The VESTA, which sailed from St. Peter’s the day previous to the collision, had 197 persons on board, viz., a crew of 50 men and 147 passengers; of these 13 were reported missing when she arrived at St. John’s. [Illustration: Setting Sun] FOOTNOTES: [20] “Illustrated London News,” 21st October, 1854. CHAPTER XVII. Steamship Companies of the past.—Inman Line.—National Line.—Guion Line.—Royal Atlantic Steam Navigation Co. In the early spring of 1850 Messrs. Tod and MacGregor, iron shipbuilders and engineers, Glasgow, launched the iron screw steamer CITY OF GLASGOW, a vessel of 1,600 tons and 350 horse-power. During the spring and summer of that year she made several voyages between Glasgow and New York, but in the latter part of the year she was purchased by the Liverpool, New York and Philadelphia Steamship Company, and sailed from Liverpool to Philadelphia on the 17th December, 1850. This vessel was the pioneer of what is better known as the “Inman” Line. This ill-fated vessel left port on 1st March, 1854, with four hundred and eighty persons on board, and was never again heard of. In 1851 the Inman Company purchased the steamship CITY OF MANCHESTER, built also by Tod & MacGregor. Her registered tonnage was 2,125 tons; her length 274 feet, and her breadth 38 feet. She had a clipper bow and bowsprit, four masts square rigged on the fore and main masts, with her funnel between the main and mizzen masts. Other iron screw steamers, all having the beautiful clipper bow for which this line was noted, were quickly added to the fleet, comprising the KANGAROO, CITY OF BALTIMORE, CITY OF WASHINGTON, CITY OF BOSTON, CITY OF BRISTOL, CITY OF LIMERICK, CITY OF LINCOLN, CITY OF LONDON, CITY OF DURHAM, CITY OF NEW YORK, CITY OF PARIS, CITY OF ANTWERP, CITY OF BROOKLYN, CITY OF BRUSSELS, CITY OF MONTREAL, CITY OF CHESTER, CITY OF CHICAGO, CITY OF RICHMOND and CITY OF BERLIN. During the first five years of its existence, the Inman Company maintained a fortnightly service between Liverpool and Philadelphia, but in 1857 it enlarged the area of its operations by making New York one of its ports of arrival and by establishing a fortnightly line thither. On the collapse of the Collins Line, Mr. Inman at once assumed their dates of sailing, and increased the service to once a week, and was appointed to carry the United States mails between England and America. Nor were the Inman steamers, though screws, less swift than their predecessors. Their later steamers far surpassed the swiftest steamers of the Collins Line, and one of these, the CITY OF PARIS, in 1869 conveyed H.R.H. Prince Arthur to America in six days twenty-one hours, the quickest passage (up to that date) ever made to any port of the New World from Cork.