In the early days the steam yacht was usually of the type which has one flush deck. But to-day she varies to the same extent as the sailing yacht. Topgallant forecastles, quarter decks, bridge-houses, awning decks, shade decks, spar decks, and many other features have been added. Three masts have given way to two, and now only one is being retained, and that merely for signalling purposes or for wireless telegraphy. Formerly, the steam yacht was a long, narrow creation carrying a considerable quantity of ballast, but to-day she is given greater beam, and in many points is coming far more under the sway of the ocean steamship than ever she has in the whole of her history. The accommodation is being modified and improved, and the elemental features are undergoing a change. Whereas the older types carried their dining and drawing-rooms below, nowadays these, as well as the state-rooms, are, whenever possible, placed on the main deck. Much more room is afforded for promenade by the adding of deck upon deck, and a noticeable characteristic of the modern steam yacht is the extent to which the deck-house and pilot-house have been carried. Like their bigger sisters, the steam yachts of to-day are fitted with every thought for comfort. Electric light, refrigerating plant, exquisite decorations, heating apparatus, search-lights, and a thousand other details go to swell the long bill which has to be paid for the private steamship. The old square stern inherited from the Dutch, through the British Navy of yesterday, and, finally, through the royal yachts, is modified nowadays from a clumsiness to resemble more nearly the counter of the smart sailing yacht. Ample overhang at bow and stern gives both increased deck space and makes a drier ship, and at the bows this additional room is advantageous for working the anchors. As compared with the liner, the yacht has far more opportunities of showing what a graceful creature the ship really is: for she has not to rush across seas at break-neck speed, nor has she to waste her internal space with accommodation for cargo and mails. She need not clutter up her decks with clusters of derricks, but go about her easy work in a quiet and dignified manner, not forgetting to look pretty all the time. And yet she is able nowadays, by reason of her size, to carry large enough quantities of water, coals and stores to last her for lengthy voyages, independent of the shore. The question of speed is subservient to fuel-endurance, and to get her owner and his guests to their destination with the least degree of discomfort is of far greater import than to set up new steaming records. She is a good sea-boat, for she is not harassed by the limitations as to the distribution of weights which have to be studied so closely in the case of the liner. The single-screw is giving way to the twin-screw, and the triple-expansion engine is usually adopted, with its absence of any great vibration.