PROMENADE DECK OF THE “PARIS.”
But the dreaded collision did not take place. And as the Calliope passed near to the Trenton, a great shout was given for the British vessel, and the Englishmen responded with a noble cheer. Captain Kane, who subsequently was appointed to the Inflexible, said afterwards:
“Those ringing cheers of the American flag-ship pierced deep into my heart, and I shall ever remember that mighty outburst of fellow-feeling which, I felt, came from the bottom of the hearts of the gallant Admiral and his men. Every man on board the Calliope felt as I did; it made us work to win. I can only say, ‘God bless America and her noble sailors!’”
The Calliope did win. Her superb machinery and the fine seamanship with which she was handled were successful, and she returned to the harbour when the storm had subsided. Happily the brave men of the Trenton also survived, though fourteen vessels were wrecked and nearly 150 lives were lost.
Strongly and staunchly as are built the Government ships, many of the great liners are their equals in these respects. Indeed, several of them are now retained by the Government to be used as armed cruisers should occasion require. The fittings and accommodation on many a large liner are also luxurious in the extreme. There are library and smoking-room, superb saloons and state-rooms, drawing-rooms, music-rooms, and tea-rooms, bath-rooms, etc. In short, they are floating hotels of a most sumptuous character.
A modern steamship, with its multitude of comforts and conveniences for passengers and its complexities of machinery for fast and safe steaming, is a great triumph of engineering skill. Patience and forethought, the persevering development of sound principles, and the application of new ideas, have all contributed to this great achievement.
From the Comet to the Campania is a marvellous development within a century. And it has not been accomplished along one line, but upon many. The use of steel, of many-tubed and strong boilers, of high pressure steam, which would have frightened Henry Bell out of his senses, the forced draught and the surface condensers, the screw propeller, the direct-acting and the triple and quadruple expansion engines, have all contributed to the noble results. Steamships, with their complex, beautiful, and powerful machinery, may rank among the most wonderful things that mankind has ever made.
