by water tight bulkheads, each extending to the main deck. The largest
of these compartments is only about 60 feet long; and, supposing that
from collision or some other cause, one of these was filled with water,
the trim of the vessel would not be materially affected. With a view to
giving still further safety in the event of collision or stranding, the
boilers are arranged in two boiler rooms, entirely separated from each
other by means of a water tight iron bulkhead. This reduces what, in
nearly all full-powered steamships, is a vast single compartment, into
two of moderate size, 60 feet in length; and in the event of either
boiler room being flooded, it still leaves the vessel with half her
boiler power available, giving a speed of from thirteen to fourteen
knots per hour. The vessel's decks are of iron, covered with teak
planking; while the whole of the deck houses, with turtle decks and
other erections on the upper deck, are of iron, to stand the strains
of an Atlantic winter. Steam is supplied by eight cylindrical tubular
boilers, fired from both ends, each of the boilers being 19 feet long
and having 14 feet mean diameter. There are in all forty eight furnaces.
The internal arrangements are of the finest description. There are two
smoking rooms, and in the after deckhouse is a deck saloon for ladies,
which is fitted up in the most elegant manner, and will prevent the
necessity of going below in showery weather. At the sides of the
hurricane deck are carried twelve life boats, one of which is fitted as
a steam launch. The upper saloon or drawing-room is 100 feet long, the
height between decks being 9 feet. The grand dining-saloon is 52 feet
long, 52 feet wide, and 9 feet high, or 17 feet in the way of the large
opening to the drawing-room above. This opening is surmounted by a
skylight, and forms a very effective and elegant relief to the otherwise
flat and heavy ceiling. There are three large and fourteen small dining
tables, the large tables being arranged longitudinally in the central
part of the saloon, and the small tables at right angles on the sides.