The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-01-19

5prlnglng up from the bed OF the river
below TO meet the water as 1t fell. r,
was magnificent, Andthe great hearted
lady could not restrain herself as she
saw IL. l shall never forget her prayer
TO be made better woman to be made
able to serve the Maker OF so wonderful d
world In way that she should. We all
uncovered our heads as she knelt there,
and l think / am the better man for
that memory.
1--WE had been together then for near.
ly q month. / had Miss Lind and her
party rs passengers from New Orleans
to Louisville. The trip down had car
ried hundreds Of the first people OF the
South to hear her sing in New Orleans.
phis and Little Rock and Vicksburg,
but when they gott New Orleans there
was hardly seat to be had for love or
money. So many OF them came back
| with me unsatiefied they had rather
be on the same boat with Jenny Lind
than to stay for the Mardi Gras and all
| that in New Orleans. When we were
fairly on our. way up the river, one OF
| the ladies-she was great belle in her
day. the daughter of a Senator, and af.
forwards the wife OF one of our foreign
ministers = came to me and asked
whether 1t was really true that Miss
Lind meant to keep her stateroom all
the way to Memphis.
e" or course not, said I. Everybody
comes to dinner on my boat.
These were simple times. The cap
tain OF Mississippi steamer was per-
son OF more consequence, even, than
the commander OF an ocean steamer ia
to-day, and Capt. Thomasson was the
most noted OF all the captains on the
Father of Waters.
to-day Then / went to Barnum-Bar-
aging Miss Lind.
:" Barnum,' said l. is Miss Lind get
ting ready for dinner?'
"Barnum looked UP surprised. why.
no, said he, miss Lind eats her meals
in her ROOM
mot on my boat said I; for you
see / didn't want to disappoint the la.
dies. Well, Barnum and l argued this
awhile, and then 1 agreed to talk to
Miss Lind myself about it. Knocked
at the door OF her stateroom.
'The pleasantest voice / ever heard
said Come in
Miss Lind said I, Il am the cap
tain OF this boat. There are twenty la
dies on board-ladies Of the first station
in America-whom / had brought
anywhere from two to six hundred
miles down to New Orleans to hear and
to see yeu. They couldn't get even to
the door OF your concert-room for the
crowd. SO they took passage on my
boat again with no other hope than just
to see you. They didn't mean to be
rude-neitber do I; but I do hope you
will crafty them and not seclude your
self Ill this long trip
my dear capitaine,' said she said
as pleasantly as could be, Il don't
mean to hide myself. Why should +?
But what would you have me do p
Come and sit at my right hand at
dinner, said 1. It's nearly time for
the bell to ring
"'Wiz the greatest plazure,' said the
great lady, and when dinner was ready
she came out OF her stateroom smiling,
and bowed to everybody in the ladies'
cabin, and eat down by my side.
viii you not do me the honaire to |
introduce me to re ladies' she said. |
and / introduced her to all the lady
passengers that were at my table-all |
ladies, mind you. It was the most |
pleasant dinner I ever had. Miss Lind
was curious about everything, and es-
pecially about plantation life. She and |
Miss - got to be great friends, and
the lady afterward visited Mrs. Gold |
schmidt, after her marriage to the |
pianist, at her home In London.
After dinner the tables were cleared |
away, and Miss Lind sat down on the |
sofa at the end OF the cabin. 1 went |
forward to where Barnum was sitting,
near the clerks Office. 'Barnum,' said |
|, won't Miss Lind sing something for |
the ladies p
Captain said he, turning on me,
are you gone raving mad? Miss Lind |
sing In a public place like this Why, |
man, you make me laugh. Miss Lind |
gets thousand dollars for every song
she sings. Perhaps you've got thou
sand dollars about you to spare? Offer |
her that-and then she'll tell you to go
about your business
All right, Barnum,' said /. well
see
well, then. I went into the pantry
and got my niger band together.
There was one likely young boy among
EN-, who had such q voice as you never
leard. L was younger then, consider
IDLY, than / am now, but could never
hear that boy sing one of his plaHtation
songs without the tears coming iAto my
yes. But / thought I'd try him first.
% one OF the boys kept time on his
,anjo, and the fellow sang over his song.
/ was about yellow girl who had
,een sold eff into slavery from her
iubO O5OIklh. Ill |
vays thought the boy made it up him
elf. / never heard the words or the
music before. The words didn't exactly
hyme, nor the music wasn't such as
lou hear in the opera, but 1 knew it
you'd do. SO got the boys together in
he cabin, and after they had PLAYED
while the boy sang his song. Miss ,
and listened from first to last, and
here were tears in her eyes, too, when
was through. I don't know exactly
low it was, but five minutes afterward
he was at the piano and sang first the
music OF that song as well as she could
emember it, and then song after song
\ her own. And not only that evening
ither, but every evening that she was
n the boat. The pianist of her troupe
,layed too, and the other members of
ne company sang or played, and my /,
aides also, and such concerts there
ever were IN America before or since. =
1--WE got to be great friends. and when I
re reached Louisville and nv boat laid D