The Sun.
London, England, 1859-06-14 00:00:00

THE GREAT EASTERN.

The Great Sbip Corapany have taken advantage
of the Whitsun holidays to. threw open their
Leviathan vessel to the
_public, in order that the
latter; :their shareholders ineludedi
•may see the
progress that has been made in the internal fittings
since last she was entitled to be reckoned amongst
the " sights" of: London. The giant ship still
stretches "many. a rood" along Deptford-creek,
shutting, off with her huge broadside a sheet of
Smooth
.water, that might serve for a Leviathan
dock. and is daily surrounded by her flotilla of small
boats incessantly employed in fetching curioas
visitors backwards and forwards bet Ween her and
the shore. On the last occasion when she was open
to the public, an arrangement was made by which
the Greenwich boats landed passengers on the hulk
alongside, but this time it appeared as if no .such
precaution had been taken, or else that the direct
Greenwich traffic was top stupendous to be interfered
with, for the checktakers at London-bridge resolutely
refused to book passengers for the ship, but were
obliging enough to offer to take them to Greenwich
and back for double fare, with an extra charge for
the probability of stoppin gat the " dummy." Besides,
the crowd of holiday seekers bound for the park. as
so large, and it must be added, so uproarious, that
to get even on board the steamboat was a herculean
task, involving a considerable derangement of toi-
lette, with the contingency of a pugilistic encounter
too, in getting on board, and the possibility of the
boat being swamped through over-loading during
the voyage down the river.. A chance, however,
remalifeSfor those who were acquainted with the
neighbourhood, by crossing London-bridge and
takinc, the rail to Deptford ; but here, again, con-
siderable vigilance was requisite, as the heavily
laden Greenwich train stopped but for 'a moment at
the neglected Deptford, and the hasty announce-
ment of the name of the station, given in the most
difficult dialect of the railway language, went very
little way in enlightening the traveller as to his
actual whereabouts. At Deptford Pier there were
scullers enough in waiting, Ivhc*.e fare was three-
pence each person, but who would not refuse half-a-
crown, if the visitor should happen to be under the
impression that the waterman had been appointed
to receive the admission fee for the ship. All confu-
sion on this score might be saved by a line added to
the company's advertisement, and we commend the
subject to the attention of the management. The
train is the best. route, and as the scullers pass
backwards and forwards in perfectly smooth water,
and as the staircase by which her Majesty ascended
on her visit is on the shore tide of the's-hip, the most
timid may adopt it witheut-the slightest uneasiness.
The short pas sage from the: train down to the water
is certainly rathe‘too odoriferous to be pleasant, but
then, to a person who hail started from home with
the prospect of a voyage on: "the Silver Thamei,"
even this will not be looked upon' as much of a

