"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."
[CHAPTER XI.]
Grand Demonstration at the Military Hospital—Music and Speeches—The Armies Reviewed by President Lincoln—The War in Virginia—Fight at New Market Heights—Fall of Petersburg and Richmond—Flight of the Rebels—Their Surrender at Appomattox Court House—Rejoicing Over the Good News—The Lincoln Family Leave New Orleans, and Arrive Home at Buffalo.
HOUSE WHERE LINCOLN DIED.