The eventful and long-looked-for day on which the “White Rose of
Memphis” was to start on her first trip had come at last, and a mighty
stir, indeed, did that day produce on and under the tall, romantic bluff
in front of Memphis. The morning was delightful, the atmosphere pure and
invigorating, the sweet odor of fresh spring flowers was on the breeze,
mingling with the soft notes of music produced by the band from the
hurricane deck. The stars and stripes floated gracefully from the
flag-staff, dark clouds of black smoke rose from the chimneys, a white
cloud of steam struggled up through the black smoke and disappeared far
above, innumerable drays rattled along the pavement, carriages thundered
over the rocky road, carriage drivers swore at dray drivers, dray
drivers returned the compliment with interest, in language not of a
religious nature, deck hands sung “Dixie,” cabin boys danced juber,
chamber-maids darted hither and thither, apparently anxious to perform
their duty, without the slightest conception of what that duty was. A
villainous urchin, in the arms of his nurse, was making a heart-rending
noise with a tin horn, and a passenger muttered something not taught at
Sunday-school.
“Them’s my sentiments to a T,” said another man who had been annoyed
with the tin horn.
As the hour drew near when the boat was to start the confusion
increased. The pilot was at his wheel, the engineer was at his engine;
Captain Quitman stood on the upper deck in front of the pilot house,
looking happy, and feeling vastly important. Hundreds of men, women and
children in holiday costumes stood on the bluff, shouting and waving
white handkerchiefs to their friends on the boat. A mocking-bird in a
cage on the boiler deck imitated every imaginable sound with his
wonderful voice, while a parrot, perched on a pole near the clerk’s
office, kept crying, “Let her rip! let her rip, Sam!”
“How much steam have you got, Tom?” cried the pilot through his
speaking-tube.
“One sixty, sir, and still rising.”
“All right; blow off the mud valves and keep a good head; we must make a
good run at the start.”
“Time’s up, Dave; let her go,” said the captain. “Run her up to the
mouth of Wolf, make a turn to the left, and then let her come down with
her best speed.”
“Let go the head line,” cried the mate.
“Draw in the stage,” says the captain.
“Go ahead on the larboard, and back on the starboard,” cried the pilot
to the engineer.
“Go ahead on the steward, and back on the cook-house,” cries a
mischievous little negro, who is dancing a jig in front of the pilot
house.
The boat moves slowly up stream until a point opposite the mouth of Wolf
river is reached, then makes a graceful curve to the left, and comes
flying past the city with a speed never equaled by any other boat on
that river. As the “White Rose” passed the last crowd on the bluff a
tremendous shout rose from a thousand voices, which was answered by the
throng of passengers who lined the deck of the boat. As the golden rays
of the morning sun glanced down against the side of the boat, and played
and danced with the painted glass of her cabin, a thousand dazzling
streaks of light flashed back, presenting a sight of indescribable
beauty. It was but a few moments until the boat passed round the bend
below President’s Island, and shut off from view the tall domes of the
bluff city; but the fresh green foliage with which the tall trees were
clothed presented a scene of beauty on which the beholders gazed with
delight. As might have been expected, quite a sensation was created
among the large crowd of passengers when a dozen or more men and women
appeared on deck disguised with as many different and curious costumes.
A murmur of dissatisfaction rose among some of the passengers, which
threatened to produce trouble; but finally it subsided when the clerk
announced the fact that all the maskers were well known to him, and that
they were respectable people.
“How is your royal highness this morning?” said the Duke of Wellington,
as he shook hands with George III.
“First rate, first rate, my lord. How is it with you?”
“Fine, fine, sir! Splendid day this! By the by, where is the emperor?”
“Here he is. Now let us commence the siege at once. I see her Majesty,
the queen of Sheba, and her attendants, are waiting for us. The Scottish
queen has marshaled her forces on the hurricane deck.”
“How is that?” demanded the emperor.
“They have all taken seats in a circle, and seem determined to continue
the selfish plan. Now we will take seats at a respectable distance from
them--just so as to be in hearing distance, and begin the battle
according to our original plan. Our object is to so rouse their
curiosity as to force them to come to our side, or in other words, to
induce them to come and mingle with us. A little skillful maneuvering on
our part, and the victory is ours.”