horror. When, at last, safely landed on the lofty
deck, one soon sees that busy hands have recently
been at work in producing order out of chaos, and,
carrying out the innumerable details which were
necessary to make the Great Eastern a perfect ships
The deck, which on our previous visit presented but
a rude succession of huge iron girders over which
people stumbled at every step, is now completely
planked from end to end, and a glance along its im-
mense expanse gives the first and best idea of the
size of the ship. The different skylights are all also
in their places, and give a look of finish where all was
before incompleteness and confusion. Three masts
have been set up, and two funnels, which also go
far to " furnish" the deck, and the completed bul-
warks all round' take away the sense of dizziness
and insecurity with which people used formerly to
approach the side of the ship. One can now look
over the side, judge of the vast height of the vessel
out of the water,. make comparisons between her
and anything else that floats upon the Thames, and
then enjoy the prospect of the country, both Kent
and Essex, now clad in the brightest green of mid-
summer. The lower decks have been planked, and
great progress has been made in prrtitioning them
off into thin permanent compartments. The grand
saloon is in, a very forward state, and would,be a
noble apartment, more like a drawing room in a
princely mansion on shore, than the cabin of a ship,
were it not for the two immense funnels, which
run up the centre, and inconveniently interrupt
the longitudinal sweep of the apartment. On each
side elegant cabins are being fitted up, and the same
may be said of the other saloons; of which there
are, wz: believe, six in the ship. One of the cabins
has been finished in order that the visitor may
judge of what the rest are intended to be, and a
very pleasant notion it gives :of what a, voyage
across the Atlantic will be in such a noble ship as
the Great Eastern. This completed department is
what is called a family cabin, containing bed room,
sitting room, and dressing room, all of them lofty
and well ventilated, and possessing a much greater
number of conveniences than could be found in 'a
similar suit on shore. The other cabins are also in
an exceedingly forward state, and as an immense
number of men are kept incessantly at work, there
is every prospect of the ship being ready for her
trial trip on the appointed 4th of August. There
is free circulation now all through the ship, there
being elegant staircases with carved oak balus-
trades, leading to the various saloons and cabins,
and iron ladders for the scientific, or inveterately
curious who cannot believe they have " done " the
ship until they have explored the gloomy mys-
teries of the vast engine-room. Here those who
have read " Vathek" will be forcibly reminded
of the Hall of Eblis, and those who have not
will wonder at the ponderous beams and shafts
and cylinders, will be struck with the bright
polish of the steel work, and think of the time when
all this vast mass of mechanism shall be in motion,
ploughing up the ocean with a giant's strength,
and carrying the Great Eastern along as if she were
a feather at the rate of twenty miles an hour. Let
us hope that she may go on prosperously to com-
pletion, and thus justify the scientific but daring
scheme upon which she has been constructed. If
she should realise the hopes of her projectors, and
the designs of her architects, she will fill a brighter
age in England's history than any of her most
famous victories by land or water, for she will
inaugurate a revolution in ocean transit, which will
bring the farthest ends of the earth together, and
make travelling on the ocean as pleasant and little
fatiguing fatiguing as it now is on ;the best ordered of our
to
great railroads. We were happy learn that
nßtrunnewele, whose
will the
restoration to health was Mr.
amongst the recent visitorssbwe
public.

,Ilwa.-81,:
Nn
aA r eR hC
oTfiltEhe
inquiry into the_
Court-house, Portsmouth, on Saturday, and
slimed at the
The Court pronounced the following
concluded yesterday.il;
:._
destruction of the ship was not caused by
6 4‘ That they found that the fire
unanimous
THE Loss OF
that the steward hadorders not
spontaneous
to go into the store-room with a naked light, that he did do
in defiance of orders ; that he used candles lit from
so
Lucifer matches
when there; that he was in the store-room
which cauusesdedoteielbscluesstitru'on ,
on the day previous to the fire, between eight and nine
p.m.,
with a light; that the fire originated in the store-
room• or magazme; and that the fire was caused by the
eulpable and criminal neglect of the steward, Charles
Gardner, while in the magazine the night prior to the fire ;
that the master and his officers did all that could be de-
sired ; that very few of the crew rendered much assist-
ance ; that the greater part of the crew behaved in a most.
disreputable and unseamanlike manner ; that Mr. Narra-
con's, the chief officer, giving the key of the magazine to
the steward amounted to a dereliction of duty." On the
finding of the Coiut being read, Charles Gardner, the
steward, was taken into custody on application from Capt.
Morris to the Court, on a charge of manslaughter. 1 _
aiApvEßTlSEMENT.l—Holloway's Ointment and PIN .;
S e and seasonable--Thesudden manner in which the h
weather has visited us will
the liver,
consequences to many persons. Derangement of
be productive of unpleasant
stomach and bowels is apt to occur; but this can
l which, aided
fied at once by the use of Holloway's Pace
no;
less efficient
13y the local applicationof his Ointment,
all skin eruptions,
•so
in removing pimples, blotches and
livr, impaired digestion
constantly produced by disorderedvhather
appearing
in the
or unhealthy cutaneous action, be antpated from the
face of person. This resul
and the Pills' perfect purifying
Ointment's soothing pewprz
noxious agents, and endow the
be recti-
fied
enduring health;
onth, bloom, an
animal machine with Y
properties, which n. eutralis