Nashville daily patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1855-1857, 1856-12-04

btucu ofuatDent, scarcely ureamlbS Ahab ~ 10 su0
windpipe OF monster more terrible than the con-
iuratiOns Of the maniac putting to shame the IA
bles OF the giant writhng in the bowels Of Etnas
feeding upon FIRE aud exhaling fame. Yet such is
the fact
Bus onward yet again, and you win encounter
what, left 10 any bat genius, would have married
| the beauty of the surrounding maguifcence. The
obstruction is formidable in proportions, leaving
just passage-wsy on either side. Yet arehitec-
ture and art have turned it into a most pleasing
| toy. You are deluded by the conjuration Of the
moment and possibly Offering bar which
les across your path is all that saves you from
smashing yourself in a mirror which stands dia-
| gonay before you, in just such place and posi-.
ton that as you turn around TO gather assurance,
you feel as fyon had walked from dream, and seeing
the great saloon reflected there at another angle,
you would again rush upon the enchanted shield,
il the same glittering arm did not still stretch
across it TO stay your nfatuation and save you from
a crash. Passing on still further you enter part
OF the main saloon which, in of necessity, may
be cut of from the rest, and appropriated exclu-
| sively to the ladies'. And from this apartment q
stairway leads directly into the dining saloon, in
order to save the mid, sick feeble from any ex-
posure.
The next stage Of your journey brings you to the
shaft, ordinarily most unwelcome intruder upon
a ship,board promenade. But not SO in this iD>
/
planned this paragon of floating wonders is increas
ed by this INCIDENT Instead descending dark stair
way over the ponderous shaft, you descend ca
pacious stairway under blaze of light and in the
midst of another witchery of mirrors, which makes
| this the most agreeable spectacle of the whole.
Even the otherwise grim and gigantic old shaft t-
! selt-foT you know by the sound below that 1t is
THERE'S cased with an octagOn ofornAmented mir
rors, and glitters with the colors of the rainbow,
| 20 YNu ha
stairs beyond, but this prismatic enchantment is
before you-for another one of those grand contri-
vances in which vanity loves to see ITSELF is at the
bead of the stairs You turn around, and the thing
appears in a new place, for the mirror behind Te~
| fleets it in a mirror before you. The witchery
seems complete, and is most effectuaL And this
is one of the features Of this wonderful vessel.
Above you now, as you stand by these magic
wonders, towers a most beautiful dome of cut and
colored glass. You admire and pass on again.
Another descent brings you to the second cabin,
finished in palmer style, and warmed and ventil
| lated like the rest and capable of accommodating
60 passengers. A stairway leads you up directly
into the second class dining saloon, capacious and
comfortable, finished in oak with ornamental car
wings, and like the smoking room, upholstered in
leather. This arrangement is far superior to the
Cunsrd steamers whose second class dining saloon
is 20 feet distant from the cabin
We have thus surveyed the principal apartments
Of this wonderful fabric, whose decorations alone
cost not far from 100000.
The officers rooms are forward, on the upper
deck, and are splendidly finished and furnished.
The Adriatic has two masts and is rugged like a
bark. But her chief propeling power is steam, OF
course; and sight other machinery is alone worth
days journey. 1t is cyclopan-gigan tic-awfUl;
and speaks to the classic spectator of the giants
and demigods Of antiquity. One cannot look down
from her upper deck upon the ponderous mechan.
! ism below without feeling of awe and of admiraa
ton and an emotion of doubt whether all this has
| been accomplished by the knowledge, WILL wisdom
and skill of man; yet without feeling of exul-
tation which uelines him to laugh at the mountain
waves and all the fury Of all the elements. view
of her engines in motion would make ordinary
man forget the dangers Of the deep. We have ia.
ken the ordinary course Of spectator and visitor
in our description, and the greatest and most im-
portant features of this naval wonder reserved
| for the last.
Her engines were manufactured at the Novelty
] Iron Works, aud are the most powerful, it is beS
lieved, of any produced. faiut idea Of their gi.
! gantic power may be obtained from the following
! figures:
She has two bed plates, each weighing 40 tuns.
! Two Cylinders, each weighing 90 tuns.
Two beam Pillow-blocks % tuns.
| Eight Boilers 40 tuns
Two Water Wheels drought irOn) % tuns.
| Two Shafts 81 tuns.
The shafts and cranks were manufactured at Rea'
| ding, Mass, and are undoubtedly the largest
wrought iron work ever produced in any country.
| The engines are "inclined oscillatOrs," and have
two "surace condenser cylinders" invented by Mr..
| Horatio Allen, each 100 inches in diameter, with
twelve feet stroke, designed to furnish constant
supply OF fresh water, contain about twenty lone
miles of brass tn be through which cold water is
l Al
! great steam pumps, and are mafveousy compact
The valves, also invented by Mr. Allen, called ''two
motion cone valve" their peculiar feature being
saving of steam and of the wear aud tear of ia
machinery. The steam is produced by eight Of
Martins patent boilers, having Is 0O0 tubes, with
two extra boilers to be used in Of emergency.
There six furnacesfor each boiler, making forty
eight in all.
The side wheels are wrought iron, 40 feet in di
ameter, each having 80 paddles IL feet iu length
The shafts are 80 feet in length and 27i inches in
diameter, weighing We have already stated, 81
tuns each; and the two engines are rated at . 500
! horse power.
! The circle in which you stand or Sit for there
| are luxurious seats all around it, is the reception
room, so to speak, of the vast saloon, three hum
dred feet in length, with two tiers of state-roOm5
on either side. The FIRST and last idea upon enter.
ing this part Of the ship is one OF magni6cence-
/
ture. The architect and artist--whch in this case
as in all the principal parts of the ship, is and
| the same-Wm. GibsOn-has overcome all the OBJ
| stacles Of pOnderous masts, smoke stacks, hatch
WAYS and engine rooms, all Of which met him at
every step of bis design, and left nothing to mar
the view or jog the harmony ofaB enchanting pros
pective. The decorations, throughout, are fine
profuse, appropriate and substantial. The artificial
dome is supported by spiral imitation marble posts
| ;th tba In, fha 5nip ara
made from paper pulp mixed with gums and moul
ded under pressure of seven tuns, which give:
| them the GrmBess and strength of wood. The cell
ing overhead the wood of which is covered on both
sides with cloth and marine glue before receiving
its finish, is elegantly frescoed and ornamented. Al
every twelve feet on either side there alcove:
| leading TO the state-room and extending to the
the sides of the chip These scoves, or passage
ways, are ornamented with marble panels ETC., etc.
all in admirable harmony with the more exquisite
decorations of the saloon itself.
The Adriatic has two feet more OF stroke and
| eight furnaces more than the Persia, and conse-
quenty has not only much greater tunnage but
| q muca greater power than any other vessel. HeI
speed is 10 be determined by e1periment-hr
Allen regarding that as of less consequence thar
safety and economy; but there can be little doubt
that besides being the largest, she will also prove
herself one of the aeetest vessels Ahost. And al
though il is proven that those steamers which have
run at a comparatively moderate rate Of speed have
made ihe largest dividends, il is believed that tbs
Adriatic will prove not only one ofthe swiitest bu
one OF the most profitable.
And lest il may be queried whether in all respect
she is safe craft it is necessary to refer again 4
| the hull.
TIE Adriatic has eight water tight compartment
extending above the water line, and when it is re-
membered that she is built Of the best live oak anC
other timber, which could be obtained, doubt ceas
es if any before existed, as to he. strength. Sh
has besides her enormous weight Of machinery
| In h.cka henanfh The salonns for the accom-