en her portion from the cradle once more overwhelmed
her, and shook, if it did not altogether destroy, the confidence in her
capabilities which the public had been beginning tardily to entertain.

There is nothing more difficult to ascertain than the true state of the
case--with reference to culpability, accidental circumstance, inherent
or incidental weakness, negligence, unavoidable risks, etcetera--in such
a disaster as that which happened to the great ship in September of
1861. And nothing could be more unfair than to pass judgment on her
without a full knowledge of the minute particulars, and, moreover, a
pretty fair capacity to understand such details and their various
relations. Before proceeding with the narrative of the event referred
to, we may remark that while, on the one hand, it may be argued, with
great plausibility, that her numerous disasters and misfortunes prove
that she is unfitted for the navigation of the sea, it may, on the other
hand, be argued, with equal plausibility, that the very fact of her
having come through such appalling trials unconquered, though buffeted,
is strong presumptive evidence that she is eminently fitted for her
work, and that, under ordinary circumstances and _proper_ management,
she would do it well. It is believed that any other vessel afloat would
have been sunk had she been exposed to the same storm _under similar
circumstances_. It must be borne in mind that, although other vessels
weathered the same storm successfully, they did not do so with their
rudder and rudder-posts gone, their captains and part of their crews new
to them, and their chain cables, cabin furniture, and other material
left as totally unsecured as if she had been a river steamer about to
start on a few hours' trip.

On Tuesday the 10th of September the _Great Eastern_ left Liverpool for
America with 400 passengers and a large, though not a full, general
cargo. Between 100 and 200 of the passengers occupied the berths in the
principal cabins; the remainder of them occupied the intermediate and
steerage cabins.

All went on prosperously until the Thursday, when, as the ship was in
full steam and sail, she encountered a terrific gale about 280 miles to
the west of Cape Clear, and, in spite of the best seamanship, she failed
to ride over the storm, which, with tremendous fury, swept away both her
paddles. Simultaneously the top of the rudder-post, a bar of iron ten
inches in diameter, was suddenl