Page:Once a Week Volume 7.djvu/498

 490 Short as was my stay, I looked back from the deck of the steamer that carried me to New Orleans, not without a sigh for the beauties of Memphis as they glowed in the radiance of the setting sun, and, all golden hued and splendid, slowly faded from my view, till darkness fell upon the woods and waters, and silence broken only by the roar of steam, and the rush of our sharp prow down the rapid river.

Since the above was written, a change has come over the scene. When the Federal supremacy on the sea was extended to the great rivers of the west, Memphis fell before the fleet of gun and mortar boats that descended from Cairo. When Island No. 10, and Fort Pillow had been evacuated by the Confederates, Memphis was at the mercy of the mortar fleet. The whole river would have been opened to the Federal steamers, but for the successful defence of Vicksburg. Memphis was occupied by a Federal garrison. Some Union men were found, but the greater portion of the male population was with the Confederate army, whose scouring parties are often in sight of the city. The clergy who dared still to pray for the success of the Southern cause were silenced. The property of rebels has been confiscated, and the city is held under the threat of destruction, if an attempt is made to retake it.

a woman’s face, In the dark night and cold, But, oh! the ghost of a vanish’d grace, And the pitiful tale it told!

Wrapt in a ragged shawl (Why was it not her shroud?) It look’d as white as the moon at night, Thro’ a rift in a driving cloud.

Only a few poor pence, And a few kind words addressing; And all they brought was a kindly thought And a poor lost woman’s blessing. M. P.