"The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven
Upon the place beneath; it is twice blessed,
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest, it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown."
Leaving Ogden we followed the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, making
no stops until we reached Elko, Nevada. It was the county seat of Elko
county, and, although at that time a place of comparatively small size and
population, it had an air of business activity known only to localities
alive with the excitement of railroad traffic. The mammoth depot and
freight-house gave it an air of importance; the pine trade, then so
active, and the busy stage-line to the neighboring, warm, mineral springs
and mines of purest silver, imparted to it an additional business
activity.
We were delightfully entertained by Mr. Treet, the gentlemanly proprietor
of the Railroad House, and were presented by him with a letter of
introduction to Mrs. Van Every, of Sacramento. Thus did so many kind hands
smooth down the inequalities incident to a life of travel, and pleasantly
pave the way to so many warm friendships.
On arriving at Sacramento on August 5th, a day of intense, almost stifling
heat, we went at once to Mrs. Van Every, who kept the most elegant
boarding house in the city, whose spacious apartments seemed filled with
the breath of Paradise, which added a grateful welcome to our travel-tired
bodies. Mrs. Van Every's mien of pure and native dignity, her voice of
silvery sweetness, gave the charm of a welcome and ease to her greeting;
and without delay we presented our letter, which was the "open sesame" to
her heart.
We were at once assigned to a nice, clean and even luxurious apartment,
and after some real rest and quiet we sauntered out, as usual seeking the
most prominent editors, and found two, both of whom did us full justice in
the way of editorial notices of our presence and mission.
One day, almost at the close of a two weeks' canvassing tour, we entered
the office of the Honorable N. Green Curtis, who, at the first glance,
declined to give us his patronage, but after a short conversation, in
which he learned that I was a native of Baltimore,
"A moment o'er his face
The tablet of unutterable thought was traced,
And then, it faded as it came,"
he instantly arose, and, as if impelled by some new and life-giving
impulse, he took from my hand a book, and left in its stead a five dollar
bill, saying in hurried words, I never refused to assist a Southerner.
Thus the memories of our native land are balmy with recollections of
childhood, and cling to us through a lifetime of sorrow and change. The
humblest Scottish shepherd boy can never forget that
"'Twas yonder on the Grampian hills
His father fed his flock."
Judge Curtis afterward revealed the fact that he was a native of South
Carolina, and the mere mention of the sunny land of his boyhood gave to
each latent sympathy new life and power. It was also probable that he was
not at first aware of my affliction, for he added the remark that he could
not refuse a favor to a blind person. When we were leaving his office he
arose and inquired if I needed aid in any other way; stated that he was a
widower and without other ties, hence had no claims upon his purse, and
hoped I would feel as free to ask as he was to give.
I replied that I was doing too well in my legitimate business to require
direct pecuniary aid, and unless he could assist me in securing railroad
passes I had no requests to make.
How kindly he did this was manifest from the fact that I afterward
received from Ex-Governor Stanford, who was President of the Central
Pacific Road, a yearly pass, and with this introduction the favor was
readily extended by all the railroads on the coast.
A few evenings before I left Sacramento Mrs. Van Every, from her ever
overflowing goodness, improvised an entertainment for my pleasure and
benefit. It became necessary to initiate Hattie into the secret, but I
remained in blissful ignorance until one evening I received a not unusual
summons to go down to the drawing rooms, when I found myself the centre of
a charmed circle of the elite of Sacramento, the easy flow of whose
conversation was laden with love and sympathy for me, and then was
revealed the fact that each invited guest had received a card, upon which
Mrs. Van Every had traced the words "for the benefit of the blind lady."
"Music with its golden tongue was there," and the halls resounded with
melody, which, with love's sacred inspiration, is sweet as Apollo's lute.
Among the gathered guests was Mr. Charles Cummings and lady, Mr. Cummings
being one of the officers of the Central Pacific Railroad, of whom I shall
speak hereafter. A most sumptuous supper was served, each choice viand
being the result of Mrs. Van Every's culinary lore, which the most
epicurean taste could not but relish.
The light-winged hours brought all unconsciously the time for parting,
and the beauty and chivalry of Sacramento, left laden with books and
baskets which had been spirited from my own room and tastefully disposed
in the parlors; and each good night was blended with a kind wish and
gentle benediction.
Mrs. Van Every, and her sister, Mrs. Fulger, who lived with her, were
ladies of the noblest representative type of the Society of Friends, of
which my life already held such blessed memories. In general society, with
deferential etiquette, they adopted the usual form of speech, but in the
privacy of the home circle they used the "plain language" of their own
organization, hence it became to me doubly musical in its sacred
character.
Before starting again upon our travels, we made Sacramento our home, to
which we could turn for rest in our wanderings.