Chapter 1—The “Great Eastern”
On the 18th of March, 1867, I arrived at Liverpool, intending to take a berth simply as an amateur traveler on board the Great Eastern, which in a few days was to sail for New York. I had sometimes thought of paying a visit to North America, and was now tempted to cross the Atlantic on board this gigantic boat. First of all the Great Eastern, then the country celebrated by Cooper.
This steamship is indeed a masterpiece of naval construction; more than a vessel, it is a floating city, part of the country, detached from English soil, which after having crossed the sea, unites itself to the American Continent. I pictured to myself this enormous bulk borne on the waves, her defiant struggle with the wind, her boldness before the powerless sea, her indifference t