“Lead, lead, my gallant king! You shall be our commander in this fight.
Take the queen of Sheba to the field, and the emperor and I will bring
up the maids of honor, and then let the skirmishing begin.”
A canvas had been put up above the hurricane deck and seats arranged
under it, in order to afford passengers an opportunity to view the grand
scenery without being exposed to the rays of the sun; and this spot had
been selected as the field of action. The queen of Scots and her party
were seated in a circle, near the stern of the boat, wholly unconscious
of the hostile preparations which were being made by the queen of Sheba
and her adherents. Ingomar was entertaining the queen and the ladies of
her court with an eloquent description of the burning of the steam-boat
“Bulletin,” and the heart-rending scenes that were witnessed on that
occasion. The queen of Sheba with her party was located about twenty
feet from the spot occupied by the queen of Scots.
“Now,” said George III., making a low bow to the queen of Sheba, “what
is your Majesty’s pleasure? What is to be the fun to-day?”
“Social conversation and enjoying the beautiful scenery will occupy us
till luncheon, and when we have had enough of that, we will then form
our plans for the future.”
“By the by,” said Wellington with a loud voice, evidently intended to
attract the attention of the Scottish queen’s party, “have you heard the
strange news?”
“No, no; what is it?”
“There are two detectives aboard in mask, on the look-out for the
perpetrator of a diabolical murder that was committed near Collierville
day before yesterday. They have tracked the man to this boat, and have
satisfied themselves that he is aboard, and are prepared to arrest him.
They have got a man spotted, and are going to take him off at
Vicksburg.”
“That’s the best shot that ever was fired,” whispered Napoleon.
“See,” said the queen, “the shot has taken effect. They are all looking
this way, and intently listening. They are dying to hear more. Give them
another shot.”
“What were the circumstances of the murder?” inquired Napoleon, as he
raised his voice and winked at Wellington.
“Oh, it was a most horrible and cruel murder--it was a love affair. The
deceased was a young and pretty girl; she had loved not wisely, but too
well. Poison was the means used to produce death.”
“There, there, Wellington,” whispered Napoleon; “let ’em rest on that a
while. They have all been gradually moving this way. They can’t hold out
much longer.”
“Let me throw one more shell into their camp,” whispered Wellington.
“All right; go ahead.”
“There is a skillful pickpocket aboard of this boat, and those who have
money had better be on their guard. One passenger has been relieved of a
purse containing five hundred dollars. The pocket was cut clean off, and
so skillfully done that the owner knew nothing about it until his
attention was called to it by a friend. I fear that our amusements will
all be interfered with, and that we shall be compelled to lay aside our
disguises, because, whoever he is, you may be assured he is in mask.”
“Good, good, Wellington!” said George III., in a whisper; “stop; you
have got them completely demoralized, and we may safely wait for the
result.”
“Oh, mercy on us!” exclaimed one of Queen Mary’s maids of honor, “we are
in the midst of thieves and murderers! Didn’t you hear that gentleman
say that a bloody murder had been committed, and that a gentleman had
been robbed, and that both criminals were aboard of this boat? Who knows
but what we shall all be murdered and robbed!”
“Don’t look toward them,” said Wellington; “the last shot has mortally
wounded the last one of the party.” This sentence was whispered, so as
not to be heard by the opposition.
Ivanhoe drew near Wellington and said: “Pardon me, sir, but I beg to
inquire about this dreadful murder of which I heard you speak just now.”
Wellington shrugged his shoulders, and gave a deep sigh. “Horrible!
horrible; must cruel! unprecedented! but that’s all I know about it.”
And with a knowing wink at George III., Wellington observed: “Look at
that beautiful little island there. See what delightful foliage. How
splendid it would be to have a picnic on that nice green turf under such
a cool-looking shade!”
“Oh, wouldn’t that be delightful!” said the queen of Sheba.
