In 1899 came the British reply in size though not in speed. This was the White Star _Oceanic_, 13 feet longer than the memorable _Great Eastern_, measuring 705 feet, as against the German’s 648 feet 7 inches. _Oceanic’s_ 28,500 tons displacement showed the extraordinary development which had taken place in the shipbuilding art in the fewest years, and she was able to maintain a speed of twenty knots. The Cunard’s next ships were two, _Ivernia_ and _Saxonia_, each of about 14,000 tons gross—that is to say, roughly the size of the German champion, but with an average speed of fifteen and a quarter knots. They were comfortable and economical rather than record-breakers. But the _Ivernia_ was the first Atlantic liner to break away from the triple-expansion and use the quadruple-expansion system. The White Star Line, in 1901 and 1908, respectively, brought out two enormous but slow ships in the _Celtic_ and _Cedric_, the former being 20,880 tons and the latter 21,034 tons, with an average speed of sixteen knots, and at this time also came their 15,801-ton _Arabic_, with the same speed. [Illustration: [_By courtesy the White Star Line._ THE “BRITANNIC.” This White Star liner was built in 1874, and broke the record for speed. She measured 468 ft. long. Speed 16 knots; 5,000 tons.] [Illustration: [_By courtesy the Cunard Line._ THE “CAMPANIA.” Launched for the Cunard Company in 1892. Length 600 ft.] There was therefore a kind of lull in British enterprise, and in 1903 the Germans caused another sensation by the _Kaiser Wilhelm the Second_, which was able to do her twenty-three and a half knots as an average speed from New York to Plymouth. But a new development was again to take place. Competition was so keen in the steamship world, there was such an impetus to the builder, and so many clever minds were working on the problems of propulsion, that it was inevitable that all these wonderful changes should come about in such rapid succession. In the year 1886 the triple-expansion engine had come into general use. This had been followed by the quadruple-expansion, as already mentioned, and now came a still further change. For some time the turbine engine had been employed for driving electric dynamos on land, for pumping stations, colliery fans and so on. But in 1894 this type was installed experimentally in the 44-ton craft called the _Turbinia_, which was seen racing along Spithead at thirty-four knots. It was a wonderful sight, but it was not until 1905 that this type of engine was introduced into merchant ships, when the Atlantic ships _Virginian_[6] and _Victorian_ of the Allan Line were fitted with Parsons’ triplicate turbines driving three propellers. In the same year the Cunard produced their first turbine liner, _Carmania_, which on her trial attained a speed of twenty knots. She was built of a strength in excess of Board of Trade requirements, no fewer than 1,800,000 rivets being used in her