This rivalry was destined to end in the wreck of the _St. George_. The Manx captain, having probably a better knowledge of local conditions than the commander of the _St. George_, foresaw that a south-easterly gale was rising, which always blows inshore at Douglas. As soon, therefore, as he landed his passengers he put to sea again, but the _St. George_ was anchored in the bay, and during the night as the gale freshened she was blown on the Connister Rocks and went to pieces. All on board were saved by the Douglas lifeboat, whose captain was one of the founders of the Royal Lifeboat Institution. The St. George Company maintained the opposition for a little while longer, until another vessel, the _William the Fourth_, was lost. They then retired from the service altogether. The St. George Company was itself an opposition line at first to that established by Messrs. Little and Co.; but the last-named firm have maintained their steamship connection with the island until within the last few years. It is little wonder that the Manx Company was started to supersede the St. George Company, for the latter, having no opposition during the winter months, used for that station its slowest and smallest boats, which were devoid alike of adequate comfort and shelter for the passengers. MESSRS. JAMES LITTLE AND CO. This firm, which was established as early as 1812, despatched in 1819 the first steamer which ever carried passengers from the Clyde to Liverpool. This was the _Robert Bruce_, a small vessel of 98 feet in length; she was soon followed by the _Superb_, and in 1820 by the _Majestic_, and two years later by the _City of Glasgow_. The steamers on the Liverpool and Glasgow service called at Port Patrick and Douglas, and in 1828 Messrs. Little inaugurated their Glasgow and Belfast service with a new vessel, the _Frolic_. It was for this service also that some years later they ordered, from Messrs. Denny and Co. of Dumbarton, the _Waterwitch_, which was the first screw steamer built on the Clyde. Another of their most notable boats was the _Herald_, a Clyde paddle-steamer, built in 1866 and placed by them on the Barrow and Isle of Man service the following year. They afterwards added those fine steamers _Manx Queen_, _Duchess of Devonshire_, and _Duchess of Buccleuch_, which were so successful that the rivalry between them and the Isle of Man Steam Packet boats became very keen, the Barrow route to the Isle of Man being shorter than the Liverpool.