“We’ll have a picnic to-morrow,” said Napoleon. “The boat is going to
take on a large lot of cotton just below Helena; and we will order the
steward to prepare a picnic dinner, and we will have a dance, as well as
a dinner.”
Ivanhoe bit his lip with vexation as he returned to his party no wiser
than when he left it.
“Hold your hand over my mouth, else I shall be compelled to laugh out,”
said the queen to her first maid of honor.
“Pray, don’t laugh,” cried the young lady; “it would cause them to
suspect something.”
“What did you learn about the murder?” inquired the queen of Scots, as
Ivanhoe returned to his seat.
“Nothing,” was the solemn reply. “They all seem to be an ill-mannered,
ungenteel crew, and, for my part, I am inclined to think they have been
making sport of us.”
“I see through it all,” said Ingomar gravely. “They are offended because
we did not invite them to mingle with us. For my part, I am unwilling to
notice such silly conduct. I like amusement well enough, but it must be
such as sensible people may engage in. Allow me to suggest that we move
to another place and inaugurate a regular systematic plan to while away
our idle moments.”
The suggestion was unanimously concurred in, and the entire party went
to the front end of the boat, and soon were seated, leaving the other
party overwhelmed with mortification.
“That is too bad!” exclaimed Napoleon; “we had won the victory, and lost
it by all grinning at once. They have evidently seen our hand, and we
have lost the game.”
“Suppose we invite the other party to join us,” said Ingomar. “If we
expect to enjoy our trip, it would be advisable to dispense with the
rigid rules of decorum and become acquainted with each other.”
“Your sentiments are generous and noble, sir, and are heartily approved;
and with your permission I will invite the other party to join us.”
“Have I your permission, madame, to deliver the invitation?”
“Yes, and I trust it will be accepted.”
Ingomar approached the spot where the queen of Sheba and her party were
seated, and with a dignified bow said: “I am requested by my royal
mistress, the queen of Scots, to present her highest regards to your
Majesty, and request the pleasure of your company at her royal court.
She further requests me to beg you to bring all the ladies and gentlemen
of your party with you, in order that a friendly union may be entered
into, for the better enjoyment of such festivities and pleasures as may
be jointly considered worthy of well-bred and intelligent people.”
“Right noble and worthy chief, most eloquently hast thou delivered the
message of thy royal mistress, and it would be extreme rudeness for us
to refuse to accept it. Therefore, we request you to convey to her
Majesty our most distinguished regards, and inform her that her generous
offer is accepted, and that it will be our pleasure to visit her festive
dominions.”
“My royal mistress will be delighted with the news.” And as he said this
he raised the queen’s hand to his lips, then turned and delivered his
message to the queen of Scots.
“I am going to laugh,” said the first maid.
“Laugh as much as you please, now; it can do no harm; we are forever
disgraced; we are beaten, overcome, captured!” said Wellington, as he
clinched his fists with vexation.
“Is this the victory that we have been fighting for?”
“I call it a complete victory,” said the queen. “Was it not the object
of our plan to force them to invite us to join them, and have they not
yielded? You may be sure they would never have given us the invitation
had it not been for the bait which we threw out to them.”
“I agree with your Majesty there,” said George III. “We have
accomplished the object for which we contended, and now let us join
their party, and make ourselves agreeable.”
“Be it so, then,” replied Wellington, as he offered his arm to the queen
and led her to where the other party were seated.
The two queens seemed to enter into a contest as to which should be
considered most polite. The graceful bowing, the gentle hand-shaking,
the sweet smiling, the high compliments, and general bearing, were such
as might have been witnessed between Queen Victoria and the Empress
Eugenie when they first met.
“Now,” said Ingomar, addressing the two queens, “as I understand the
object of this excursion to be one of pleasure and amusement, permit me
to suggest that we organize ourselves into a sort of committee of the
whole, and agree on some plan by which each hour of the day shall be
furnished with some kind of innocent sport.”
“We think the idea a good one, sir,” replied Queen Mary, “and we appoint
you and Ivanhoe as a select committee, whose duty it shall be to draft a
set of rules or by-laws for the government of our court. We allow you
one hour for the performance of that duty; meantime we will amuse
ourselves by a promenade in the saloon.”
