The Fabric Seemed Kept Together By Two Large Beams,
Which Added To The Top-Heavy Appearance Of The Whole Affair.
We entered by
the paddle-box (which was within the outer casing of the ship), in company
with a great crowd, into a large square uncarpeted apartment, called the
"Hall," with offices at the sides for the sale of railway and dinner
tickets.
Separated from this by a curtain is the ladies' saloon, a large
and almost too airy apartment extending from the Hall to the stem of the
ship, well furnished with sofas, rocking-chairs, and marble tables. A row
of berths runs along the side, hung with festooned drapery of satin
damask, the curtains being of muslin, embroidered with rose-coloured
braid.
Above this is the general saloon, a large, handsomely furnished room, with
state rooms running down each side, and opening upon a small deck fourteen
feet long, also covered; the roof of this and of the saloon, forming the
real or hurricane deck of the ship, closed to passengers, and twelve feet
above which works the beam of the engine. Below the Hall, running the
whole length of the ship, is the gentlemen's cabin, containing 170 berths.
This is lighted by artificial light, and is used for meals. An enclosure
for the engine occupies the centre, but is very small, as the machinery of
a, high-pressure engine is without the encumbrances of condenser and air-
pump. The engines drove the unwieldy fabric through the calm water at the
rate of fifteen miles an hour.
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