Such was the _Great Eastern_, a marvel in her time and an object lesson, even to-day, in safe and unsinkable construction. That her valuable qualities were not obtained at the cost of extravagance in the use of material is one of the most meritorious features of her design and construction. On this point we cannot do better than quote from the address of Sir William White, delivered when he was President of the Institution of Civil Engineers: "I have most thoroughly investigated the question of the weight absorbed in the structure of the _Great Eastern_, and my conclusion is that it is considerably less than that of steel-built ships of approximately the same dimensions and of the most recent construction. Of course these vessels are much faster, have more powerful engines, and have superstructures for passenger accommodation towering above the upper deck. These and other features involve additional weight; and the _Great Eastern_ has the advantage of being deeper in relation to her length than the modern ships. After making full allowance for these differences, my conclusion is that the _Great Eastern_ was a relatively lighter structure, although at the time she was built only iron plates of very moderate size were available." CHAPTER VI THE SINKABLE _TITANIC_ In all the long record of disasters involving the loss of human life there is none which appeals so strongly to the imagination as those which have occurred upon the high seas, and among these the loss of the _Titanic_ stands out preëminent as the most stupendous and heartrending tragedy of them all. The ship itself was not only the latest and largest of those magnificent ocean liners which, because of their size and speed and luxurious appointments, have taken such a strong hold upon the public imagination, but it was popularly believed that because of her huge proportions, and the special precautions which had been taken to render her unsinkable, the _Titanic_ was so far proof against the ordinary accidents of the sea as to survive the severest disaster and bring her passengers safely into port. The belief that the _Titanic_ stood for the "last word" in naval architecture certainly seemed to be justified by the facts. She was not a contract-built ship in the commonly accepted sense of that term. On the contrary, she was built under a system which conduces to high-class workmanship and eliminates the temptations to cheap work, which must always exist when a contract is secured in the face of keen competition.