_Mrs. Beulah Lincoln and the Girls Leave Buffalo for New Orleans--The
Journey to Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Ohio--Voyage Down the Ohio
to the Mississippi--Arrival at New Orleans--Met by Old Friends at the
Landing--Meeting With Tom at the Hospital--The Newspaper Reports._
Weeks and months had passed away, during which my gallant Tom had
written incessantly from the hospital at New Orleans, and the two girls
and myself had answered him. It was now the winter of 1864, and Tom was
not yet well enough to get his discharge from the hospital, much less to
take the field. I was beginning to tire of writing letters, and things
called for a change of scene and fresh air. Besides, another stern
winter was setting in, and I thought I might get along better in another
climate. So I got the girls ready, and we boarded the train for
Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio. It was wonderful to see and
feel how warmer the weather became as we got further South. The icy
fetters of winter relaxed their hold as we advanced, and we were quite
delighted with the hills and forests of the beautiful State of Ohio all
the way to Cincinnati. Here we travelled over a great part of the city,
and called at the parsonage of the A. M. E. Church, and visited the A.
M. E. Church itself, where Tom and I were so happily married upon the
evening the self-same day when we took our departure from Riverside
Hall, near Louisville, Kentucky.
Having seen a few of our dear friends here--friends whose acquaintance
we had made at the time of our marriage--the girls and I, escorted by
some of those beloved acquaintances, moved down to the "Public Landing,"
where we boarded the "Natchez" for New Orleans. We took a fond leave of
those dear souls, and got on board, and soon felt quite happy in our
nice and cosy stateroom, which the girls thought the most delightful
little home they had ever been in. At 4 P. M., whilst the bright and
dazzling sun was still some distance above the horizon, and after all
the loud racket and wild confusion of the embarkation were over, the
last whistle was blown, they drew in the gang-planks, and we pushed out
into the river Ohio.
Our hearts felt as light as feathers as the "Natchez" ploughed out into
mid-stream, a thousand branches up above, swollen with the recent rains,
having filled up the mighty and splendid Ohio from bank to bank, so that
we seemed to be floating down a grand, heaving, fresh-water sea! Now,
indeed, did we enjoy new life with a vim. I told the girls how the first
French owners and explorers named the Ohio "La Belle Riviere," that is,
"The Beautiful River," and it is the beautiful river, still. Our eyes
were quite enchanted with the endless hills on both sides, all clothed
with primeval forests up to their summits, and coming down to the
water's edge. The girls were quite transported with the beautiful,
endless turns and windings, and seemed to get no rest for the thousands
of boats and barges, and floating things of every shape and size,
rushing up and down the river day and night, whistling and screaming,
and that without end. It was a perfect delight for me to be once more on
this river, for nature is always fresh, fair and enchanting, but for my
two daughters the whole scene was nothing but a succession of unending
delights. Their feet and eyes had no rest, and their tongues were never
still. It was more than I could do to answer all their questions. I was
quite delighted to see how the girls and several other nice children on
the boat became acquainted, and learned to love one another. And this
acquaintanceship and love seemed to grow upon them all from day to day
as we advanced farther south. Indeed, children are great people, and
they will have ways of their own. And on, on, still flew "The Natchez,"
whilst our glorious river increased with innumerable branches from the
right and left, till we reached the lower end of Kentucky, where the
lands were more flat and uninteresting. We made a call here or there,
and rushed down the stream again, until at last our glorious Ohio was
swallowed up in the Mississippi, "The Father of Waters."
