The competition is of ancient date, if we go back to the days when the American 'Collins' Company tried to run the Cunard Company off the waters; and during the half-century since the inauguration of steam service the Cunard Company have sometimes held and sometimes lost the highest place for speed. The period of steam-racing--the age of 'Atlantic greyhounds'--may be said to have begun in the year 1879, when the Cunard _Gallia_, the Guion _Arizona_, and the White Star _Britannic_ and _Germanic_ had all entered upon their famous careers. It is matter of history now how the _Arizona_--called the 'Fairfield Flyer,' because she was built by Messrs John Elder & Company, of Fairfield, Glasgow--beat the record in an eastward run of seven days twelve and a half hours, and a westward run of seven days ten and three-quarter hours. To beat the _Arizona_, the Cunard Company built the _Servia_, of 8500 tons and 10,300 horse-power; but she in turn was beaten by another Fairfield Flyer, the _Alaska_, under the Guion flag. The race continued year by year, as vessels of increasing size and power were entered by the competing companies. While all the lines compete in swiftness, luxury, and efficiency, the keenest rivalry is now between the Cunard and the White Star companies. And just as the _Campania_ and _Lucania_ were built to eclipse the renowned _Teutonic_ and _Majestic_, so the owners of these boats prepared to surpass even the two Cunarders we describe. Let us now see something of these marvels of marine architecture. They are sister-ships, both built on the Clyde by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, and both laid down almost simultaneously. They are almost identical in dimensions and appointments, and therefore we may confine our description to the _Campania_, which was the first of the twins to be ready for sea. This largest vessel afloat does not mark any new departure in general type, as the _Great Eastern_ did in differing from all types of construction then familiar. In outward appearance, the _Campania_, as she lies upon the water, and as seen at a sufficient distance, is just like numbers of other vessels we have all seen. Nor does her immense size at first impress the observer, because of the beautiful proportions on which she is planned. Her lines are eminently what the nautical enthusiast calls 'sweet;' and in her own class of naval art she is as perfect a specimen of architectural beauty as the finest of the grand old clippers which used to 'walk the waters as a thing of life.' The colossal size of St Peter's at Rome does not strike you as you enter, because of the exquisite proportions. And so with the _Campania_--you need to see an ordinary merchant-ship, or even a full-blown liner, alongside before you can realise how vast she is.