Promptly at the expiration of the hour the queen ordered her court to
convene on deck in order to hear the by-laws read.
“We are now ready to hear what you have written,” said the queen,
speaking to Ingomar.
“We have the honor to inform your royal highness that we have performed
the duty assigned to us, and are now ready to report.”
“Read the report, my noble chief.”
Ingomar read as follows: “Whereas certain ladies and gentlemen of the
good city of Memphis, State of Tennessee, have embarked on an expedition
of pleasure, on board of the steam-boat known as the ‘White Rose of
Memphis,’ and whereas the aforesaid ladies and gentlemen are desirous of
contributing as much as they can to the happiness and pleasure of their
comrades thereby, and by means whereof they expect to obtain innocent
enjoyment for themselves and their associates, therefore be it
remembered that on this, the first day of May, the following rules and
regulations have been adopted, and the honor of each member pledged that
said rules and regulations shall in all respects be complied with and
faithfully obeyed, and that any one who shall be guilty of a willful
violation of any one of the rules shall be considered disgraced and
unworthy to be a member of this association, and shall be excluded
therefrom:
“RULE 1st. Her Royal Highness, the queen of Scots, shall reign as the
grand sovereign of this association.
“RULE 2d. It shall be the duty of the reigning sovereign to determine
what shall be the plan of amusement for the day, and give orders
accordingly.
“RULE 3d. No disrespectful language to be used by any member of this
association.
“RULE 4th. The right of each member of this association to remain in
disguise is recognized, and no one shall be questioned as to his or her
real name without his or her consent.
“RULE 5th. None but harmless sport shall be proposed or indulged in.”
“We think the rules very good,” said the queen, “and we now propose
their adoption. All who favor the rules make it known by saying aye. It
is unnecessary to call for the nays, as the vote is unanimous in the
affirmative--and the rules are adopted.”
“Well,” said Ingomar, “your Majesty will issue your commands for the
day. What shall be the programme?”
“It is our royal pleasure that each member of the association shall be
required to relate a story consisting of events, the truth of which are
to be vouched for by the narrator. I dare say that each one will be able
to tell something that will be both amusing and instructive. Love
stories would be preferable; but no one shall be restricted as to that.
Personal reminiscences of the party who may tell the story would be
listened to, doubtless, with attention and pleasure. Therefore, it is
our royal command that the Barbarian Chief, Ingomar, shall now proceed
to relate a story.”
“Ingomar! Ingomar! Ingomar! a story by Ingomar!” cried every one.
“It would have been more to my liking to have listened to others, may it
pleasure your Majesty, but as it would be rank treason to disobey your
command, I shall endeavor to comply, by relating the history of
transactions, many of which came under my own observation in and near
the city of Memphis. The substance of the story would no doubt be very
interesting were it well told, but I greatly fear I shall bore you all
by my awkward manner of telling it. But there will be a consolation in
knowing that if you should become wearied of it, you can command me to
stop, which order I beg to assure you I would more gladly obey than any
other you could give.”
“If your manner of telling the story is as modest and well spoken as the
apology, we shall be very much delighted, I assure you. Therefore we
command you to proceed.”
“As the occurrences which I am about to describe all have an intimate
connection with the city of Memphis, and as many of the persons who
played prominent parts in the story are now residing there, I think it
proper to inform my audience that the names used are fictitious. I could
not for a moment think of parading the real names of the actors before
the public without their consent.”
“The idea is commendable, sir, and only serves to increase our anxiety
to hear the story. Therefore we again command you to proceed.”
“There’s the gong for luncheon,” cried Napoleon as he sprang to his
feet. “Postpone the story until after refreshments.”
“That’s a splendid idea!” said Ingomar. “It will give me time to collect
my ideas.”
“Very well,” said the queen. “We will assemble here immediately after
lunch, to listen to Ingomar’s story.”
Ingomar led the queen of Scots to the saloon, while Wellington offered
his arm to the queen of Sheba, and the party went down to lunch.