an hour, where as her actual speed was nine and a half knots. The
Lords of the Admiralty were invited to inspect the ship. At the second
trial Sir Edward Parry, Sir William Symonds, Captain Basil Hall, and
other distinguished persons were present.

The results were again satisfactory. The success of the Archimedes
astonished the engineering world. Even the Surveyor of the Royal Navy
found that the vessel could steer! The Lords of the Admiralty could no
longer shut their eyes. But the invention could not at once be
adopted. It must be tested by the best judges. The vessel was sent to
Dover to be tried with the best packets between Dover and Calais. Mr.
Lloyd, the chief engineer of the Navy, conducted the investigation, and
reported most favourably as to the manner of her performance. Yet
several years elapsed before the screw was introduced into the service.

In 1840 the Archimedes was placed at the disposal of Captain Chappell,
of the Royal Navy, who, accompanied by Mr. Smith, visited every
principal port in Great Britain. She was thus seen by shipowners,
marine engineers, and shipbuilders in every part of the kingdom. They
regarded her with wonder and admiration; yet the new mode of navigation
was not speedily adopted. The paddle-wheel still held its own. The
sentiment, if not the plant and capital, of the engineering world, were
against the introduction of the screw. After the vessel had returned
from her circumnavigation of Great Britain, she was sent to Oporto, and
performed the voyage in sixty-eight and a half hours, then held to be
the quickest voyage on record. She was then sent to the Texel at the
request of the Dutch Government. She went through the North Holland
Canal, visited Amsterdam, Antwerp, and other ports; and everywhere left
the impression that the screw was an efficient and reliable power in
the propulsion of vessels at sea.

Shipbuilders, however, continued to "fight shy" of the screw. The late
Isambard Kingdon Brunel is entitled to the credit of having first
directed the attention of shipbuilders to this important invention. He
was himself a man of original views, free from bias, and always ready
to strike out a fresh path in engineering works. He was building a
large new iron steamer at Bristol, the Great Britain, for passenger
traffic between England and America. He had intended to construct her
as a paddle steamer; but hearing of the success of the Archimedes, he
inspected