The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-10-22
London Letter.
Irregular Correspondence
L Il 4 L,


LONDON, England, Sept 80, 1881
During the next three months three mag
niticent steamers OF the largest size and Of
hitherto unparalleled power will have been
added to the mercantile navy Of England
1t will be observed with amazement that The
Alaska-the shortest of the three rvals-is not
less than tive hundred feet in length, while
the Servia is five hundred and thirty feet long
and the City of Rome extends TO the unparal
eled length Of five hundred and cightysix
feet. Unparalleled, indeed, this length may be
called, seeing that 1t has never been exceeded
except IN the case OF the Great Eastern, which
may be regarded rs vessel 'hOrs HgRe" and
hardly 10 be rcckoned among passenger steam.
ers. IL will be remembered that IN the Great
Eastern, of twenty-five thousand five hundred
tons, the cOncomitant horsepower was in the
rats of one horse to fourteen tons The en-.
gines we're Of u double description being di.
vlded between her paddlc.wheel and her screw.
In the City of Rome, the Alaska and the Ser.
via the screw--whiCh has long since driven
the paddewheel off the ocean--has power
which is IN the rats OF more than one horse
to each ton Of burden. Thus the Servia has "a
gross tonnage Of eight thousand five hundred
tons and an indicated horsepower of about
ten thousand five hundred horses The CITY
of Rome, with burden Of rather more than
eight thousand eight hundred tons, has an in.
dlcated power OF ten thousand horses The
Alaska, lastly, with an indicated power OF lit.
tie less than ten thousand horses, stands IN
about the same rats to her total bulk as the
Servia, The peremp;ory necessity which Is
imposed upon them all Of attaining and main
tanning for eight or nine days and nights in
succession an uninternitted and prodiglous
rate of speed is clcrly manifested by the enor
nous magnitude of the horse power which is
brought to bear upon each. AS regards the
comfort, or indeed | may say the luxury of
their accommodation and the splendor of their
three rivals. Ia each the staterooms are spa.
cious and airy, presenting strange contrast
to that narrow and sitting CABIN in which
Charles Dickens first crossed the Atlantic upon
An agreeable temperature is secured in every
part of each vessel by the adoption of all the
latest improvements in ventilation; nor is
there any lack Of gorgeous upholstery, of grand
pianos, of large and well selected libraries,
of pneumatic and electric bells, and of ad.
muably arranged ice houses. In moderate
weather splendid stretch Of deck will afford
opportunities for promenades which supply
passengers with means for Willing away many
tedious hour, and filing their lungs to re.
pletion with the ozone eXhaed by the break.
ing and tumbllng waves. In fact, voyage
across the Atlantic in one of these floating pal.
aces Is in these days often recommended by
medical men to delicate or over-worked pa
tents, who find that the broad breast of ocean
supplies a more exhllerating and restorative
tonic even than mountain brcezes Of Switzer-
land, Scotland or the Pyrenees can furnish.
For these reasons the performances at sea OF
the three new vessels will be watched by thou
sands upon either side of the Atlantic with
keen and interested observations.