The third PRINCESS ROYAL, built in 1861, was a screw steamer, the first screw owned by the Glasgow and Liverpool Royal Steampacket Company. In 1861, civil war broke out in the United States. The Federals (Northerners) established a strict blockade of all the Southern ports on the Atlantic seaboard. A cotton famine ensued, and fast steamers were in great demand for blockade running. Amongst other Liverpool steamers purchased for this purpose was the new PRINCESS. She was sold in 1862, and her new owners changed her name. We are informed that she was captured on her first trip as a Confederate blockade runner, and converted by her captors into a Federal cruiser. Her immediate successor, the fourth PRINCESS ROYAL, after running for a number of years between Liverpool and Glasgow, was sold to a firm to trade in the West Indies. For the present the Royal Steampacket Company is without a PRINCESS ROYAL, the fifth steamer of that name having been sold in 1901 to foreign buyers. The service is meantime maintained by the PRINCESS LOUISE, or other steamer of the fleet. About the year 1870, the Royal Company opened up a new steamship service from Liverpool to the West Highlands, North of Scotland, and east coast ports. Owing, in large measure, to the natural attractions of the route, and the excellence of the accommodation and cuisine provided on the steamers, this is every year becoming a more popular and favourite trip. The first steamer employed on the West Highland and east coast route was a small cargo steamer, but in a very short time it was found necessary to place the PRINCESS ALICE, a much larger steamer, carrying passengers as well as cargo, on the route. The earlier vessels on this service were steamers of 300 to 400 tons, with limited accommodation for about 20 passengers, but now the steamers employed have accommodation for 100 to 140 saloon passengers, and an average cargo-carrying capacity of nearly 1,000 tons each. Some idea may be gained of the growth of the passenger and cargo traffic, by comparing the earlier vessels with the new PRINCESS MAUD, built in 1901. This steamer is of steel, and her dimensions are:—Length, 256 feet 6 inches; breadth, 36 feet 6 inches; depth, 17 feet 1½ inches. Gross tonnage, 1,450 tons. The vessel is handsomely fitted up for passengers, the large dining saloon being furnished in solid oak, artistically carved. One hundred first-class passengers can dine at one sitting, and there is sleeping accommodation in deck rooms and state cabins for 140 passengers. The steamer is fitted throughout with electric light, patent berths, sea-water baths, ample lavatories, and every modern convenience that can contribute to the comfort of passengers. The PRINCESS MAUD was placed on the service early in 1902, and will no doubt enhance the reputation in which this line is held by tourists. In addition to the bi-weekly service between Liverpool and Aberdeen, Leith, and Dundee, the