The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-08 00:00:00

DEPARTURE OF THE GREAT EASTERN.

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ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.
At length, after having encountered every vicis-
situde to which a commercial speculation could be
exposed, and endured every danger most calculated
to test the strength and stability of the ship itself,
the Great Eastern for the first time cast off her
moorings yesterday morning, and in the course of a
few hours was safely towed to Purfieet. It was
originally intended that the departure should have
taken place on Tuesday last, and all announced
confidently that the preparatious for sea would be
complete by that date. As usual, however, the
thousand and one little odds and ends which
are never finished, because not found wanting till
the last moment, remained to be done, and probably
of all the busy hours which have been expended on
the completion of this vessel none were ever more
actively employed than those of Tuesday and Tues-
day night. Almost all trades had their representa-
tives on board, and apparently every branch of
manufacture was diligently pursued at once ; decks
and saloons were lumbered up with bales of bed-
ding, piles of furniture, and masses of crockery ;
smiths were busy " closing rivets up" with a clamour
from which even the size of the ship was no protec-
tion ; plate from Elkington's was being stowed I
away, men were busy hanging costly chandeliers
from Defries's, every one seemed in a hurry, and
struggled and stumbled amid a confused mixture of
shavings and forges, anvils, guns, anchors, cables,
barrels, and hawsers. Below the confusion was not
much less, though made up of different materials,
and at the first glance it seemed hard to believe
that the chaos of sofas, dinner furniture, mirrors,
chandeliers, and carpeting would ever be in their
proper places by the morning, and form the fittings
of rich and well-furnished saloons_ Such, however,
was really the case. Mr. Parry, to whom the con-
tract for furnishing the fittings of the ship has been
intrusted, worked with the most indefatigable
energy, and during a few short hours immense
progress was made. The noise, however, was pretty
continuous, so that on the whole a lively night was
the result, and few had got sufficiently accus-
tomed to the tremendous din to require calling when
the day began to break, and the tramp, and, if pos-
sible, the increased stir in the ship, announced that
the hour of departure was drawing near. Mr.
Atkinson, the pilot, to whose well-known care and
skill this noble vessel was intrusted, came on board
the previous night and his assistants soon after
dawn yesterday. Just as a faint grey light began
to break upon the river, the preparatione for getting
under weigh were made. Several powerful tugs
were in attendance, the four principal ones being
named, curiously enough, the Victoria, Napoleon,
Alliance, and True Briton. Movine, the Great
Eastern, however, was not an affair of casting out
a tow rope and going ahead. There was, of course,
the usual routine amount of shouting, and inexpli-
cable orders and counter-orders, and fussing about
of the tugs, before all was in readiness. Mooring
after mooring was then slipped off. Captain Har-
rison and the pilot then took their places on the
starboard paddle-box. Mr. Scott Russell remained
on the bridge to direct the action of the engines,
both of which (screw and paddle) were under steam.
Captain Comstock, one of the ablest American
navigators, who brought the General Admiral over
to this country, stood aft to transmit directions to
the men at the wheel, as Mr. Langley's new steer-
ing apparatus was not completely fitted. Mr.
Prouse, the chief officer, took charge of the fore
part of the ship, and to all the other officers were
allotted stations either to transmit directions or to
signal to the tugs. Precisely at a quarter-past
seven the last moorings were let go, but as at this
time the sweep of the tide had turned the great
ship's bows in, so as to point rather in shore of the
Seamen's Hospital ship, it was necessary to turn
her slowly astern to get sufficient room to round
the very sharp curve of the river below Greenwich.
The screw engines started first, working beautifully
without noise, heat, or even apparent vibration,
and when the paddle machinery came into play,
a few revolutions sufficed to get her head round
to the point required. Then was the order given
to go ahead slowly, and for the first time
the Great Eastern started into motion, and
with the slow majestic beat of her huge paddles
moved grandly down the river. The general public
had evidently put but little faith in the announce-
ment that she would leave the river yesterday, so
that until the preparations were made for actually
leaving there was little stir upon the river. Gra-
dually, however, as the steam-tugs began to move
about and get their tow ropes in, it seemed sud-
denly to break upon the amphibious population at
both sides of the stream that they were at last
about to lose a vessel whose presence has made
Deptford and the Isle of Dogs famous throughout
the world. Then ensued an extraordinary scene.
Thousands upon thousands of people were seen
rushing to the river side from all points. Boats of
every kind and size were launched crowded to the
weler's edge, and the stream and its banks seemed
suddenly instinct with life. There were not so
much cheers as continuous shouting—a genuine
outburst of enthusiasm and delight. Even the wan
and sickly inmates of the Seamen's Hospital ship
turned out upon the deck or crowded the ports with
their worn faces to give one shout or wave a cap
te, the vessel which swept so grandly by. The very
firs turn at Greenwich showed Captain Harrison
and all the officers of the vessel that the great ship
was as thoroughly under command as a river
steamboat, and that the only difficulty to be over-
come, or rather to contend against, was her length
in turning the sharp curves of the river at Green-
wich, Blackwail, and -Woolwich. The vessel's
draught was 21 feet 10 inches aft and 22 feet 3
inches forward—about the very worst trim in
which she could have left her moorings, being
down by the head five inches instead of some five
feet down by the stern. 23 or 24 feet may appear
no great depth of water, but when it is recollected
that this was the minimum required at the turn-
ings, and over a length of 800 feet, which is
more than the breadth of the Thames at West-
minster, it will be seen at once that these angles
-Arc at first regarded with a certain amount of
anxiety and distrust. A few moves of the vessel,
however, showed that she was perfectly in hand.
She steered as easily as a wager-boat, and her
engines were found capable of starting her into
motion or arresting her progress literally almost by
a single movement of the hand. At Greenwich, on
both sides of the river, an immense multitude had
collected, but it wa3" at Blackwall tha,t the first
really great ovation was made. The news of her
departure had spread far and fast, awl from the
deck of the great ship, the shores could be seen at
• Blackwall Point literally darkened by people.
Every house was crowded, and the roofs covered
with spectators ; the mast-house was occupied, the
pier sNs armed, the tops and yards of the vessels in
the docks seemed alive. As the great ship ap-
proached the enthusiasm seemed to pass the bounds
which ordinarily mark such displays with English-
men. The dense mass c'ieered, shouted, waved
hats, shawls, handkerchiefs, with an abandon of
gratification that was heart-stirring. It was really
almost a national reception, and all seemed to have,
as Englishmen, a share in the finest, swiftest,
strongest, and handsomest ship which the world
has yet seen. There was but one drawback on the
enthusiasm and happiness of those who were on
board, which was caused by the absence of the
eminent man to -whom the conception of the ship
was due—Mr. Brunel. A severe illness prevented
his being present at the first triumph of the
grandest idea which has ever been originated in
naval architecture.