[Illustration: _MR. JACKSON._]
I don't know how it is! I suppose it is because I am a sensitive woman;
but our arrival in the Mississippi river seemed to put a new soul into
me that I am altogether unable to define. Like the far-travelled Queen
of Sheba, there seemed no more spirit left within me. My first and
grandest sensation arose, no doubt, from the fact that the reunion
between my well-beloved Tom and me was almost an accomplished fact,
because we were now both on the same river, and the rapid "Natchez,"
assisted by the mighty forces of the great rushing river, would soon
bring us face to face, after several years of separation, which looked
to me like half a lifetime already. Then there was the mighty "Father of
Waters" himself, always majestic, solemn and grand, bearing your boat
along upon his mighty bosom, like a perfect fly! And then we seemed to
live our lives over again in our dear children, and the two thoughtful,
contemplative girls were filled with a wonder that seemed to strike them
dumb. It was a truly wondrous sight, especially for those passengers who
had never been on the mighty "Father of Waters" before, nor even seen
his rushing waters. Oh, the Mississippi, the Mississippi! How I thought
and thought, and thought again how my dear Tom had battled on for many a
day against the powerful rebel forts on this very river, to clear Uncle
Sam's way from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico! It brought the
tears to my eyes when I thought how my own tender husband had fought and
bled on this very stream that the Union, one and all re-united, might be
restored to the nation at large; how Tom had fought and bled, and almost
died that the shackles might be knocked off the suffering slave, and
freedom reign all over the land, from the Lakes to the Gulf.
Thus I stood for many a long hour in my usual feeling, womanish,
sentimental way, watching the gathering and thundering waters, over
which the swift and beautiful "Natchez," the floating palace of the
Mississippi, hurried and bowled along like a thing of life. And as we
swept on past Vicksburg and other places that had long ago surrendered
to the Union armies, I thought of Lincoln's famous words (President
Lincoln's): "The Mississippi, the 'Father of Waters' flows once more
annexed to the sea!"
And in this way the joyous days and nights passed away on the rapid
"Natchez," whilst the passengers spent the time in any way they pleased,
reading, talking and sleeping by day, and dancing, courting and lolling
away the evening hours, or looking lazily at the rushing waters of the
great river. Attracted by the hilarity in the saloon, my girls spent
some time flirting and waltzing around with the other children on the
boat, nice, harmless playmates, whom I mentioned before. Indeed, the
girls were quite fortunate in having such nice girl companions, for of
all the curses on the face of the earth, I think bad company is about
the worst of all!
Somehow or other this voyage down the Mississippi and Ohio seemed food
for my health. The complete want of domestic cares, the fresh air on the
open deck, the happiness of the two children, and all my delightful
surroundings, made me fat and rosy, and the girls, also. Indeed, we were
complimented on our appearance before we left the boat. The rapid
"Natchez" flew along in, and in due course the "Crescent City," as New
Orleans is called, arose upon our view, and thrilled us with the utmost
delight.
We drew up to the land-place in due time, and now followed one of those
wild, exciting scenes that usually take place when we come to the end of
a grand journey and anticipate grand things in the immediate future. No
sooner had the gang-planks been thrown out, but the usual rush for the
shore, and the usual rush on board, took place at once. Cabs, carriages
and porters, all were on hand. As I had taken the precaution to
communicate with those dear friends at whose house I lodged when I
rescued my own dear mother, Mrs. John B. Sutherland, from slavery, there
were two of the self-same sweet ladies awaiting us on the wharf, and
signalling to us before we even came up to it, whilst myself and the
girls waved our handkerchiefs to them in reply. But when the gang-planks
were flung down between us and the shore, the dear souls rushed on
board, and a scene of wild embracing, kissing, tears and laughter
followed, that it would be quite vain for me to describe. In that brief
and joyous meeting on the deck of the "Natchez," we all experienced a
lifetime of bliss. With a terrible vim, indeed, did we all realize the
truth of the 13th chapter of First Corinthians, wherein the great
apostle of the Gentiles dilates so eloquently on love (not charity).
