, built the first successful steamboat,
and made the voyage from New York to Albany in it. Shortly afterwards
his vessel began to make regular trips on the Hudson. A number of
years later a similar boat began to carry passengers on the Clyde, in
Scotland. Finally, in 1819, the bold undertaking was made of crossing
the Atlantic by steam. An American steamship, the Savannah, of about
three hundred tons, set the example by a voyage from the United States
to Liverpool. Dr. Lardner, an English scientist, had proved to his
own satisfaction that ocean steam navigation was impracticable. The
book containing the doctor's demonstration was brought to America by
the Savannah on her return.

Twenty-one years afterward, in 1840, the Cunard Company established
the first regular line of ocean steamers. They sailed between England
and the United States. Since then fleets of steamers ranging from two
thousand to more than forty thousand tons each have been built. They
now make passages from continent to continent with the regularity of
clockwork, and in fewer days than the ordinary sailing vessels
formerly required weeks. The fact that during a period of more than
seventy years one of these lines has never lost a passenger is
conclusive proof that Providence is on the side of steam, when steam
has men that know how to handle it.

566. Literature; Art; Education; Travel; Dress.

The reign of George III is marked by a long list of names eminent in
letters and art. First in point of time among these stands Dr. Samuel
Johnson, the compiler of the first English dictionary worthy of the
name, and that on which those of our own day are based to a
considerable extent. He was also the author of the story of
"Rasselas,"--that notable satire on discontent and the search after
happiness. Next stands Johnson's friend, Oliver Goldsmith, famous for
his genius, his wit, and his improvidence,--which was always getting
him into trouble,--but still more famous for his poems, and his novel,
"The Vicar of Wakefield."

Edward Gibbon, David Hume, author of the well-known "History of
England," and Adam Smith come next in time. In 1776 Gibbon published
his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," which after more than a
hundred years stands the ablest history of the subject in our
language. In the same year Adam Smith issued "An Inquiry into the
Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," which had a great effect
on legislation respecting co