The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-12-08

He vanished with the cal we burl
Our dial marks full speed ahead.
Our speed is timed 10 half a turn.
| Sure the tidal trains hy.
'Twixt port and port, Romance. good-by.
-KIPLING.
Romance has indeed gone from trans
Atlantic travel. That is. all except the
Capid variety. which buds and blossoms
in sequestered deck corners and coy,
hidden hooks of ocean steamships and
! leads to matrimony or alimony.
| But the romance OF the sailing vessel,
clipper ships, and the packets. as far rs
the passenger service to European ports
Is concerned, disappeared with The arrival
of the steamship. When the steamer Asia
in 1851 crossed the Atlantic in ten days
and two hours the death-knell Of the sail
ling vessel as a passenger craft was sound
ed. and the Old-time clipper. with her
| skysails. star scrapers. and heaven dis
turbers heIlying to the breeze. has long
since disappeared from the sea.
| With them has gone the last element OF
romantic contact with the person Of the
/ jack-tar who knew every rope and spar
and could beat the preachers in that he
could box the compass forward and back
ward. whereas they can only repeat their
prayers one way.
Steam has accomplished its mighty mis-
sion well So well, in fact. that the ordi-
nary globe trotter thinks little more OF a
voyage to London than a ferry ride 10
Staten Island There is a difference in
the fare and the service is better, but
/ essentially the Atlantic Ocean is moth
ing more than ferry between countries.
The modern leviathan, driven by power
full reciprocating or turbine engines,
makes connections with stated trains.
barring fog or accident. Throughout the
trip passengers on the big floating pal
| aces are enabled by means OF wireless
telegraphy to keep in constant communi-
cation with both sides Of the Atlantic.
The arrival OF steamship in port can
now be foretold almost to the hour
From the year 1851. when the steam
ship Asia made the trip between Liver
pool and New York in ten days and two
hours. the science OF shipbuildlng and the
development Of high-speed engines has
gradually cut down the time of passage
between Europe and America and drawn
the two continents closer together. Steam
ships which ten and fifteen years ago
We're considered queens of the sea have
now been superseded by vessels of size
and power that was not dreamed or
Their laureis wrested from them they
are now classed as second. third, and
fourth class boats.
Old salts Had Their Laugh.
In the early days OF transatlantic
steamship navigation inferior machinery
and poorly modelled ships made travel be-
tween the two continents a more or less
precaTious undertaking. Deep-sea skip
pers Of the old sailing vessels laughed
steam and the propeller 10 scorn. o I'd not
without cause. for the very oldest moss
backs still discuss the marvellous feat Of
Capt. Samuel Samuels. OF the Dread
naught. who sailed from Sandy Hook 20
Queenstown in nine days and seventeen
hours in 1853 During the entire $500
miles the swift vessel maintained an
average Of over twelve knots an hour
But steam soon overlook the sailing
craft and left her hull down on the
horizon OF transatlantic transportation
Between 1859 and the 'S0s steam vessels
developed gradually. During the last