Well, the girls and I got all our traps together, called for a cab, when
we all got in, and drove for my cosy old quarters. Although I had only
spent a week with that dear family on my last visit, the attachment that
had grown up between us was truly wonderful. I had heard from them
several times, and they never, never forgot my dear mother and me. When
we all reached the never-to-be-forgotten house with the cab, we received
another ovation at the door from those who had remained at home. The
grand welcome put the girls and me into the very best humor. After we
had heard and told each other's news, the girls and myself walked forth
to meet dear husband and father at the hospital. Our impatience was so
great, mine at least was, that we did not seem able to live out this day
unless we met with Capt. Thomas Lincoln, of the Union Army, in the
South. We soon reached the hospital, where we were received with all
that politeness, tenderness and humanity that are so characteristic of
doctors and nurses. I told them at once who we were, and they were very
greatly astonished and delighted, indeed, to think that we had thus
purposely travelled all the way from one extreme end of the United
States to the other on a pilgrimage of love and devotion for husband and
father. As I told them that Tom knew nothing about our coming, I asked
them to take us into a parlor, and simply to announce to my husband that
some friends had called to see him. Our attendants smiled with pleasure
at the proposal, and led us into one of the parlors of this beautiful
hospital, and we had not long to wait till we heard a heavy man
coming--clank, clank, clanking along on one crutch. (He sent me word
that at first he used two, but now he only required one of them). When
Tom came to the door, we three advanced to meet him, and now followed a
wild scene of tears, laughter, embracing and joy, which my dear readers
will understand far better than I am able to describe. The wild,
heaving, rushing waters of the Mississippi were as nothing to this. Oh,
sweet is the pleasure after pain! We seemed to live a whole lifetime of
joy of the most Elysian bliss whilst seated in that
never-to-be-forgotten parlor. Thus hour after hour passed away, till it
was dinner time, but on this occasion, Tom's dinner and ours were served
up in this parlor.
By this time the news had been well spread throughout the hospital, and
even into the city of New Orleans, that the children and I had come to
see Tom. And no sooner had we got through with our dinner when the tide
of visitors began--doctors, nurses, with their lady and gentlemen
friends from all quarters, besides almost all the officials on the
premises, at least those who could get away from their duties, to come
and shake hands and speak a kind word to us three pilgrim travelers to
their own hospital. No doubt but a good deal of this interest arose from
the high favor in which Captain Thomas Lincoln had been held from the
first, and that in turn was greatly due to his well-known bravery on the
field of battle and of fame. Then Tom is of a tall, commanding, splendid
personage, and a perfect magnet among all comers.
We had intended to spend the afternoon in our own way, but circumstances
alter cases, and the afternoon wore away with nothing at all but one
round of introductions after another round, till at last the first
crowds began to die off as tea time drew near; and as the authorities at
the hospital were very kind, indeed, and as we were still in that
self-same parlor where we had spent the day, as an additional favor to
us four our tea was served up in the same place where we had had our
dinner. And so we all sat down, our hearts overflowing with joy--joy
that found vent even in tears, and filled our eyes, out of gratitude to
that good God who had thus allowed us all to meet again, "for His mercy
endureth forever." One of the girls having said grace before meal, we
all fell to, and had a most glorious repast of the very best that the
hospital and the city of New Orleans could produce.
As good news flies fast in a strange place, especially where a good
cause is under way, we had no sooner got through with our most capital
tea than the newspaper reporters began to arrive. And those reporters
were the politest gentlemen I ever saw in my life, for they treated us
with as much kindly interest as if we had all been acquainted for the
last twenty years. Tom and I asked them to be seated whilst we had a
brief consultation between ourselves aside. This consultation was about
my own coming to New Orleans at a former time, and releasing my own dear
mother from slavery. But as the bottom had already been knocked out of
the peculiar institution, as it was playfully called, and what remained
of it would soon pass away, we did not consider that there was any risk
to run, and decide to tell the whole truth, and give all the facts of
the case to the reporters, leaving it to their own discretion to say and
do anything that they pleased, themselves. So the reporting gentlemen
took their seats, got out their note-books, and went to work, writing
down our depositions, one and all, first and last, asking us questions
which we answered with the greatest pleasure. There was a good deal of
amusement in the parlor that evening over the reporting business, I
suspect arising out of the slavery question, and the whole of us being a
lot of "runaways"!
In the meantime, when all had left, the girls and myself were completely
worn out both in mind and body, with travel, fatigue and excitement. Tom
saw us to the gate where we all took leave for the night, after which we
steered for our cosy lodgings, and all got to bed as rapidly as
possible, for we were as tired and worn out as soldiers after a
hard-fought field!