Blackwall Point was, indeed, the turning point
in the fortunes of the Great Eastern. The river at
this place forms on' acute angle, round which the
tide sweeps with strong but most unequal force.
The admirable nner in which Capt. Harrison and
the pilot Mr. Atkinson, managed the ship, the power
and *regularity with which the engines worked,
would, if left unobstructed, have soon got the vessel
round this place. But, of course, right in the centre
of the river, a barque, the Kingfiisher, was moored,
while a little beyond her lay a schooner iu such a
manner as effectually to block, the " fair way" down
the stream. The tugs were signalled to get the
Great Eastern's head round, and tried to do so, but
the strain was too much, at the most critical
moment two of the hawsers parted, and for a few
minutes the noble vessel was, beyond a doubt, in a
perilous position, as the
sweep of the
shore.
the tide was d
strong and in an instant drove her
*
Nothing but the great power of her own enginessaved her here, though it was a delicate matter to
use them properly. It was necessary instantly to
counteract the influence of the tide and get her
head off shore ; but, at the same tune, to do so in
such a manner as would not give way enough to
take her on shore on the opposite side of the river.
Fortunately this was effected, fresh hawsers were
passed to the tugs, the bark, the cause of ill the
peril, shipped her anchor, and after an aw2cious
delay of some 10 or 15 minutes the
Greta Eastern
worked slowly round and turned the point of danger.
This was a great relief to all on board, and to none
more so than to Messrs. Campbell and Jackson, the '
managing directors, both of whom had been inces-.
santly occupied the previous day and night in look-
ing to all the arr3ngements fvr the first departure.
The moment the point was ' safely passed carrier
pigeons were sent up from the vessel and the shore
to spread the welcome news.
At Woolwich there was of course a tremendous
concourse of 'spectaton. Every spot which could,
and doubtless many which could not, command a
view of the ship, were thronged. The Dockyard, 4
the Arsenal, every place was covered. The Fisgard
had her men in the shrouds, Who welcomed the
safe arrival Of the vessel -with a regular " three
times three," which was echoed back from both