to reach which place we had, because of the overflow, to go by rail to
Madison, and thence by steamer down the
St. Francis and up the
Mississippi.
The trip would have been a very tedious one; but the courtesy of
Captain W. A. Joplin, (an old
Bedford, Virginia, Confederate,) and his polite officers of the steamer
Rene Macready, made our time pass very pleasantly, and the sight of the
Mississippi, forty miles wide at that point, was very interesting to us, though not so to the poor sufferers by the flood.
Arriving at
Memphis we were met at the boat by the committee, who were introduced by our friend,
Colonel H. D. Capers, and were at once ‘taken possession of’ so cordially that the salute fired in honor of
General Lee's arrival was entirely unnecessary to assure us of a cordial welcome.
Of our elegant apartments and entertainment at the
Peabody House, our drives, dinners, lunches, suppers, concerts, receptions, &c., we have not space to speak.
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Suffice it to say that
Major Thomas F. Tobin, chairman of the Committee of Arrangements,
Major S. W. Hampton,
General Colton Greene,
General Gordon,
Judge Heiskill, and indeed, the whole committee, and the whole people gave
Colonel Capers (our agent) their hearty co-operation in making every preparation to honor
General Lee and ensure the complete success of the lecture.
Accordingly Leubrie's Theatre was filled on the night of the 13th of March with a brilliant audience.
General G. W. Gordon made an eloquent and appropriate speech in introducing
General Lee, and the
General's address was received with enthusiastic appreciation and rapturous applause.
Indeed, our whole visit to
Memphis was a charming sojourn among warm-hearted friends.
Arriving at
