“Those ringing cheers of the American flag-ship pierced deep into my heart, and I shall ever remember that mighty outburst of fellow-feeling which, I felt, came from the bottom of the hearts of the gallant Admiral and his men. Every man on board the _Calliope_ felt as I did; it made us work to win. I can only say, ‘God bless America and her noble sailors!’” The _Calliope_ did win. Her superb machinery and the fine seamanship with which she was handled were successful, and she returned to the harbour when the storm had subsided. Happily the brave men of the _Trenton_ also survived, though fourteen vessels were wrecked and nearly 150 lives were lost. Strongly and staunchly as are built the Government ships, many of the great liners are their equals in these respects. Indeed, several of them are now retained by the Government to be used as armed cruisers should occasion require. The fittings and accommodation on many a large liner are also luxurious in the extreme. There are library and smoking-room, superb saloons and state-rooms, drawing-rooms, music-rooms, and tea-rooms, bath-rooms, etc. In short, they are floating hotels of a most sumptuous character. A modern steamship, with its multitude of comforts and conveniences for passengers and its complexities of machinery for fast and safe steaming, is a great triumph of engineering skill. Patience and forethought, the persevering development of sound principles, and the application of new ideas, have all contributed to this great achievement. From the _Comet_ to the _Campania_ is a marvellous development within a century. And it has not been accomplished along one line, but upon many. The use of steel, of many-tubed and strong boilers, of high pressure steam, which would have frightened Henry Bell out of his senses, the forced draught and the surface condensers, the screw propeller, the direct-acting and the triple and quadruple expansion engines, have all contributed to the noble results. Steamships, with their complex, beautiful, and powerful machinery, may rank among the most wonderful things that mankind has ever made. [Illustration] [Illustration] FAMOUS BRIDGES AND THEIR BUILDERS. CHAPTER I. “THE BRIDGE BY THE EARTHEN HOUSE.” “You will not try again, surely?” “Ay, I shall indeed!” “What! after two failures?” “Yes; I see the mistakes now. This bridge fell because it had too much weight on its haunches.” “Haunches! you mean the two side-curves of the arch were too heavy.” “Ay; you’ve heard the proverb no doubt that ‘An arch never sleeps.’ That is, should too great a weight fall on the crown or top part, the arch will fall at the sides outwardly, and the crown will sink; while, curiously enough, if it be built with too little weight on the crown, as this was, the crown will be forced upwards, and the sides will fall inwards.” “Then you mean to build your third bridge with less weight proportionately on its haunches?” “Exactly so.”