caused by the war. The only carriages to be had
were donkey carts. It was a usual sight to see George Thompson of
England and Charles Sumner jogging along, or William Lloyd Garrison and
Senator Wilson together, Henry Ward Beecher and Fred Douglass in a
donkey cart driven by a former slave. Mass meetings were held in the
abandoned churches and public buildings of the city, mostly attended by
the coloured people.

On the third day the _Oceanus_ passed out of Charleston harbour, saluted
by all the ships and forts. The flag on Sumter was dipped as we passed
by; all went well until we rounded Cape Hatteras and were bearing into
Fortress Monroe. Passing a pilot boat, the captain shouted, "What's the
news?" The reply came back over the water, "The President is dead." We
could not and did not believe it. Soon after, passing another pilot
boat, to a similar question the answer came, "Mr. Lincoln has been
assassinated." Then we realised the truth. With saddened hearts we
sailed up to Fortress Monroe, which was already draped in black. Here
our party separated, some coming direct to New York, the rest going to
Washington to take part in the ceremonies attending the funeral of Mr.
Lincoln.

I have spoken more fully of the Sumter excursion because it was an
important national event, and because it was so closely identified with
Plymouth Church and Brooklyn. If it had not been for Mr. Beecher there
would have been no _Oceanus_ voyage.

[Illustration: HENRY WARD BEECHER'S STATUE, BROOKLYN, N. Y.]

_QUAKER CITY EXCURSION_

The plan of the _Quaker City_ Excursion, made famous by Mark Twain,
originated in Plymouth Church, when Mr. Beecher contemplated writing a
Life of Christ. He expressed a desire to visit the sacred places of
Palestine, where our Lord lived and where He was crucified, and wanted
several members of Plymouth Church to go with him. A committee was
formed to arrange for the journey, composed of Captain C. Duncan, John
T. Howard and Rufus R. Graves. A very beautiful and substantial
side-wheel steamship, the _Quaker City_, was chartered for the journey,
and the number of passengers was limited to one hundred and fifty. The
price of the passage for each person was fixed at twelve hundred and
fifty dollars. Mr. Beecher engaged passage, but at the last moment
decided not to go.

The Secretary of State furnished us with letters commending us to the
attention of the foreign governments which we might visit, and on