The children and I had a grand, long sleep, and came down late to
breakfast. There had been showers of warm rain in the early morning, and
the breezes that blew over New Orleans were as well perfumed with the
odor of Southern flowers and vegetation as ever lady's boudoir was with
the perfumes and colognes. Fresh-cut flowers in vases stood on the
dining-room table, and there were plenty of the fresh fruits of the
Sunny South, which the family had brought in from the market in the
early morning. The girls seemed quite at sea amid so many tropical
pleasures, and my first-born exclaimed, as she looked around and viewed
the plants, and flowers, and shrubbery in every direction, both in the
house and out of it,
"My goodness, mamma; the people have good times down here in Dixie. Papa
has a grand time in that fine hospital, reading the latest news from the
front, and scenting the perfumery wafted from 10,000 flowers and shrubs!
I just envy him so much happiness."
"Yes," said the younger child, "and he is here all the time."
To which her elder sister rejoined,
"Oh, my dear sister, I wish that mamma and papa would stay here
altogether, and not go back to Buffalo!"
"What?" said I, in great surprise, "don't you know that there are 10,000
serpents among the grasses and shrubs out in the woods? Don't you want
to go back to our sweet little church on Vine street, in Buffalo? And
don't you want to visit the Gibsons, at Richmond Hill, once more?"
"Oh, yes, mamma," she replied, "I want to go back to class to the church
on Vine street, Buffalo, and I want to dig up potatoes, and pull down
apples and peaches at Richmond Hill, where those good Gibsons live, in
Western Canada."
"But," resumed my oldest daughter, "you say, mamma, that there are
10,000 serpents in this part of the Sunny South; is that so?"
"Yes," I replied, whilst I cut another orange in two, "there are more
than 10,000, I suppose; but take all the hundreds of species in the
world, there is not one species in a hundred that is poisonous at all;
and they will seldom or never sting anybody, if one does not go in their
way, or trample on them in the woods. They generally get out of the way.
But tell me, my dear, what makes you so fond of the South?"
"Indeed, mamma, I can hardly tell, unless it be that there is such a
sweet and delicious feeling about all our surroundings here. Why, the
very winds themselves seem to be fond of blowing about in this place."
"Yes," put in the younger; "the very winds are fond of blowing about in
this place."
These latter remarks were heard by some of the family and guests, and we
all raised a loud laugh, whilst the youngest added:
"Sister, please pass me another of those small, sweet oranges! I don't
see for the very life of me why we could not live in the State of
Louisiana. And then, mamma says the snakes are not very dangerous, and
we could be careful, and look out for them."
"Oh, yes," rejoined her sister; "we could be careful, and look out for
them. And would not the good Lord Himself protect us against them?"
"No doubt he would," remarked the other, "if Christianity can protect us
against serpents about New Orleans."
By this time we were in a great state of merriment over the two girls,
and rose from the breakfast table as if we had been leaving a successful
entertainment, and walked out to see the garden.
After we had made the rounds of the garden, and regaled our senses with
all that was most delicious in the Sunny South, we came back to the
house, when a member of this good family placed before us on the
sitting-room table, one of the New Orleans morning papers, which
contained the following article. I think the good reporter who wrote
this most grandiloquent article on myself, family and connections must
either have been drinking too much wine, or else he is on the point of
getting married! I can account for such high praise in no other way. But
let us hear what he has got to say:
"ARRIVAL OF MRS. THOMAS LINCOLN AND HER TWO DAUGHTERS.
"It is an old and true saying 'that wonders never cease,' and again we
are reminded of the words used by Paul against his enemies,--'Those who
have turned the world up-side down have come hither also!' We Southern
people, after this, need wonder no longer at the terrible war that the
mighty North has brought about our ears! There arrived in the port of
New Orleans yesterday, the wife and two daughters of Capt. Thos.
Lincoln, an inmate of one of our hospitals, a captain of colored troops,
promoted on the battle-field for bravery. Mrs. Lincoln is a perfect
paragon among ladies, and seem to possess every accomplishment under the
sun,--both mind and body. She is only twenty-seven years of age, and
brought her children, two well-grown girls--along with her, having
traveled by rail from Buffalo, New York, and from thence came on the
'Natchez,' down the Ohio and Mississippi to New Orleans. Their arrival
was a great surprise to Captain Lincoln, and all the high authorities at
the hospital; and a tremendous, warm welcome was what they all received
from all whom they met. We ourselves heard of their arrival, hurried up
to the hospital, met Captain Lincoln's wife and daughters in one of the
parlors there, and were very much impressed indeed by this entire happy
family, who appeared to us 'as fine as silk.' We found all four brimful
of talk and intelligence; Mrs. Lincoln and the girls being expert hands
on the piano, whilst the girls have evidently had splendid opportunities
of getting a first-class training in every way. Indeed the intelligence
of the great North has not yet been told by one half!
