total actual power of the engines is more than that of 8,000 horses, and the vessel could carry coals enough to take her round the world—a capability which was the object of her enormous size. The vessel as originally constructed contained accommodation for 800 first-class passengers, 2,000 second class, and 1,200 third class—that is, for 4,000 passengers in all. The principal saloon was 100 ft. long, 36 ft. wide, and 13 ft. high. Each of her ten boilers weighs 50 tons, and when all are in action, 12 tons of coal are burnt every hour, and the total displacement of the vessel laden with coal is 22,500 tons. Footnote 1: She was broken up for old iron, 1889. [Illustration: FIG. 63.—_The Great Eastern ready for Launching._ ] The use of steam power in navigation has increased at an amazing rate. Between 1850 and 1860 the tonnage of the steam shipping entering the port of London increased three-fold, and every reader knows that there are many fleets of fine steamers plying to ports of the United Kingdom. There are, for example, the splendid Atlantic steamers, some of which almost daily enter or leave Liverpool, and the well-appointed ships belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company. The steamers on the Holyhead and Kingston line may be taken as good examples of first-class passenger ships. These are paddle-wheel boats, and are constructed entirely of iron, with the exception of the deck and cabin fittings. Taking one of these as a type of the rest, we may note the following particulars: the vessel is 334 ft. long, the diameter of the paddle-wheels is 31 ft., and each has fourteen floats, which are 12 ft. long and 4 ft. 4 in. wide. The cylinders of the engines are 8 ft. 2 in. in diameter, and 6 ft. 6 in. long. The ship cost about £75,000. The average passage between the two ports—a distance of 65½ miles—occupies 3 hours 52 minutes, and at the measured mile the vessel attained the speed of 20·811 miles per hour. As an example of the magnificent vessels owned by the Cunard Company, we shall give now a few figures relating to one of their largest steam-ships, the _Persia_, launched in 1858, and built by Mr. N. Napier, of Glasgow, for the company, to carry mails and passengers between Liverpool and New York. Her length is 389 ft., and her breadth 45 ft. She is a paddle-wheel steamer, with engines of 850 horse-power, having cylinders 100 in. in diameter with a stroke of 10 ft. The paddle-wheels are 38 ft. 6 in. in diameter, and each has twenty-eight floats, 10 ft. 8 in. long and 2 ft. wide. The _Persia_ carries 1,200 tons of coal, and displaces about 5,400 tons of water. [Illustration: FIG. 64.—_Comparative Sizes of Steamships._ 1838, _Great Western_; 1844, _Great Britain_; 1856, _Persia_; 1858, _Great Eastern_. A, Section amidships of _Great Eastern_; B, The same of _Great Western_. Both on the same scale, but on a larger one than their profiles. ]