and three-quarters miles an hour. She covered the passage from Liverpool
to Boston in fourteen and one-half days, which was then regarded as a
marvellous feat and one which was proclaimed throughout England with
triumph.

For a long time the _Britannia_ remained Queen of the Seas for speed,
but in 1852 the Atlantic record was reduced to nine and a half days by
the _Arctic_. In 1876 the _City of Paris_ cut down the time to eight
days and four hours. Twelve years later in 1879 the _Arizona_ still
further reduced it to seven days and eight hours. In 1881 the _Alaska_,
the first vessel to receive the title of "_Ocean Greyhound_," made the
trip in six days and twenty-one hours; in 1885 the _Umbria_ bounded over
in six days and two hours, in 1890 the _Teutonic_ of the White Star line
came across in five days, eighteen hours and twenty-eight minutes, which
was considered the limit for many years to come. It was not long
however, until the Cunard lowered the colors of the White Star, when the
_Lucania_ in 1893 brought the record down to five days and twelve
hours. For a dozen years or so the limit of speed hovered round the
five-and-a-half day mark, the laurels being shared alternately by the
vessels of the Cunard and White Star Companies. Then the Germans entered
the field of competition with steamers of from 14,500 to 20,000 tons
register and from 28,000 to 40,000 horse power. The _Deutschland_
soon began setting the pace for the ocean greyhounds, while other
vessels of the North German Lloyd line that won transatlantic honors
were the _Kaiser Wilhelm II., Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, Kronprinz
Wilhelm and Kronprinzessin Cecilie_, all remarkably fast boats with
every modern luxury aboard that science could devise. These vessels
are equipped with wireless telegraphy, submarine signalling systems,
water-tight compartments and every other safety appliance known to
marine skill. The _Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse_ raised the standard