"We remember reading in the public papers, some nine or ten years ago,
that this self-same Capt. Thos. Lincoln and Miss Beulah Jackson, now
Mrs. Lincoln, made their escape from Riverside Hall, Kentucky, and were
married on the evening of the same day at Cincinnati, Ohio. Tom Lincoln,
as he used to be called, was general manager at the old baronial
residence, and Beulah went by the facetious name of 'The Flower Girl of
Riverside Hall,' and Beulah is 'Flower Girl' still.
"Mrs. Lincoln and the girls are very comfortably lodged at the house of
some old friends where, according to present appearances, they will
spend the winter,--a solace and a comfort to the brave husband and
father, who is slowly recovering from the wounds he received on the
banks of the Mississippi whilst heroically contending with the enemy up
the river. The happiness of this now re-united family, and under such
romantic circumstances, taught us that the age of chivalry has not yet
gone by.
"We are all aware that this war sent by God himself for the downfall of
slavery, was begun in Kansas, transferred to South Carolina, and then
spread over almost all the Southern States. It was the abolitionism of
the North aided by the anger and high-strung temper of the South that
blew up the flames of war, and brought on the present state of things
that we now see! And there were not only men in the great abolition
campaign, but a few intrepid women also, who traveled the Northern
States, attended great meetings, where they played, and sang, and even
made most eloquent addresses to fire the great northern heart, and thus
these talented and warring women, these Deborahs of the great North,
were a mighty factor in blowing up the raging fires of abolitionism, and
driving the nation into war.
"Mrs. Thomas Lincoln herself was one of those moving spirits, and her
great natural intelligence, splendid training, and good looks helped to
put wind in her sails, and to stir up the war spirit of the dominant
North in every kind of way possible.
"As slavery is almost dead and gone,--and what remains cannot exist much
longer, we must accept the entire situation with as good a grace as we
can! It can do no harm now to let the cat out of the bag and tell the
whole truth! We have shown that not only is Capt. Thos. Lincoln a brave
man, but his affectionate and beautiful wife is brave also; and she
proved it about ten years ago, when she was only some seventeen years of
age, and came to this very city of New Orleans, and 'stole away' her own
handsome and accomplished mother out of one of the grandest houses here,
marched on board the New York steamer with her, and conveyed her to
Buffalo, New York, by way of Havana and New York City. Surely that was a
great feat for a mere seventeen-year-old married woman, or 'big' school
girl if you prefer it,--to perform,--that is travelling all the way by
rail to Cincinnati, then down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and then
braving the dangers of the Gulf of Mexico and the stormy North Atlantic
and all this to have her own beloved mother under the self-same roof
with herself--and she succeeded in the bargain! We are informed that her
mother,--formerly called Harriet Jackson, was married some eight or nine
years ago to Mr. John B. Sutherland, of Buffalo, N. Y. Under all these
altered circumstances we think that the right thing to do now, is to
accept of the changed situation with all the grace that we can,--turn
over a new leaf, and do all for our former slaves, but now our freed
brothers and sisters that lies in our power. It is clearly the will of
God that men should be free. It will never do to talk about 'goods and
chattels' any longer. If Tom Lincoln and Beulah Jackson had not left
Riverside Hall in Kentucky, it is quite clear that had it not been for
God and Northern Liberty, we would never have seen such a splendid
development of things, as we now behold at the hospital which we have
just visited, that is,--a brave and well-trained soldier from the
battle-field and a mother and two daughters that possess all the gifts
and the graces that can ever be claimed by the mistress of the 'White
House,' at Washington, and the queens and ladies of rank of Europe.
"With all our hearts we welcome our visitors to the Crescent City of New
Orleans, and desire to make a good impression on their hearts and minds,
trusting that their stay among us will be very pleasant indeed; and may
they ever be much in love with the Sunny South."