1 66 Book of Steamships 



representing, too, the best of British work- 

 manship and design. 



The " Mary ", which had shared her 

 labours before the War, did yeoman ser- 

 vice in those dark days, acting as armed 

 cruiser, hospital ship, and transport. After 

 the Armistice she came back to her normal 

 duties. Soon after her return to service 

 she was considerably damaged by fire. It 

 was just one of those things which happen 

 to any ship, and certainly a strange repeti- 

 tion of what had befallen the Lucania. 

 The result was that the Mauretania went 

 back for a time to her native river, where 

 many alterations were made, not the least 

 being the adaption of her furnaces for 

 oil-firing, an adaption which enabled her 

 passenger quarters to be substantially 

 increased. Since then the " Mary " has 

 delighted her old friends by her splendid 

 performances, reaching even better speeds 

 than in her early days, and though she is 

 now the smallest of the trio of fliers which 

 maintain the proud place the Cunard have 



