The length of the City of Rome, as compared with breadth, insures long and easy lines for the high speed required; and the depth of hold being only 37 feet, as compared with the beam of 52 feet, insures great stability and the consequent comfort of the passengers. A point calling for special notice is the large number of separate compartments formed by water tight bulkheads, each extending to the main deck. The largest of these compartments is only about 60 feet long; and, supposing that from collision or some other cause, one of these was filled with water, the trim of the vessel would not be materially affected. With a view to giving still further safety in the event of collision or stranding, the boilers are arranged in two boiler rooms, entirely separated from each other by means of a water tight iron bulkhead. This reduces what, in nearly all full-powered steamships, is a vast single compartment, into two of moderate size, 60 feet in length; and in the event of either boiler room being flooded, it still leaves the vessel with half her boiler power available, giving a speed of from thirteen to fourteen knots per hour.

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