It was not until five years after the Americans set us the example that
we launched our first passenger steamboat, the _Comet_, a vessel of
about twenty-five tons, with engines of three horse-power. This little
vessel was started by Henry Bell, of Helensburgh, on the Clyde. It
began its career in 1812, and plied regularly for two years.
Like her predecessor the _Clermont_, she was regarded with no small
degree of scepticism, and with a large amount of surprise by the
thousands who saw her set forth. Nevertheless, she soon proved her
value, became a successful speculation to her owners, and was ere long
followed by many other vessels of a similar kind.