speed was less than eight knots. To-day, the tonnage of a single vessel of the fleet exceeds that of the four; the total tonnage has risen to many times that above given. There are 50 steamers in the line, aggregating nearly 50,000 horse-power. The speed of the steamships of the present time is double that of the vessels of that date, and passages are not infrequently made in eight days. The form of steam-engine in most general use at this time, on transatlantic steamers, was that known as the "side-lever engine." It was first given the standard form by Messrs. Maudsley & Co., of London, about 1835, and was built by them for steamers supplied to the British Government for general mail service. The steam-vessels of the time are well represented in the accompanying engraving (Fig. 91) of the steamship Atlantic--a vessel which was shortly afterward (1851) built as the pioneer steamer of the American "Collins Line." This steamship was one of several which formed the earliest of American steamship-lines, and is one of the finest examples of the type of paddle-steamers which was finally superseded by the later screw-fleets. The "Collins Line" existed but a very few years, and its failure was probably determined as much by the evident and inevitable success of screw-propulsion as by the difficulty of securing ample capital, complete organization, and efficient general management. This steamer was built at New York--the hull by William Brown, and the machinery by the Novelty Iron-Works. The length of the hull was 276 feet, its breadth 45 feet, and the depth of hold 31-1/2 feet. The width over the paddle-boxes was 75 feet. The ship measured 2,860 tons. The form of the hull was then peculiar in the fineness of its lines; the bow was sharp, and the stern fine and smooth, and the general outline such as best adapted the ship for high speed. The main saloon was about 70 feet long, and the dining-room was 60 feet in length and 20 feet wide. The state-rooms were arranged on each side the dining "saloon," and accommodated 150 passengers. These vessels were beautifully fitted up, and with them was inaugurated that wonderful system of passenger-transportation which has since always been distinguished by those comforts and conveniences which the American traveler has learned to consider his by right. [Illustration: FIG. 91.--The Atlantic, 1851.]